Mt. Figueroa Campground

Great time. Very nice campsites. Quiet

When I read the reviews that mentioned the flies- I figured they were written by people who didn’t camp often and weren’t used to bugs. Well I was wrong. The flies were absolutely unbearable. No chance of relaxing without being totally swarmed by flies and eaten alive by whatever my family got bit up by. Also, we were in site #22 which is directly downwind of the pit toilets. We cut our trip short and left first thing in the morning after our first night. I gave it two stars because if it weren’t for the above mentioned, the place is beautiful. Lots of pretty manzanita tree and it’s shaded in. Nice summer breeze in the nighttime.

First you need to drive 12 miles on narrow rough road. Then we were thinking is this even going anywhere. At the end there was decent campground. Remember to take CASH for fee.

There were also lots of bugs during the spring

The camp is just how others described. It was lovely weather on Friday when we arrived late April. Not windy and not hot. Saturday morning was very cloudy and it ended up raining. It cleared up and was sunny, but became very windy. Definitely needed to secure everything. Sunday it started to get very warm and that’s when the flies came out. Luckily we were on the way out. The middle sites aren’t as private as the outer sites. The toilets were pretty cleaned and stocked and the camp host was lovely. I think spring and fall might be the best times of year for this campground. I’m not sure I could deal with the flies otherwise.

This is a great 35 campsite campground located about 50 miles from Santa Barbara. There are hiking trails with views of the forest and mountains to explore.

Every campsite has a fire ring and picnic table.

This is a really good place to camp. It’s far from anything major so the night sky is very visible. In August, as other reviews mention, there are a lot of flies from sun up to sun down. Harmless but annoying. Book in advance if you can. I arrived in the evening at 8/9pm on a Friday (busy season and a busy day) and was able to get the last available site but several other cars came through after me looking for spots. There aren’t a lot of backup options in the area The site is well maintained and a host was onsite too As always bring cash for fee

Great camp sites. Definitely better to tent or car camp in rather than use an RV. During the summer, it is hot and muggy attracting lots of bugs. The road to get in is very narrow. This would have probably been a more enjoyable experience in fall or early spring.

The road up to the campsite is incredibly narrow and there isn’t a ton of signage. We ended up camping on a gravel lot off the side of a turn off road. The view was AMAZING and the sunset was gorgeous as well. Not a terrible spot, but not ideal either. About 1 hour from the closest beaches.

We live about two hours away and couldn’t believe we hadn’t heard about this spot before. We came on a monday and the crowds had just left so we had most of the site to ourselves. The hosts were generous and offered to see us wood but there was plenty of wood from the previous campers (plus we had brought our own). At around 10 it got incredibly windy and stayed that way all night but luckily the trees acted as a wind buffer most of the time. Its a very nice secluded spot and we’ll be sure to go again!!

We loved this campground destination! Out of all of our trips so far (12) this is our favorite! Let’s start with the drive - it’s a long windy road to get up to the campground. One lane, two way street but it’s very doable! You pass the nondescript Neverland Ranch too. Beautiful drive to the campground. Then, the campground itself is so pleasant. Every site was sold out for this weekend and although it was full, it wasn’t crowded or noisy. Lovely, very short walk to a lookout within the campground to see the gorgeous sunset. Facilities were very well kept. The two camp hosts are two of the most cheerful people we’ve met yet while camping. They tour the campground frequently and interact with the campers. They are terrific! Ok so then, we set out to reach Mt Fig Lookout. Head out of the camp to the left about 1/3 mile or so then head up the blocked off dirt roadway. The trail is well maintained. It’s about 2.5 miles up to the lookout and it was worth every step. Very beautiful. T-Mobile poor coverage. Possible to text sometimes but if you head to the sunset lookout we got 2 bars. Plenty of good cell coverage on the Mt Fig lookout hike. We will definitely return to this place for sure!

This campsite with its gorgeous Manzanita Trees and forestry landscapes left us feeling at peace with nature. It was quiet and felt like we were a million miles from home ( we live 2 hrs away) I highly recommend this site and the hosts are fabulous.

During our second visit to the forest we settled on a spot we found close to the road but still hidden with a definite moving water source. We ended up making 2 separate campsites. One near our tent where we’d chill and I prepped another down by the babbling brook for the morning and our French press breakfast. I made 2 separate fire rings and made sure we had proper safety to prevent any wild fires. They were properly extinguished and buried before we left camp. The site was cool. Unfortunately the wind picked up to gusts of 30+mph and it made for a rough morning given the wind kept us up. The site also was hidden from the sun path so sun didn’t hit it till 930am and it set early around 430pm. Prob better summer spot then or maybe spring so good to know it’s there as an option in Los Padres National Forest. Regardless we made the best of it and also ended up going for a 2mile hike to Ballard Camp to check it out for possible future backpacking trips.

While visiting Los Padres National forest on a Valentines Weekend, we unfortunately couldn’t do much camping near the higher altitudes due to high wind gusts so we headed toward the other camps, Davy Brown and Nina. Only problem was these were all reserved!! Why I hate most camping in California Bc nothing is ever available. Either way I hate these type of campgrounds where there are fire pits, and bathrooms, and typically more humans nearby. So we ditched that and settled on a campsite off the road since the sun was setting. It was off one of the many horse/hike trails and was at least flat and somewhat further from the road and hidden by brush and trees. It was a nice night and enjoyed a quiet night alone on the forest. We only needed to do an overnight since we were doing the wineries and we’re staying at an bed and breakfast the next night. Overall it was nice but rather stay in 2 other spots we found that could make for future camping trips. ☺️⛺️

We camped here in Late November. It was definitely cold at night, so bring proper equipment for near freezing temps.

We brought our dog with us and she had a great time. There are TONS of awesome trails around to walk, hike, or bike.

