Islay Creek Campground, near Los Osos, California, is a cozy spot tucked away in Montaña de Oro State Park, where the rugged coastline meets lush landscapes. This campground offers a laid-back vibe with sites that are well-spaced, allowing for a bit of privacy while still being close to nature.

You’ll find clean facilities, including vault toilets and picnic tables, making it easy to settle in and enjoy your stay. Many visitors rave about the short walk to the beach and the stunning views from the nearby hiking trails. One camper noted, “The views, the hike along the bluff trail, the beach cove, all spectacular!”

For those who love wildlife, expect to see plenty of birds and maybe even some bunnies hopping around. The area is perfect for hiking, with trails that lead you through beautiful scenery and down to hidden beaches. If you’re into campfires, you’re in luck—fires are allowed, and firewood is available nearby.

While the campground doesn’t have electric hookups or showers, it makes up for it with its natural beauty and peaceful atmosphere. Whether you’re tent camping or bringing an RV, Islay Creek Campground is a great base for exploring the wonders of Montaña de Oro State Park.

Montana de Oro camping features rugged cliffs, secluded sandy beaches, coastal plains, streams, canyons, and hills, including 1,347-foot Valencia Peak. Naturalists and backpackers enjoy the solitude and freedom found along the park's trails. There are also mountain biking and equestrian trails. The best-known beach is Spooner's Cove, across from the campground. The park's name, "Mountain of Gold," comes from the golden wildflowers that bloom in spring. Wildlife in the park includes black tailed deer and the black oystercatcher. The park includes primitive and equestrian campsites.

A primitive campground in the canyon behind the Spooner Ranch House offers 47 campsites for tents, trailers, or motorhomes. The vehicle length limit for all trailers and motorhomes is 27 feet. Tables, firepits, drinking water, and primitive toilets are nearby. There are no showers or dump stations.
 Some campers may prefer the walk-in environmental campsites, which are secluded but campers should not be surprised to wake up to the yapping of coyotes or the rustling of other nighttime creatures.

For those who wish to bring horses to the park and camp overnight, there are six horse camps for family and group outings, complete with pipe corrals and limited parking for horse trailers. No horse rentals are available.

Islay Creek Campground — Montaña de Oro State Park

Are you in need of a campground near Los Osos, CA? Los Osos is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Los Osos, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Los Osos

The Best Camping Near Los Osos, California

This is a beautiful area to camp!  Not many sites, but they are full much of the time so make sure to reserve early.  The park is a beautiful place to do hiking.  There are many trails to choose from.  The park is about a 5-10 minute drive to Morro Bay which is a fun little town to check out as well.  I highly recommend Montana de Oro :)

bit of heaven

This is a fabulous coastal state park and campground. There is plenty of shade and fog that keep the sites cool. Bring a sweater, even during summer. Hiking paths weave around the shoreline and give you access to the beautiful golden rock formations that jut out into the water.

Coastal Breezes, Sycamore Forests and Golden Cliffs Will Enchant You

Pretty basic but nice camp ground. Close enough to walk to a cute little beach. Bathrooms but no showers.

Great remote spot

It's worth dragging your stuff up a small path to get away from the crowds. You can surf and mountain bike here. Our tent was even visited by some people on horse back!

Get an environmental campsite 

This campground is quiet and super spacious compared to other campsites.  It's a short distance/walk to the beach, a hike, horseback riding and biking.  Its beautiful!  The downside is the lack of storage to put your dry goods, no showers and the raccoons-they will attack any food item left out and there are no showers.  There are "pit" toilets/outhouses located a short distance from your campsite.  My family and I have been visiting this campsite for years and we love it.

Peaceful and Spacious Camp Sites!

You can camp just steps from Spooners Cove (great place for swimming!) in Islay Creek Campground. It’s in the Montana De Oro State Park. There are about 50 campsites on either side of a in and out kind of lollipop road up on a flat hill above Spooner’s Cove. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring with grill, and there are a couple of clean vault toilets scattered in the campground. There are some nice trees, but most sites are not suited to hammocking. Many sites will be in full sun most of the day, and there is not much privacy. There is a trail that cuts through the campground, and there are many trailheads nearby. I would not suggest bringing your dog with you because while pets are allowed in the campground, they are not allowed on the trails or on the beach. Also, if you want a fire plan on bringing your own wood or buying it from the camp host as you are not allowed to forage for downed wood. The camp host didn’t seem to have a problem with me collecting some of the wild nasturtiums to add to my dinner (so fun to have edible flowers on my salad, wish I took a picture!).

