Late afternoon on the Cerro de la Memoria cycle path, the city spreads out below you in long straight lines — the grid Benjamin F. Johnston drew up when the sugar mill was still new. Down in the valley, the light goes gold over the cane fields that made Los Mochis, and the Pacific is somewhere past the rooftops.
Los Mochis suits travellers who are passing through on El Chepe, the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad that begins here, and who want a day or two of city life before or after the Copper Canyon. It also suits anyone curious about a place built on irrigation, sugar and high-tech agriculture, with a compact historic centre that is easy to walk.
This guide covers the sights within the city, the spectator sports that fill the winter evenings, and how to string the best of them into a single day.
Top things to do in Los Mochis
1. Cerro de la Memoria
The hill of memory is the city's lookout point, and the obvious first stop if you want to understand how Los Mochis is laid out. The wide, straight streets Johnston planned are clearest from above.
Combine it with the cycle path of the Cerro de la Memoria if you want to arrive on two wheels rather than on foot. Go late in the day, when the heat eases and the light is best.
2. Historical center of the city
The historic centre is where the grid Johnston drew meets the buildings of the early sugar town, and it is the natural place to start a walking tour. The municipal offices were once installed in a house at the corner of Hidalgo and Zaragoza, next to the former union hall.
Walk it in the morning before the heat builds, then break for lunch nearby. Several of the sights below sit within or beside this area, so you can see them on the same outing.
3. Plazuela 27 de Septiembre
September 27 Square is one of the city's central plazas and a good anchor for a walk through the historic centre. It is a place to sit, watch the city go about its day and orient yourself.
Pair it with the Venustiano Carranza Park and the Casa del Centenario, both close enough to fold into the same stroll.
4. Venustiano Carranza Park
This park is known for its Monument to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, an unusual pair of figures to find in a Sinaloan city. It is a pleasant stop on a walk rather than a destination in itself.
Visit in the cooler hours and combine it with the Plazuela 27 de Septiembre and the historic centre.
5. Regional Museum of Valle del Fuerte
The regional museum covers the valley's history, from the indigenous Yoreme (Mayo), Cahita and Guasaves/Tamazulas peoples through the utopian socialist colony at Topolobampo and the sugar industry that followed.
Go before you walk the historic centre, so the buildings and the old mill make more sense afterwards. Pair it with the Trapiche Interactive Museum if you want the industrial side of the story as well.
6. Trapiche Interactive Museum
This museum takes up the sugar-making that gave the city its start, when Benjamin F. Johnston laid the first stone of the mill in 1898 and the first harvest followed in 1903.
Combine it with the facilities of the old Sugar Mill and the Regional Museum of Valle del Fuerte for a full picture of the industry. Allow more time than you think you need.
7. Facilities of the old Sugar Mill
The old mill works are the physical remains of the industry the city grew around, later reorganised as the United Sugar Company. They are worth seeing for the scale of the operation that shaped Los Mochis.
See them on the same trip as the Trapiche Interactive Museum, which explains what you are looking at.
8. Benjamin Francis Johnston Botanical Garden (Sinaloa Park)
The botanical garden, also known as Sinaloa Park, is named for the businessman who founded the city and drove its growth around the sugar mill. It is a green pause in a hot, arid city.
Go early or late to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat, and combine it with the Cerro de la Memoria.
9. Casa del Centenario
The Centennial House is one of the historic buildings in the centre and fits neatly into a walking route through the old town.
Add it to the same walk as the Plazuela 27 de Septiembre and Venustiano Carranza Park.
10. Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the city's principal churches and a stop on any circuit of the centre.
Pair it with the Church of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is also on the list of city attractions, and with the House of Culture Professor Conrado Espinosa.
11. Church of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe
This sanctuary is the second of the two churches named among the city's attractions, and it is easily visited on the same walk as the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón.
Visit in the morning, when the centre is at its liveliest, and continue on to the Plazuela 27 de Septiembre.
12. House of Culture Professor Conrado Espinosa
The House of Culture is a centre for the city's cultural life and a sensible stop if you want to know what is on while you are in town.
Combine it with the churches and the historic centre, all within the same walk.
13. City Theatre (Teatro Ingenio)
The city theatre is the place to look for performances during your stay. Its name recalls the sugar works that built the town.
Check what is scheduled before you arrive and pair an evening performance with dinner in the centre.
14. Innovation and Education Center
The Innovation and Education Center is among the city's listed attractions and reflects the high-tech agriculture and education that now underpin the local economy.
Combine it with the Linear Park Blvd. Rosendo G. Castro if you want to keep the visit to one part of the city.
15. Linear Park Blvd. Rosendo G. Castro
The linear park along Boulevard Rosendo G. Castro is a stretch for walking or cycling rather than a single sight.
