Searching for a tent camping spot near Los Olivos? The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Colson Campground is a primitive campground located approximately 40 miles from the city of Santa Maria, CA. There are five campsites with tables and fire rings. There is no running water and no bathroom. Popular campground for hunters, as this campground is easy access to the Alejandro Trail. Please pack out all of your trash.
Adjacent to La Brea Creek. Located in canyon bottom, surrounded by oak trees.
Nestled in the pines. Nice vistas of the Cuyama Valley.
Adjacent to La Brea Creek. Located in canyon bottom, surrounded by oak trees.
Nestled in the oaks. Provides opportunity for those seeking solitude.
Tucked away in a canyon to protect visitors from strong northwest winds, Water Canyon Campground offers exceptional island views, access to spectacular hiking opportunities and a nearby white sand beach. Located 40 nautical miles from the Channel Islands National Park visitor center in Ventura, Santa Rosa is the second largest island in California at approximately 53,000 acres in size. The island landforms support a diverse array of plant and animal species including six plant species found nowhere on earth but Santa Rosa Island. The island also hosts over 100 bird and three land mammal species, including the endemic island fox. Remains of an ancient species like the pygmy mammoth have been uncovered on Santa Rosa Island. These miniature mammoths, reaching just four to six feet tall, roamed the island's grasslands and forests during the Pleistocene Age. The island has rich archeological resources as well. It is home to thousands of significant archeological sites of the Chumash Native Americans, who inhabited the island until 1820. Others have come to the island during more recent centuries to exploit its rich resources, sometimes making it their home. In addition to the native Chumash, European explorers, Aleut sea otter hunters, Chinese abalone fishermen, Spanish missionaries, Mexican and American ranchers, and the US military all have left their mark on the Santa Rosa landscape. Visitors can see relics of these occupations in remnants of fishing camps, water troughs and fence lines, the pier where cattle were loaded and unloaded, buildings and equipment of the historic Vail and Vickers ranch at Bechers Bay, and remains of the military installations.
Several trails and roads traverse the island, providing visitors with spectacular hiking opportunities, including the relatively flat route to Water Canyon Beach to the rugged, mountainous path to Black Mountain. Due to the strong, persistent wind, swimming, snorkeling, diving and kayaking are limited and recommended for the experienced visitor only. Despite the wind, Santa Rosa Island offers exceptional beach walking on white sand beaches. Access to one of the best beaches, Water Canyon Beach, is just over a mile from the pier in Bechers Bay and just down canyon from the campground. Beach access is also available near the pier. No fishing is allowed within the marine reserves located around the island. Fishing is allowed outside of these areas. For more information about recreational activities in the park, visit https://www.nps.gov/chis/planyourvisit/index.htm.
Santa Rosa has a landscape of remarkable contrasts. High mountains with deeply cut canyons give way to gently rolling grass-covered hills, extensive beaches and coastal wetlands. The altitude ranges from sea level to 1,589 feet.
Good tidepooling spots are located within Bechers Bay, including just east of the pier, the east end of Southeast Anchorage, and near East Point. A short hike from the campground is the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine grove. This pine is considered one of the rarest pines in the world-the last enduring members of a once widespread Pleistocene forest. Near the pier, visitors can see buildings and equipment of the historic Vail and Vickers ranch. Access to a highly recommended beach, Water Canyon Beach, is just over a mile from the Bechers Bay pier. The sandy beach lies on the northeastern shore of the island. Bechers Bay is a destination in itself, with buildings and equipment at the historic Vail and Vickers ranch.
$15 / night
Off-highway vehicle camp. Accessible only by high clearance vehicle. Campground provides solitude for those seeking that type of experience.
Rancho Nuevo Campground is a primitive campground with 2 sites on a grassy canyon bottom, 4-wheel drive access only. Road is subject to close in the winter.__
Scout
Not a bad campground, but driving in, the owner has large political flags flying. In these highly divisive times, I don't want to stay at places that divide our country, I want to get away from that. Not recommended.
Guide
Facilities are run down. This places needs a major make over! Bathrooms are dirty, showers are gross. Sinks to wash dishes are disgusting & right next to dumpsters. You have no privacy and sites are right on top of each other…you’re basically in a parking lot. Barking dogs right next to you can get pretty annoying pretty fast. NOT WORTH the $70 a night fee. I would only stay here here as a LAST resort
Scout
Large sites with fire rings, picnic tables, some sites don’t have much shade and some do. Less than 1/2 mile walk to beach. Couple miles from Oceano dunes. Hot showers. Can get windy. Dog friendly.