Supposedly there is a horse camp not too far away, but I can neither confirm or deny as I did not go looking for it.

Spooner's Cove access

This campground was in a great location, but that's the end of the good. There was very little shade, and the toilets were just holes in the ground. It did not seem well maintained, and I will not be going there again.

Small campground on the central coast

Hikes, ocean, cliffs, caves. Amazing place.

Most beautiful place on earth

While not a glamourous campsite, mostly a level area, its near the awesome hidden gem of Montana de Oro and lessor known beach. Makes for an easy walk to the seaside bluffs and cliffs for stunning views of the ocean without the huge number of crowds found at other beach camp sites.

Hidden Gem on Central Coast

This campground is near the beach on the central California coast . It has tent and RV sites. The only amenities are non-flushing toilets and water . There are no lights at night, so it is very dark. A flashlight is a must. Our site did not have a flat spot for a tent so we had to pitch it on a parking spot .

Basic campground on central California coast.

The best part of this campground is access to the beach. We were there in early July and the water was like ice but absolutely beautiful. The campground itself was ok, it was a bit more primitive than I’m used to, but the sites themselves were nice. Each had a picnic table and fire ring. Most of the sites were nice sized as far as I could tell. There are no showers and only vault toilets so I wouldn’t stay here for more than 2 nights. Another perk is how it feels so far removed from civilization, but it’s really not. 

Beautiful cove

Sorry for the alliteration...we really enjoyed this CA State Park campground that is so close to the Pacific you can walk from your site to Spooner’s Cove Beach (dog-friendly). LOTS of trails for any activity you choose: hiking, biking, horseback riding, birding, nature ID walks...you name it! This is a gem!

Chill Coastal Canyon Campground 

This place is amazing! Love the “hidden” beaches, the hiking trails and the beautiful beach! 

Amazing!

My favorite thing about this campground are the 4 primitive sites scattered throughout the park—#4 being particularly incredible. Quiet, peaceful and surrounded by skies perched out atop a hill. It is close to the hiking trail so there’s typically foot traffic throughout the day, but you really couldn’t ask for a more quintessential coastal camping experience. Non-strenuous, short distance, easy access hike/gentle walk to the site from where you park. You can request it with the host in the main camp during check in—you won’t regret it. So many stars, beautiful skies and trails accessible to all hiking levels

Wonderful primitive campsites

This was our very first trip in our new TT.  It was a little chilly at night, but the crashing of the surf made it magical.  Fiercely big raccoons :)

  

The camp host was great, and the sites are not huge, but decently spaced.

What a spectacular place!

Montana de Oro is a beautiful treasure located along a wild coastline, sand dunes, tall peaks and high cliffs above beautiful beaches. Tent camping is limited but the availability of group horse camping is a rare treat. With pipe corrals, pit toilets and trails to the ocean, these site are primitive but worth it. The park has plenty of sun and shade, with mostly eucalyptus trees, great hiking trails and a beach with car parking that is popular with tourists and a few secret beaches locals know. Wildflowers abound in the spring and a car friendly paved road takes to the end and back with plenty of bathrooms and a State Park office/store you can get maps and tips. 

Tent and Group Horse Camping

Small campground in a beautiful area surrounded by hills right next to the beach. Hidden gem &amp; a MUST see. Local firewood in Los osos on the corner of 9th street &amp; pismo street for cheap. Try local restaurant beerwood or the Alehouse on Los osos valley road on the way to the campground. Beautiful year round. All sites equally spaced and good-you’ll love anyone you get! 

Quiet clean and private 

We spent our first night in environmental site 3, which was absolutely stunning. The walk to the campsite is short, but be advised, uphill. We had all our car camping equipment and big tent so it was a lot of work. Totally worth it though to get up there and be perched alone at the top of a little bluff with the hills behind us and the ocean/cliffs sprawled below. Absolutely snag this site if you can. 

The second two nights we stayed down in the regular campground at site 27. Very spacious sites. Our site was along the road and didn't have shade. All sites on the south side of the road back to a large hill and I'd try to get something in sites 8-17 or back in the 40s if we go back. They had more shade and seemed more private than sites along the main stretch of road.

Ticks are SO bad this year, so come prepared and diligently check yourselves and things. The campground host was very friendly and helpful. 

The views, the hike along the bluff trail, the beach cove, all spectacular!

Try the environmental campsites!

Coolest little tucked away camp group with the most amazing beach and view of the coast line 

Amazing spot 

One of my favorite established campgrounds this far. Small and secluded and plenty of space between most sites. Wood and water both widely available, not sure about electric though. Short walk to Bluff Trail trailhead and Spooner’s cove. 

