Best Tent Camping near Cayucos, CA

Tent campers visiting the Central California coast find several primitive options within driving distance of Cayucos. Nacimiento Campground, located approximately 10 miles from the Big Sur coastline, offers a secluded tent camping experience along the Nacimiento River with only 9-10 sites total. Alder Creek Camp provides more remote tent camping in the Los Padres National Forest with limited development and minimal facilities.

Access to tent sites varies significantly by location. Nacimiento Campground features drive-in tent sites with picnic tables and fire pits, though no potable water is available. Vault toilets are present but no showers. Alder Creek Camp requires high-clearance or 4x4 vehicles to navigate the 8-mile forest road from Highway 1, with several primitive spots available along the route. According to one visitor, "Anyone who wants to go exploring, this is your place! Great views all the way up." Most tent areas operate on a first-come, first-served basis with no reservations accepted, requiring flexible planning.

Summer temperatures at these coastal-adjacent tent sites typically remain moderate compared to inland locations. Sites at Nacimiento Campground sit beside the river, which provides natural white noise that drowns out road sounds. Tree cover offers valuable shade for tent setups, and most sites include suitable trees for hammocks. A camper noted that "it's right next to a creek with fish to play in," making it particularly appealing for those seeking water proximity. Tent campsites in this region generally lack cell service, with reception often requiring a 7-10 mile drive from camp. The primitive nature of these tent locations translates to minimal light pollution, creating excellent night sky viewing opportunities during clear weather periods.

Best Tent Sites Near Cayucos, California (8)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Cayucos, CA

568 Reviews of 8 Cayucos Campgrounds


  • E
    Feb. 28, 2025

    Ponderosa Campground

    Nice quiet spot in early spring

    We camped here February 24-26, 2025. The forest service website indicated the campground is open all year, but when we arrived on the site one through four were available. Beyond site number five was a locked gate. Site five was closed due to “hazardous tree“. The stream was running plentifully and gave a lovely background noise. Sites 1 & 2 share a parking pad which is almost level. Site 1 is completely exposed and quite spacious and full of ground squirrel disruption. Site 2 is very convenient to the parked car, and it was our choice because we sleep in our van. Most of the water taps were not operable but the one by the toilet near the entrance did work and was labeled “non-potable, not for drinking or cooking”. The tap in site number 2 had no handle and was dripping at a rapid pace so we hung a bucket on that tap and use the collected water for handwashing. There were trash cans conveniently located to all of the sites, and there was a good supply of toilet paper, but even though the weather was cool, the toilet closest to the entrance was a bit smelly. It is a pit stop for people driving over or back on Naciemiento-Ferguson Road. I noted that reviewers indicated that they were plagued by flies and yellow jackets in the mid summer, but we had only a couple of flies, no yellow jackets. The weather was predicted to be sunny and pleasant with highs of 70° based on checking the weather reports for Jolon, California. It was almost a new moon and the stars at night we’re gorgeous. There was heavy dew which turned into frost in the early morning. We saw the occasional lizard and a couple of slow moving salamanders. We saw no raccoons, and considering that they have switched from having dumpsters to having trash cans I suspect that raccoons are not a problem. There was a posted memo dated February 2 reported that for the Monterey Ranger district, campfire restrictions were lifted until March 25, due to sufficient rain having been received. We walked the loop of the other campsites; some of them have the picnic table and fire ring located some distance from the parking spot, a few are possibly suitable for RV camping but most of those would require at least some leveling. I don’t know when they plan to open the rest of the sites, but probably March would be a good time to come and enjoy this campground. Bring your own drinking water. The fee is expensive for a no-water campground, but I was willing to pay the discounted price with my lifetime senior pass.

  • Annie C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 1, 2018

    Nacimiento Campground

    Hidden jem

    If you can’t secure a spot on the coast in Big Sur, this might be a nice option for you. Tucked in the forest along the Nacimiento River is this nice little campground with just a few campsites (9 or 10 sites total). There really isn’t room for RV’s or campers (I think the limit is 25 feet), so most of your neighbors will be tents. Sites are set right next to the river which drowns out any road noise. Sites are also fairly close to each other, tho there is some underbrush and there is great tree cover for shade. Most sites have good hammocking trees. The vault toilet is fairly clean and each site has a picnic table and fire pit with grill. These sites are not reservable, so first come first serve. It’s only about 10 or so miles to the coast and there are lots of hiking trails nearby both in the forest and on the coast.