TravelerI skipped out on Oceano and came here hoping they might have something open. Turns out they had 8 and the park ranger let me drive in to scope it out. I picked a site close to the beach and even better my Oceano reservation could be transferred. Yay. Loved this campground so much. It’s well laid out and all the sites are well spaced and clean. The evening was much quieter, with a sunset and sounds of waves. A ten minute walk to the beach and right next to the butterfly grove. I have already made another reservation to see about the butterflies when they are in season. Pismo Beach is fantastic!
Traveler
Probably just due to the time of year but this campground was way too rowdy for my taste, all the sites are close together and it seemed almost every site was a very large group, generators running after 10pm, amplified music and tv! If that’s your jam you’ll love it. I took off after 1 night.
Guide
This is a nicely maintained municipal water reservoir with a very large lake. No swimming allowed, but boating is. Go figure.
There are campgrounds with hookups that are only available for RVs. There is one Campground -Indian- that has a mixture of tent and RV sites with hookups available but it was under maintenance when I was here this weekend. So all the rest of the areas that do have hookups do not accommodate my truck and tent rig. And there are no 110V or 30a outlets available for people who are traveling light -with solar and a minimum amount of panels, where you might need to plug in once in awhile- they can't cover you here. Too bad no one thought of that when they were designing this place, because it's an awfully big place with a lot of sites.
So we're leaving today to find another place to weekend.
But two nights next to the lake, in the campground called Mallard was lovely as can be. Next time I'll come out with more panels to keep my pair of EcoFlow RiverPro solar generators topped up.
Scout
Clean and very nice view. Easy access to the beach.
Legend
We loved camping here. The whole area has a really peaceful and mellow vibe. We reserved site #49 which was plenty big enough for our 26ft class c, but the drive through the campground to get to the site was a little narrow and tight, wouldn't recommend for larger RVs. This end of the campground is right next to the emergency exit, too, but they keep that gate locked, otherwise it would be an easy swoop in. Camp host was really nice, campground was huge, nice that there's a creek running through it which comes in handy in the hot summer months. You have to drive over some creek runoff at parts, no problem.
There's zero cell reception in this entire area, the roads leading up to the campground as well.
Fees are $35 or $37 for weekends/holidays. Pricey for what you get and for what we're used to paying for a forest service campground.
Traveler
Located on Vandenberg base which requires a membership card (military I.D.) This helps keep the camp site more private. No one goes here. It is tranquil and has trails to hike and lakes to fish in. Hunting is also allowed during select seasons. If you like quiet and keep to yourself, this is the place. There are no trash cans and a permit is required for campfire. There are a couple of port-a-pots and they are very clean. Go SpaceForce! Lastly, watch out for poison oak. Stay on the trails and all is well. Semper Fi.
Traveler
This is tragi-comedy: I was invited to a wedding in Santa Barbara. It was summer and the most fleabitten motel prices were astronomical. I began to look at campsites within driving distance, I was desperate. Booked Catchuma and thought, hoorah, I’ve defeated the tourism trap.
Well… from the moment I arrived . . . I really could not care less about the wedding. My god. I think I’ll leave it at that.
Bring binos. Boat, bring your canoe/kayak.
Ranger
We had reservations for 2 nights on an Augugst Friday / Saturday at Lopez Lake in a full-hook-up site in Bandtail (Site 38). The reviews of this place were great, and the photos were beautiful. We arrived to find a HUGE park (yes, I should have noted how many campsites there are). Check-in involved parking our van and standing in line like Disneyland. The park employees were nice though. There were big signs all around "NO FIRES" (more on this later) and I was also told at check in that there were no fires. We found our site easily enough, only to realize how closely packed the sites were in Bandtail. Some nice folks to our right had three sites - 11 kids and 21 people between them. The kids rode their bikes all over, and even onto our site (while also running around our van chasing a chipmunk). We had our daughter's dog, so tried sitting outside in the shade, only to find that in addition to the heat (it was mid 80s), there were biting flies. :( Poor puppy got bit or stung more than once. So we went in our van and turned on the AC (it could run on low with the 20A service there). Then, after dark, a dad and his young son arrive on our other side and had to back in their boat in the dark. We got out of our rig and helped them (twice) with our portable lights and guidance. In the morning, they spoke in very loud voices and we were right next door. We did take one of the trails in the heat, but they are not at all well maintained - basically trampled grass that could easily hold a snake. While the area is pretty, it is just way too crowded for our taste. Oh, and the bathrooms were dimily lit, had a couple of non-functioning toilets, and were dirty. We were ready to get out of there and will not be back. Lastly, though the fire danger was marked as extremely high and "NO FIRES" signs at check-in, along with verbal warnings of no fires, I saw two campsites had open fires in the fire pits. This blatant lack of regard for rules and safety didn't sit well with me. And no one was enforcing the fire ban. Sad.