Beautiful, clean & quiet

I loved walking to the ocean in the morning.  Many birds and bunnies hopping around.  
I would not choose my spot again.  

Nice location, my site had no privacy 

This place is 10/10. Clean bathrooms, quiet and quaint. Close to one of the most beautiful beaches. The campsites in the way back are the best..much quieter. 

Beautiful!

This campground is quiet and spaces aren't too close together. East walk to trails and the beach at the cove. 

Great campground 

Came here on a recommendation from a friend. Beautiful beach in this area. The beach area is very popular. But I was able to get a campsite no problem on a beautiful week in March. 

  

There's plenty to do here--visit the beach, walk on the cliffs, see the wildflowers. I'll definitely be back.

Beautiful Setting

Although the location is very scenic and a 10 min walk to the beach, I wouldn’t return because there are ALOT of ticks at the campground. We went with a party of 11 and found multiple ticks on 5 people. I remember combing the reviews on this site and saw someone posted two years ago that there were a lot of ticks and just wanted to confirm that there still are, so camp with caution.

Lots of ticks at campground

Oh, hello you beautiful cove with your heavy waves and moss laden boulders. Hello more birds, more deer, more meddling raccoons than expected. Hello hiking and biking trails. Hello local market with your reasonably priced ice and more reasonably priced beer. Hello. How have you been off my radar all this time?

I've lived only several hours away for 11 years without knowing this simple loop campground was even here. The state park offers days worth of outdoor activity and views forever and ever, with the ability to feel alone only miles from town. The sunset from the cliff is a must.

There is a little camp store, but it was closed during my visit (closes at 4pm). The campground is spare, and the camp host spent the better part of the day I was there smoking weed with friends. No shade, you do you, and they were friendly but the campground wasn't as kept as it could be. My site had trash from the previous resident and the grounds were...okay. The campground is fairly open site to site with the bathrooms in the middle, which I was surprised to find were flush with a faucet. There are two water spigots but they are a bit hard to find. They are right in the middle but hidden behind things. 

Sites 17-19 have a decent amount of shade and the most foliage separation. They back up to the park, and there are trails on the hillside above, so people coming off the trail might kind of be able to see you (briefly) as they pass. Raccoons will 100% rush your site as soon as you go to sleep to see if there are any fun goodies laying about. Put stuff away. Some sites have bear boxes, so I assume...bears. However, not every site had one. I assume because the bears aren't that much of an issue, but I'm not a bear expert, or anything.

Feels wild! A hidden gem despite a less than engaged host

A beautiful spot. I was hear with a very large group where we split up into smaller group tent sites. We had a good experience but had problems with raccoons trying to get in our tents at night

Beautiful spot 

The campground is pretty and ideally located right in front of a stunning beach. However, our experience with the host was very disappointing. We had agreed with her the day before to check out at 12:30 instead of 12:00, but at 12:00 she showed up and started yelling at us to leave. When we reminded her of our agreement, she seemed to have completely forgotten and was extremely rude. It was an uncomfortable experience. Also, note that the toilets are dry composting toilets — so there are no standard facilities. While the natural surroundings are beautiful, the atmosphere created by the host and the basic amenities left much to be desired.

Nice Location, Poor Hosting Experience

Ignore CAMPGROUND FULL sign at north end near Los Osos as you drive into park about 5 miles north of campground. People cancel and sign is not updated on regular basis. Spooner Ranch House open daily 10am-4pm provides good historical background before taking scenic coastal walk along the Bluff Trail. Other more adventurous inland hike/bike trails also available. Front loop offers camping spaces slightly further apart. Pit toilets in center of loops generally clean.  Asphalt paved parking slots a little sloped but can level with blocks. Very dry and brown in campground in August. Foggy and cool most of day... only saw sun a few minutes. Nice paved almost level parking lot with views of Morro Bay about half-way between entrance and campground.  Beautiful beach with non-RV parking right below Ranch House. 

Beautiful Bluff Beach Walk

It was great camping at Islay Creek Campground. It was peaceful, beautiful surroundings, and a decent amount of space between campsites. The coastal air, hills, and nearby ocean views made it a great escape. Access to hiking trails, tide pools, and scenic drives. Watch for ticks, found one on my dog so keep out of the tall grass.

Sites were clean and well cared for, restrooms were not a far walk from my campsite and the overall vibe was quiet and relaxing. Limited cell service, if you’re trying to unplug. Nights get cool and foggy, so pack layers.

Would definitely camp here again.

Photos of Islay Creek Campground — Montaña de Oro State Park

Real photos from real campers