I would recommend a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to the spot depending on which route you take. If you follow the google maps directions, the road is a bit rough in spots.

If you are following the paved road and see a dirt road called “tunnel road” you can take a right on that and follow it to the recreation area.

There are tons of spots to camp.

We did not have a fire due to high fire danger and wouldn’t recommend it without the proper permits and fire conditions!

Overall this was a wonderful campsite!

We found this great dispersed site (free US Forest) just off the Tunnel Road sign for the Mt. Figueroa campgrounds. There is a dirt road that takes you there but it looks like you might need AWD/4WD during rainy seasons since the road had some deep ruts. We came when it was dry season in a 2WD Eurovan w/ regular street tires.

We camped at the end of October (high temp was upper 80s, low temp was lower 60s) and there were still many flies so be sure to bring netting or repellant. The slightly unlevel site offered a great sunrise view as well as a sunset view over Sawmill basin.

We didn’t see any other campers around us. Even though we camped by the side of the dirt road, no one passed us the whole night.

Coordinates: 34° 44’ 0.480 N 119° 59’ 26.850 W

Awesome campground. Campground host Amber was awesome. Very knowledgeable about the area and extremely friendly. Tons of room at each campsite! Great local hiking! Tons of flies from dawn until about 6pm. No water at all so make sure you pack it in! Great experience!!! Will definitely be going here again!

Visited in late August. Campsite was easy to get to and find, the last several miles into the campground is a single-vehicle paved road. There’s room to pull to the side for opposing traffic. Our site (#21) was clean and spacious. The host was friendly. All the reviews are true, there are sooo many flies here, they swarm you especially in the heat of mid-day. A mosquito net was very helpful in keeping them out of our canopy. They’re mostly an annoyance and clear away when temps lower at night. The sites were spaced far enough apart where we did not get bothered by noise from neighboring sites. Most sites can fit 2 cars back to back, but we had a 3rd car with a rooftop tent and the host was kind enough to allow us to park within the site in the dirt. There doesn’t seem to be a bear problem since there are trash cans throughout the grounds with easy-to-open lids. Overall, it’s a nice campground to get out of the city for a weekend but in the summer, there isn’t much to see or do other than sit out with some cold drinks and let the flies swarm you.

The family went up and enjoyed FigMtn campgrounds. The site is large but has a lot of flies. I would not recommend trailers or fifth wheels. This is mainly tent camping. 

Cost:$20 

Size: Good 

People allowed per site: 6 

Vehicles allowed per site: 1 

Hookups: No water, no electric, no dumping 

Includes: Bonfire pit, Grill, Table 

Bathrooms: Non-flush toilets(three locations) 

Camp host: Yes, Amber is great 

Bugs: Lots of flies. Did not have any issues with mosquitos  

Cellphone Service: Verizon has spotty service, but works better than most other big name companies. 

First Come First Serve: Yes, but they fill up fast on weekends during spring, summer and fall. I would recommend getting a reservation.

*Notes: 

1. Fires are only allowed in camping grounds. 

2. Website says you have to stay two nights, but camp host does not require that.

This place is so secluded from the outside world I almost turned back on our way there for fear of getting lost in the mountains! Whenever you think you’ve gone too far, just go a little bit farther and it will be around the corner. It’s such a serene and quiet place on the side of the mountain. I loved every moment of our trip. Except the wind! The last night we were there we could’ve sailed down the mountain with how hard the wind was blowing!

The bathrooms are nice and clean, the campsites are very nice, I loved that each of them have its own fire pit, some have picnic tables. And you’re just far enough away from everyone that you can enjoy their company or be as private as you like.

Figueroa Campground is a 33-35 site campground behind Los Olivos, CA. It is surrounded by live oaks and gorgeous manzanita trees, so there is a lot of shade available.

Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table. There are no hook ups, and only pit-toilets are available. Note that there is NO DRINKING WATER available at Figueroa Campground, so be sure to bring plenty of water, especially if you plan to hike or backpack through the area.

There is a a lot of hiking trails available in the nearby area. Both Figueroa Mountain and nearby Grass Mountain are extremely popular hiking spots, especially in early spring when the wildflowers bloom in late March or early April . During the wildflower bloom, the sides of the hills and mountains can look solid vibrant ORANGE from afar - the wild California poppies grow dense in this area. Purple mountain lupine flowers are also found during the wildflower bloom.

If you or anyone in your party does not want to/cannot hike, the top of Figueroa Mountain is completely assessable by car - all of the big lookout points for optimal wildflower viewing are accessible by car, so the wildflowers are essentially accessible to everyone, hikers or not.

The Davy Brown Creek and Manzana Creek trails are also accessible from the Figueroa Mountain area; the area is popular for cyclists and off-road cyclists.

WARNING: You ARE in black bear country! While it is unlikely that a black bear will enter the campground, I would suggest locking your food and coolers in your car at night, as there are no food lockers in the campground. When hiking be aware of your surroundings: Black bears, coyotes, mountain lions, bob cats, and coyotes have been seen on the trails.

While the campground is fairly remote in the the hills, you are only 20 minutes away from Los Olivos, and 30 minutes away from Santa Ynez. Los Olivos has a great market with groceries, a bakery/coffee shop, a deli, and beer and local wine. There are many local vineyards, wineries, and breweries nearby. The Firestone Walker brewery, taproom, and Resturant is close-by - we highly recommend their food and beers!

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $20/night (+ $10/ extra vehicle)

Plumbed Toilets: No - vault

Drinking Water: No

Showers: No

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: Yes

Cell Service: No

Animal Bins/Food lockers: No

Trash: Yes

This campground was great. There was plenty of space for our quite large tent and the picnic tables and fire pits were well placed. The latrines near our site were some of the cleanest we’ve seen so far.