LegendWe stayed here a few years ago, but on the primitive / non-hookup side. We stayed on the E/W hookup side this time and liked it as well, though it does have the more typical RV/parking lot feel as compared to the other side. There's a nice walking trail that connects the two sides. It's $50 for an E/W site, plus an $8.25 reservation fee.
There's a cool lagoon that you can walk all the way around on, with lots of birds, and much of it accessible as well which is nice. There's a cool visitor center, open 12-4. The beach is a short walk away. There's a great Mexican restaurant down the road also, Old Juan's, it's so good and has great vegan options.
The showers here are nice and clean, and $1 gets you 4 minutes. The showers are individual, private, and non-gendered. There was no host on site when we were there, but the rangers were very present. This campground, like all California State campgrounds we've been to recently, has trash, recycling, and a food compost bin which I love.
There's a fun game for kids where you download an app and go on a scavenger hunt and complete other challenges.
No dump station here, but there's one just 2 miles north at North Beach Campground, and it's $10 for dump and water fill there.
Legend
We love being able to camp directly on the beach, and have done so many times in Texas and in Louisiana, but wouldn't recommend it here unless you are in a 4wd. We did see 2 skoolies on the beach, but then we also saw a pickup truck stuck in the sand in the parking lot outside of the beach, so there's that.
Camping overnight is only $10, and the beach is wide open for camping. It was very busy during the day on a weekday in August, so I can imagine the weekends are packed.
This is a fun beach in a fun, low key beach town, and we love coming here.
Legend
I'm giving this place 5 stars, because even though it's cramped and packed and awkward to maneuver through, it's got the casual and fun beach vibe that we love about this area.
You're right on the beach, with easy access to the beach via stairs. This campground is very close to Rincon, but the setup is totally different. Rincon is basically just a parking space on the road, while Faria is a regular campground. The drive down from the main road is pretty steep with a sharp turn, I'm surprised more RVs don't scrape and cause damage on the way down.
The sites here are very close together, but it doesn't matter. Everyone is friendly and happy and in a good mood. The cafe is fun and seems to be a hangout for bikers riding along Hwy 1. We love it here.
Traveler
Jalama Beach offers great walks along a long beach that is nestled in a cozy bay. Surfers, couples & families can enjoy this beautiful place. Watch for tar on the sand & pack some petroleum jelly to help remove it in case you step on it barefoot. There’s a small freshwater stream that flows right into the shore where your pets & kids like to splash around & play. Lots of driftwood & rocks pepper the shore so bring water shoes.
GuideLarge sites with plenty of room for tents and all the other camping necessities. This site backs up into the hills and there are black bears that roam the area so be sure to prepare for that. The lake is full and lots of areas to fish.
GuideA vehicle beach with unlimited things to do fishing, offroad sand dunes, hike, camp rv vehicle theres class A B C home made its awesome dogs allowed, after 10pm it's so quite
ScoutJust to be clear, I love lake Casitas. I grew up camping here with my family. The reason I’m writing this review is to warn pet owners about the abundance of foxtails and burs. We have 2 poodle mixes with med-long hair and they both ended up with their fur filled with burs and foxtails. So much that it required a vet visit. This was from a weekend camp in our RV that had a large rug and they have raised dog cots.
GuideThis campground is awesome. It’s very beautiful, with lots of wildflowers, trees, trails, beach dunes…and squirrels. Lots of them. But we also saw and heard hawks, turkey vultures, owls, and many other birds. We also saw a cute little weasel. There’s also lots of rangers, which makes for very well-mannered campers. Loved it!! You can walk to the beach or drive on the beach. Driving in the beach was fun, but it was so windy and so cold! This was the end of May. Not sure what the weather is over months. The actual campground was not as cold or windy, since it’s behind the dunes. The bathrooms have hot water and Flush toilets. Showers are huge and are self-contained and not in the bathrooms. Tokens needed. Starting in May there’s a market night at the main pier, small but fun to visit. Lots to do, from renting dune buggies to playing at the main pier. Loved it and can’t wait to go back. Oh, and about the squirrels. They’re not afraid. They ate through my little pantry that’s canvas that’s connected under my table. Also, mosquitoes! How could I forget. Bring bug spray and citronella or thermacills. They’re out and about and it’s not fun if you’re not prepared. There’s a Walmart not too far away. After the citronella incense weren’t working, we went to Walmart and it was war! Another note, campsite 68 does not look like the photo. Tree is gone and the ice plant has invaded the site and made it smaller. One tent will fit, not another.
