Established Camping
Nira Campground
About
National Forest
Los Padres National Forest
Overview
Nira Campground is a beautiful site covered in oak trees and located along Manzana Creek. Whether you come to cast a line in the river, camp and relax, ride horses, mountain bike or hike, Nira offers a scenic location with a variety of recreation activities.
Recreation
Along with hiking, mountain biking, fishing and swimming, Nira Campground is a great starting point for backpacking and deer hunting expeditions into the San Rafael Wilderness. Located on Manzana Creek just upstream from the mouth of Davy Brown Creek, a trailhead provides access for various trails up and down Manzana Creek that enter the San Rafael Wilderness.
Facilities
While tent camping is best enjoyed in this cozy campground, there is room for small RVs under 20 feet. Nira has 12 campsites, each site includes a picnic table, barbecue grill and/or a fire ring. Sites 1-3 are tent and car camping sites only (no RVs due to size restrictions). There is a vault toilet in the campground. There is no drinking water at this site.
Natural Features
Nira Campground is surrounded and shaded by oak tree- covered mountains. Whether you're a beginner in the art of birdwatching, or an experienced birder, Nira will not disappoint. A bounty of birds such as king-fishers, juncos, Stellar jays, white-breasted nuthatches, warblers and many more flourish in this section of the Los Padres National Forest.
Nearby Attractions
The Manzana River runs through the campground where swimming and fishing are favorite activities. The trailhead for San Rafael Wilderness is easily accessible. Los Olivios, Santa Ynez, Solvang and Buelton are all within a one hour's drive.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Tent Cabin
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
Quite on a cold night, busy on holidays
We enjoyed a spur of the moment night away in our four wheel camper at Nira on a chilly (28f) night. We had the place to ourselves! Trail head directly from parking lot and campground. Like most of the Los Padres near cities, I’m sure it gets super busy on holiday and nice weather weekends.
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Nice and Peaceful
Beautiful drive to get to Nira with stunning views. Had a nice visit having the whole campground to ourselves, although the nearby trailheads had several cars. The sites are nicely dispersed with a running creek nearby. The creek had a good flow and the oak trees provide lots of shade. Campground has bathrooms and dumpsters on site. The whole area is serene and pleasing. We took a small hike on the lower manzana trail which had awesome views.
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Beautiful start to backpacking trip
Nira Campground is a great start to a backpacking trip into the San Rafael wilderness. This is a remote campground, bring all amenities including water. Excellent views along the Manzana trail.
Location
Nira Campground is located in California
Directions
To get there from Hwy 154: Armour Ranch Rd./ Happy Canyon Rd. 11 miles northeast to Cachuma Saddle, Sunset Valley Rd. 6 miles north.
Coordinates
34.7705 N
119.9375 W