Use it in the early morning or evening, when temperatures are workable, and link it with the Innovation and Education Center.
16. The Pergola
The Pergola is one of the smaller landmarks in the city and an easy addition to a walk through the centre.
Fold it into the same outing as the Plazuela 27 de Septiembre and the historic centre.
17. Statue of the Virgin of the Valley of the Fort (Virgen María Reina del Valle)
The statue of the Virgin of the Valley of the Fort is a local landmark and a point of reference in the city.
Visit it on the same circuit as the Cerro de la Memoria, since both are listed among the city's attractions.
18. Plaza Solidaridad
Plaza Solidaridad is known for its Infant Allegory Statue and is one of the city's public squares.
Combine it with the Linear Park Blvd. Rosendo G. Castro on an evening walk.
19. Cañeros de Los Mochis baseball at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada
The Cañeros are the hometown team in the Liga Mexicana Pacifica, a winter league that plays an 82-game schedule between November and January. Games are held at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada, also known as Chevron Park, on Avenida Belisario Domínguez in Las Fuentes. The stadium is friendly, with good concessions and low admission prices; tickets start at M$100 for bleacher seats.
This is one of the best ways to experience the city the way locals do. Check the schedule before you book travel, since the season runs only from mid-fall to mid-winter.
20. Murciélagos de Los Mochis football at Estadio Centenario
The city's football team, the Murciélagos de Los Mochis, plays in the Premier League, a second-tier competition, at the 11,000-seat Estadio Centenario.
Pair a match with a visit to the nearby sporting facilities, which include running tracks, pools, tennis courts and baseball fields.
21. Pioneros basketball at CUM Los Mochis
The Pioneros have been playing basketball in Los Mochis since 1996, in the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico. Games are held at CUM Los Mochis.
An evening at a Pioneros game is an easy way to fill a night in the city, especially if you are between trains.
22. El Chepe and the Copper Canyon railway
Los Mochis is the western terminus of the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad, known as El Chepe, which runs through the Copper Canyon to Chihuahua. The line was approved by President Porfirio Díaz as a trade route linking the cattle markets of Kansas City with Topolobampo, the nearest Pacific port.
If you are arriving or leaving by train, build your city sightseeing around the departure. The railway provides daily passenger service.
23. Topolobampo
Nearby Topolobampo is a deepwater port known for commercial fishing and for its growing role in shipping. It is where Albert Kimsey Owen, enchanted by Ohuira Bay, imagined a city of the future where railways and shipping lines converged.
Combine a visit with the railway story: the port was the reason the line was built, and it continues to be developed along the lines Owen imagined.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at the Regional Museum of Valle del Fuerte to get the valley's history straight, then walk the historic center of the city, taking in the Plazuela 27 de Septiembre, the Casa del Centenario, the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón and the Church of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Finish the morning at the Venustiano Carranza Park to see the Monument to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
Afternoon. Visit the Trapiche Interactive Museum and the facilities of the old Sugar Mill, then the Benjamin Francis Johnston Botanical Garden (Sinaloa Park) once the heat has eased. If time allows, add the Innovation and Education Center and a stretch of the Linear Park Blvd. Rosendo G. Castro.
Evening. Go up the Cerro de la Memoria for the view over the city, walking or cycling the cycle path of the Cerro de la Memoria if you prefer. If you are travelling between November and January, finish at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada for a Cañeros de Los Mochis game; otherwise look for a performance at the City Theatre (Teatro Ingenio).
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time of year to visit Los Mochis?
Winters are dry and very warm, reaching around 30 °C in the day with almost no rainfall, which makes them comfortable for walking the city. Summers are extremely hot, with daytime highs near 40 °C and high humidity, and rainfall concentrates in August and September, when thunderstorms and occasional hurricanes are common.
When can I see the Cañeros de Los Mochis play?
The Liga Mexicana Pacifica is a winter league, so games are scheduled from mid-fall to mid-winter, with an 82-game season between November and January. Games are held at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada, also known as Chevron Park, and bleacher tickets start at M$100.
How do I get to Los Mochis without a car?
The city is the western terminus of the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad, El Chepe, which provides daily passenger service to Chihuahua. Los Mochis Airport offers domestic flights, mainly to Mexico's largest cities, and the city also sits on Mexican Federal Highway 15, the main north-south route from Nogales to Mexico City.
What is there to see outside the city itself?
Topolobampo, the nearby deepwater port, is known for commercial fishing and shipping, and it is where Albert Kimsey Owen imagined his city of the future on Ohuira Bay. The Copper Canyon lies along the El Chepe route, which begins here.
Work out your dates around the baseball season or the train timetable, and you can plan a stay in Los Mochis that fits neatly into a longer trip through northern Mexico.