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Santa Rosa National Park

Tropical Dry Forest

Infant spider monkey
Infant spider monkey

Santa Rosa National Park protects some of the last remaining tropical dry forest in the world. The small patch of oak forest near the entrance to the Comelco Ranch is probably representative of the original habitat of much of the park. Ranchers burned most of the plateau region, and African pasture grass (Hyparrenia rufa) and the fire resistant Bignoniaceae trees define the current landscape. Nearer the beaches the habitat becomes more native-like.

Guanacaste National Park was created in 1989 to connect Santa Rosa National Park with the high elevation cloud forest of Orosi and Cacao volcanoes and across the continental divide to the Caribbean rainforest of Northern Costa Rica. The hope is that together these two parks protect enough land to ensure sufficiently large habitats for wide-ranging species such as jaguars and mountain lions while simultaneously creating a biological corridor for birds and insects to make local seasonal migrations between the dry forest and the evergreen cloud and rain forests.

Playa Hachal Murcialago Santa Rosa
Playa Hachal Murcialago Santa Rosa

Beaches-Turtles, Scuba and Surfing

There are two important sea turtle nesting beaches in Santa Rosa, Naranjo and Nancite. The latter is one of two beaches in Costa Rica (the other is Ostional) where Pacific Ridley Sea Turtles come ashore each year in large arribadas to lay their eggs.

These mass arrivals can include thousands of individuals in a single night, usually on a new moon in late summer.

Sunset Cuajiniquil at the north border of Santa Rosa
Had to include this sunset at Cuajiniquil on our way out of the park because it’s just awesome

The beach at Naranjo is also famous for surfing, and the area near witch’s rock was a filming location for the cult surfing classic ‘Endless Summer II.’ There is a campground at Naranjo beach.

From outside the park you can arrange scuba-diving trips to Islas Murciélago, (the Bat Islands), off the Santa Elena Peninsula.

Hiking Trails and Maps

There are a number of excellent trails in Santa Rosa National Park for day or overnight trips.

1:50,000 Topographical maps are available online from Omni Maps (sheets CR50 3048 I, and CR50 3048 IV cover most of the park, but CR50 3048 II, and CR50 3048 III are required for the southern edges)

When to Visit

This is one of the hotter drier areas of Costa Rica, and the whole Guanacaste region has more predictable seasons than the rest of Costa Rica. The chance of rain is much less during the dry season from December to April.

Although it is fairly likely that it will rain on any given day during the rainy season (AKA the green season), it is also fairly likely that it will be a short shower in mid-afternoon. The rainy season which lasts from May until November is also usually interrupted by a two or three week dry spell in late July or August called the veranillo de San Juan (little summer).


or see summary

Use the menu to check the seasonal information to help you decide the best month for your visit.

Getting There

Fording German Creek
Fording German Creek

Location – Santa Rosa National Park is located at the northwestern tip of Costa Rica 118 miles (190 km) northwest of San José (136 miles, 219 km by road). Nearest towns Liberia & La Cruz.

Driving directions – From San José, take the Interamerican Highway (1) north 136 miles (219 km) passing through San Ramon, Cañas, and Liberia to the signed left turn at the entrance road.
Bus – Unfortunately there is not a direct way to reach the Santa Rosa Ranger Station by bus. Buses from San José or Liberia to La Cruz and the Nicaraguan border will drop you at the turnoff from the PanAmerican Highway and you’ll have to walk or hitch-hike the 4miles (7 km) to La Casona.
Air – The nearest airport is LIR outside Liberia.

Quick Facts Santa Rosa National Park

Santa Rosa National Park Location
Santa Rosa National Park Location

One of Costa Rica’s larger parks, Santa Rosa covers 49,515 hectares with a wide range of habitats including beach, mangrove estuary, marine, pasture/farm, and tropical dry forest.

History at Santa Rosa National Park

Santa Rosa may owe its early designation as a National Park to an attempted invasion by U.S. troops. The battle that occurred here is a source of great pride in Costa Rica, and the historical significance of the park helped win its protection by executive decrees in 1970 and 1977.

La Casona Santa Rosa National Park
La Casona

William Walker was an American lawyer who had designs on an empire. In June of 1855 he arrived in Nicaragua, propped up a failing regime, and set him self up as Commander-in-Chief. With this tenuous authority, he planned to convert all of Central America into slaving territory and use the slaves to build a canal from Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific (the San Juan River is navigable from Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean so this canal would have linked the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as the Panama Canal does today).

Museum Santa Rosa N.P.
Museum Santa Rosa N.P.

With the financial backing of the Confederate Union of the southern United States, Walker sent an international army of mercenaries into Costa Rica. When word of the invasion reached the capital, President Juan Rafael Mora organized 9,000 civilians to march to Guanacaste. At the hacienda of Santa Rosa on March 20, 1856, the mercenaries were routed in a 14 minute battle. The victorious Ticos pushed Walker’s forces across the border into Nicaragua where they made another stand in a wooden fort in Rivas. On April 11, 1856 a drummer boy named Juan Santamaría, from Alajuela volunteered to set the fort afire, and although he successfully flushed the mercenaries he lost his life in the battle. He is remembered as a hero.

Saws and Wheels Santa Rosa la Casona
Saws and Wheels

Walker returned to the United States, where he practiced law for a while before returning to Central America in another takeover attempt. In 1860, he was captured by the Honduran government, found guilty of treason and shot. Interestingly, another central figure in this history met a similar fate. President Mora lost political favor and his job after the battle. When he tried to regain control of the country in a military coup, he was captured, tried for treason and died in front of a firing squad the same year as Walker.

Amazingly, this single incident encompasses much of the military history of Costa Rica. While Ticos are proud of their war heroes, and established Santa Rosa National Park in part to protect La Casona and the other buildings where the victory occurred, they are even prouder of their remarkably peaceful history.

La Casona Hacienda was the site of the most famous battle in Costa Rican history. Now it’s a museum and part of Santa Rosa National Park. This historic building was the site of the ‘epic’ Battle of Santa Rosa in 1856 and has been preserved as a monument. There are displays of military paraphernalia and everyday life at a Tico Hacienda in the mid 1800’s. Keep an eye out for the Long-tongued Bats that roost in the eves of the buildings.

Ray & Sue

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National Parks
  • Poás Volcano National Park
  • Poás Volcano – Tickets & Visitor Information
  • Cerro Chirripó National Park
  • Tortuguero National Park
  • Corcovado National Park
  • Arenal Volcano National Park
  • Manuel Antonio National Park
  • Rincón de la Vieja National Park
  • Irazú Volcano National Park
  • La Cangreja National Park
  • La Amistad International Peace Park
  • Ballena National Park
  • Barbilla National Park
  • Barra Honda Caverns National Park
  • Las Baulas National Marine Park
  • Braulio Carrillo National Park
  • Cahuita National Park
  • Carara National Park
  • Guanacaste National Park
  • Isla del Cocos National Park



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