Ventura is connected to Loreto with two notable anchors: the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura and the Channel Islands National Park. Loreto’s Mission is tied to our Mission from Fray Junipero Serra and the islands- Loreto: Bahia de Loreto National Park in the Sea of Cortez and Ventura: Channel Islands National Park in the Pacific Ocean.

Loreto is one of the oldest settlements on the Baja peninsula, a city with more than 300 years of history, rich in culture and beauty.
Loreto is nestled between the Sea of Cortez and the majestic backdrop of the Sierra de la Giganta mountain range. Studding the oceanic landscape are the islands of Coronado, Del Carmen, Danzante, Monserrat and Santa Catalina, which make up the Loreto Bay National Park.
With breathtaking cliffs, spectacular beaches and dramatic rock formations, these islands are a perfect landscape for the ecologically-minded or those who delight in a vast array of marine life. Loreto also offers sport fishing, golfing, diving, surfing, sailing, mountain biking or rappelling.
Immerse yourself in the Mexico of legends and colonial splendor as you wander the winding streets of this little gem, absorbing the atmosphere, and the sites and sounds of yesteryear.
It was in Loreto that Fray Junipero Serra began laying the groundwork for the evangelization of Alta and Baja California and it was from Loreto and their mission, that the El Camino Real corridor
going north along the ancient route to Sonoma, California was established.