Before the 1920s, the place had no human habitation and only wandering fisherman working in the upper Gulf of California came here. The first hotel was built here by Arizona resident John Stone in the 1920s to cater to the people who came here after crossing the border to escape Prohibition. Flight service from Tucson and Phoenix were started, and a water well was drilled to bring in tourists. However, after a quarrel with the locals, Stone destroyed the water well and the hotel before he left.

Settlement grew again between 1930 and 1941 after a railroad was built in the 1930s to link the rest of Mexico to Baja California, which passed by Puerto Peñasco. However, tourism didn’t thrive until 1993, when the government joined hands with private investors to construct condominiums and other facilities.

In the early 1990s, after the set up of Plaza Las Glorias, more hotels and condos were built. Many restaurants, bars and supermarkets were also set up to cater to the growing tourist population. Though the region experienced some economic instability between 1994 and 1995, the development didn’t get derailed and came back strongly by 1999. The region saw a steady economic growth from 2002 to 2007. Though the real estate market suffered during the economic slowdown in 2007, it has recovered since then and created amenities to woo tourists from far and beyond.