The history of San Felipe began later with the expeditions of Francisco de Ulloa, one of Cortés's captains who navigated the bay in September 1535.

In 1536, Hernando de Alarcón and Domingo Castillo explored the region and made the first detailed map of the peninsula, giving San Felipe its original name, Santa Catalina.

Juan de Ugarte later built the first ship in Baja California and explored the area, arriving in San Felipe on July 5, 1721.

It was not until 1925, during the administration of General Abelardo L. Rodríguez, territorial governor, that San Felipe began to incorporate, when the first fishing camps were established and the government organized the first sub-delegation and school.

By 1947, the Compañía Industrial del Golfo de Cortés, owned by José María Rodríguez Luján, bought the land from Guillermo Andrade's estate to build an international tourist center.

San Felipe experiences one of the largest tidal bores in the world due in part to the Colorado River delta to the north.

[5] The port of San Felipe is a small town historically dependent on fishing and now on tourism, catering mostly to travelers from the United States.

San Felipe was a popular spring break spot for residents of the Western U.S. states and northern Mexico, due to its many tourist attractions.

Several hotels, ranches, camp sites and RV parks in or near the town offer volleyball, tennis, pools, bathing areas and fishing.

In 2007 the SCORE race was changed to Ensenada due to a disagreement between the local ejidos, but the issues were resolved and returned to San Felipe in 2008 and has been held there since.

Most of the riders make a run from Temecula, California, but the event attracts bikers from many different places as far as Cancun, Mexico or New York The three day event includes several contest and get together experiences like a rock concert sponsored by the local authorities and gets up to 90% of the different lodgings available in town.DiabloRun One of the lesser known sightseeing trips in San Felipe is a boat ride to Konsag Island.