  • Chanel C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 16, 2017

    Morro Bay State Park Campground

    More RV campers than tent campers

    [ LOCATION -5 Stars ]

    • Walking distance to the Morro Bay Natural History Museum -- great for kids and very educational for all ages. Admission is only $3 and they have a fun Nature Shop to pick up souvenirs and gifts.
    • Bayside Cafe is adjacent to the Campgrounds. If you don't feel like going through the hassle of cooking an elaborate meal at camp, you can take it easy and eat at the cafe. It has a great view of the marina and Morro Bay Rock.
    • Campgrounds is a stone's throw from the marina. This is especially great if you enjoy being by the water. A lot of campers bring their own kayaks, canoes, SUP boards, etc.
    • Less than 2 miles from the Embarcadero where there are shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, boat tours, and water equipment rentals. It's a beautiful walk, an easy bike ride, and a quick drive into town. Best part, FREE PARKING everywhere! Also, plenty of public restrooms that are relatively clean.
    • The campgrounds is right by a large and well-manicured golf course. So that's cool…if you're into golf!

    [ AMENITIES -4.5 Stars ]

    • Plenty of showers and restrooms throughout the campgrounds. Some are not all operational but it's not that far of a walk to get to the next available one. PRO TIP: Exchange your shower tokens at the check-in Kiosk. A lot of the token machines were out of order. 2 tokens for $1. Each token buys you 2 minutes time.
    • Firewood & fire starters can be purchased at Camp Host sites. $7 for a bundle and $1 for firestarters. The profits go back to CA state parks :)
    • Sites are very close together and not very spacious or private. Each campsite comes with parking for 1 car, a charcoal BBQ grill, a firepit, bear box, and picnic table.
    • There are plenty of shared water spigots for potable water by every site. Make sure you turn it gently because the water pressure is super strong and you'll get a ton of splash back.

    [ CLEANLINESS -5 Stars]

    • Restrooms & showers are SO CLEAN! Most of the campers here are RV campers, so they aren't really using the public restrooms. Less foot traffic = cleaner!
    • The majority of campers here are older, retired RV campers so the campgrounds are kept-up meticulously well. Everyone is very considerate and clean up after themselves. There aren't too many pests or ants either.
  • E
    May. 24, 2019

    Islay Creek Campground — Montaña de Oro State Park

    Beautiful cove

    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.

  • Annie C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 1, 2018

    Ponderosa Campground

    Pretty campground in need of service

    This is a gem of place to camp with only one black mark against it (I’ll get to that in a minute). This site is run by the US Forest service and sits alongside the really pretty Nacimiento River. If you don’t mind the noise from the road, the best two sites with the river running next to them are right in front across from the pay station and host site. The river is great for wading and supposedly for fishing. There are some swimming holes further up the river (but still in the campground area) as well. There are no hookups for RV’s and the road is very narrow; probably not the ideal place to bring your rig, which makes it perfect for tent camping. Some sites are really private and spread out, and others are on top of each other. They all have picnic tables and fire rings with grills, and there was water available.  Alright, now for the bad part. The vault toilets were terrible! They definitely needed to be pumped out, and were in desperate need of a good cleaning. The flies and smell was overwhelming. They had obviously been “maintained” as they were stocked with toilet paper, but that was the extent of that. There are lots of nearby hiking trails to pick from and you are not too far from the coast.

  • Kari T.
    Apr. 5, 2020

    Navajo Flat Campground

    Great place to get away from reality

    If you want to escape, this is the place. No signal, hardly ever see any other people and tons of open space and trails for motorcycles and quads. Dry camping only. No water available but there is a vault toilet and picnic tables.

  • John  Y.
    Oct. 8, 2019

    Coastal Dunes RV Park & Campground

    Great location but no privacy

    I was attending a weekend Jeep event at Pismo Dunes and had booked a space in the OHV area on the beach.  When I got there the wind was so bad it was impossible to put up a tent.  So I looked up this place, which is probably 1/2 mile from the entrance to the beach.

