Enjoy the Beach Walking Trails in Rincón
If you like walking by the beach, but don’t enjoy getting sandy, you will love the beach walking trails (Paseo Comunitario) available in Rincón. We walked the Playa Maria Trail, that runs from Playa Maria to the Rincón Lighthouse parking area. Coming in at just around ¼ mile one way, and being mostly flat, it is an easy walk for most everyone.
This trail begins in the big packed earth/gravel parking lot, and it leads to some wooden boardwalks to get you to the Playa Maria surf area, and a gravel trail that leads toward the lighthouse. The forested area between the road and the beach is called Bosque Armonia, and as you walk through this area you will see that it has been planted with many plant species that are native to this area, and they have worked making drainage and dunes for erosion control.
The pathway is being maintained, and there are a few areas with benches or a swing along the way, so you can just enjoy the area. There are also some signs along the way with information about the fauna you might see in this area. When constructing the walking paths, they have included wooden walkways to provide beach access, so you can get to the beach without damaging the all-important sand dunes. There are also access trails to the road/parking area along the top of this trail.
The only problem I found with this trail is right at the Faro (lighthouse) end, where it gets really step and rough – it is not easy to go up to the lighthouse this way. But this walkway is a work in progress, so maybe they will improve that end. If you can’t make it up this area and want to walk to the lighthouse, there are a few paths from the trail that go up to the road that might be a little easier.
The construction and maintenance was/is all done by volunteers from the local community.
Las Playas Son del Pueblo!
This area and a number of other coastal areas around Rincón have been a hot topic of debate lately with regard to providing public beach access. Community groups in Rincón are working tirelessly to take back the use of beach-front land. From what I know, the beach area up to the highest tide mark (the Maritime Terrestrial Zone) is supposed to be available for public access, and any private land above that point is supposed to have an easement that allows public access to the beach.
That is where these nice trails are coming in! Permitted activities include walking, running, biking, and dog walking (on a leash). Motor vehicles and camping along these trails are not permitted.
Paseo Comunitario Tres Palmas
In addition to the Playa Maria Trail, there is a lovely trail (Paseo Comunitario Tres Palmas) that runs along the public domain area of Tres Palmas Beach Reserve. I believe the trail runs to Dogman’s Beach and then onto the beach to Playa Marias.
We did not walk this trail to the end. It is a little over ½ mile one way, and much of it is along the field. It is marked with signage an flags. It is not too difficult, most people should be able to enjoy this walk. You will see the trailhead sign along the road/parking area- – you really can’t miss the trail – it runs between the beach and the cows! It is meant as a buffer zone, so please keep it clean!
At the time of writing this article, they are also working on surveying and putting up fencing from Tres Palmas down to the Black Eagle Marina area. Not sure if that is finished yet. It will be about ½-mile one way. They are also working on opening up El Faro Trails – which will run from El Faro along Spanish Wall to Pools Beach.
Details
Entrance to the beach is free. There is a nice big (free) parking lot located at Playa Maria/
For more information about the community efforts of the groups involved in making these great paths and for info on how you can get involved, check out these groups
Maria Beach is right at the point where Route 413 becomes Highway 4413. There is a blue whale-shaped sign with the name of the beach. If you look on Google Maps, the trail is tagged as Paseo Tres Palmas.
PuertoRicoDayTrips.com assumes no responsibility regarding your safety when participating in the activities described in this article. Please use common sense! If your mother or that little voice in your head tells you that you are about to do something stupid … then don't do it!