Scout
Great spot! Been here 2 times already!
Scout
Only one small shallow hot spring pool, usually crowded at peak hours. At the pool there is outdoor showers, lap pool, indoor bathrooms, changing rooms.
Camping area is small and it’s basically a dirt parking lot. Loud road noise all night and day from the freeway. Lots of pincher bugs infested my gear. Not peaceful. Better to just visit for a soak, they have cheaper rates for a morning or evening visit.
RangerWe spent two nights at El Capitan State Beach. Our site had an ocean view, which is why I give this campground a 4-star rating. There isn't much to do here (limited hiking), so that is why it isn't a 5-star review. Still, other than one windy day, we had a lovely time relaxing here, walking the limited beach bluff-top walk down to the beach and west toward Refugio. The path used to go all the way to Refugio, but it is closed right after the walk/bike-in campsites at El Capitan due to the ocean erroding away the cliffs the path sits on. The bathrooms were fairly clean and there are showers (didn't use). Like many CA parks, the area has a run-down feel. We went into Santa Barbara on our way to and from the campsite. It is about a 20-mile drive, so a bit long. One of my photos is at Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara (you can see the pier). It is a good place to park a van (up to 22 ft) or they have "motor home" spots for day parking.
RangerI’ve been coming to this campground for years with friends. It’s an awesome spot. Bathrooms are generally clean however you do need tokens for the showers and the machine only accepts cash so make sure you have some dollars. You get two tokens for a dollar and each token gets you 2 min of shower time. They have garbage and recycling too. The camp hosts are a bit militant about the rules so don’t break them. They have zero tolerance and don’t put up with anything. Also keep your dog on a leash. Someone’s dog attacked another dog this morning and the State Park LEO were on site.
Ranger
I stayed here for one night. Bathrooms were clean. They seem to have a coffee and pizza shack too but they were not open when I arrived. I didn’t use the showers but they have a shower room in addition to bathrooms. It was a quiet night.
The only negative was the people parked next to me had moved their picnic table into my spot so it made it difficult to back in and use my spot.
LegendVery nice SP campground. Don't try to check in early, you will get suggestions to park until check in time of 2pm. Once in, the sites with hook ups sans sewer, will actually be pull through sites, which was nice. From there, you can walk. ride or drive on to the beach. There are paths around the camp that go around the estuary type lagoon. Dune trails are nice for hiking although some thick sand in places. We rode our bikes on the beach. Low tide makes it very easy with wet packed sand. The sites are spaced pretty well. We will be back for sure.
GuideIt's a nice little site. It's not too crowded, as there aren't too many sites within the campground. You are packed in like sardines, but this is conducive to every beachfront campground.
The place is clean and easy to get to. There are signs to lock your stuff up so it doesn't get stolen. The person next to me said they got their bike stolen the last time they were there.
The view is amazing of course. There is nothing else in the area, no shopping.
Good area if you plan to ride or run. You could ride up to Santa Barbara from here and run along the beach path. You could also ride up to Lake Casitas and make a loop out of it.
Guide
Small campground for 12 smaller than 30 ft rigs or tents. Most are much smaller. Rough bumpy road for miles ether direction on a first come, first serve campground. Has vaulted toilet with no water or other services. If full, would seek off road area on right just as you approach. Has older building of interest. There was a great horned owl in one of the few eucalyptus trees at the campsite. Quiet and nice area to take a hike or two with pretty nice views if you like the high desert landscape. Warning not to travel dirt roads after a rain as you’re likely to get stuck. Better if you come in from the north side(58) on paved roads, but would limit you to boondocking likely because unable to get to this or Selby campgrounds. Selby is another first-come site to the NW
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Los Olivos, CA is Arroyo Hondo Vista Point Rest / Camp area with a 3.4-star rating from 7 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 26 tent camping locations near Los Olivos, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