    The campground has mixture of tent and pull-through sites.  All sites have full hookups, and include a fire ring and picnic table.  The bathrooms were clean and had showers, but everything was very old.  There was also a pool and laundry rooms on the property.

    The sites were flat, but there was no barrier between you and your neighbors.  The RV sites looked very cramped but the tent sites seemed adequately spaced for the most part.  I stayed in site 252 which appeared to be some kind of double site, because there were two sets of hookups in the space (one of which required a large pole in the middle of the site).

    In spite of the convenience of the location, there were drawbacks.  The campground is narrow and situated directly between PCH and the railroad tracks on either side.  So traffic noise was significant, and as an added bonus, every now and then Amtrack would roll past.

    Over all, it met all the basic needs, was well maintained, and was close to the beach.  And the noise was probably less than I would get sleeping in the OHV camping area.

  • Laura M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Mar. 22, 2021

    Navajo Flat Campground

    Pozo La Panza OHV staging campground

    We didn't stay at this campground, but we walked over and checked it out while disperse-camping up the road.  

    This campground has 6 sites, and is $20/night and $10 additional for each extra vehicle.  There is a $10/day fee for day use.

    5 campsites are reservable through recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777, and 1 site is first come first served.

    There is zero ATT, Verizon, or T-Mobile signal at this campground, but the Los Padres forest area as a whole is very spotty - you can go from zero to good reception for all 3 carriers as you move from area to area.

    No water or any amenities here other than vault toilets. Fire is allowed in the fire rings at each site, no fire permit required here (but fire permits are required elsewhere in the National Forest).  There were a couple of garbage cans by the toilets.   Sites have 2 picnic tables, a shade structure, fire ring, and a grill.

    There is no signage directing you to the campground, so download the map ahead of time if you need directions.  From 58 you take Red Hill Rd/Forest Rte 29S15 and turn left at the dead end at Fernandez Rd. Keep going straight until you see the campground on your right. There is a road turning right at the cattle guard, but keep going straight.

    Campground is fairly large with wide open spaces to turn around, so bigger rigs should be fine.  The roads coming in from Hwy 58 -- Red Hill Rd and Fernandez Rd -- are ok, they are compacted dirt / DG with some washboarding and a few ruts.  There are people who live in this area and travel these roads in regular sedans, so it's definitely doable for most vehicles, but I'd imagine large class A's would have a tough time.

  • MThe Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 22, 2023

    Washburn Primitive Campground — Hearst San Simeon State Park

    Hill top big sky view

    Nice family oriented campground. Many tents, trailers, few rv’s. Spots are fairly far apart 50-70 feet. Just fire ring, table, and parking spot. Vault toilets. Few trees. In mid June mostly dry grass with little shade, but fine tent pitching area. Most spots are mostly level for rv parking. Few bugs. Hawks,crows, towhee, quail. Should be good star gazing. Quiet. No road noise. Somewhat windy.


Guide to Cayucos

Tent camping near Cayucos, California, offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. With options ranging from family-friendly amenities to serene natural settings, there's something for everyone.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • At KOA Campground Santa Margarita, families can enjoy a pool, playground, and friendly staff, making it a great choice for young campers.
  • Lake San Antonio - North Shore features clean bathrooms, showers, and ample space for camping, perfect for those looking for comfort while enjoying nature.
  • For a more rustic experience, Nacimiento Campground offers picnic tables and vault toilets, all nestled next to a beautiful creek.

Tent campers should check out local activities

  • Hiking enthusiasts will love the trails available at KOA Campground Santa Margarita, which provide access to stunning views and outdoor adventures.
  • Fishing and boating are popular at Lake San Antonio - North Shore, where campers can launch their boats and enjoy a peaceful day on the water.
  • The serene environment at Nacimiento Campground allows for excellent wildlife viewing, including the chance to spot bobcats during evening drives.

Unique features of nearby campgrounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Cayucos, CA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Cayucos, CA is KOA Campground Santa Margarita with a 3.5-star rating from 2 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Cayucos, CA?

TheDyrt.com has all 8 tent camping locations near Cayucos, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.