Best Dispersed Camping near Pismo Beach, CA

Recent Dispersed Reviews in Pismo Beach

34 Reviews of 5 Pismo Beach Campgrounds

• J

  Jason R.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 20, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Spots along road when pavement ends

  Didn't have to go as far as GPS pin led me to believe, spot on right shortly after pavement ends. A bit trashed, wish I had a bag to clean up, some bigger stuff like a kids bike, to etc

• 

  Andrew S.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Lots of options

  Along the road, there are lots of exposed options and a few camping options in the trees. I drove the entire road and would not recommend doing that without four wheel drive. Was pleased with all the options though. Stay in the trees to avoid the wind.

• S

  Sebastian D.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 17, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Windy with Expansive Views of SLO

  When I saw the TV tower road sign, that marked the last paved road until the actual TV tower hill.  I rode all the way to the end with some medium difficulty off roading there are some steep bits with uneven terrain.  Taking the road up to TV tower are some of the best views you can get from the surrounding area.  John R.'s review accurately sums up the camping experience.  The wind was shaking my tent all night until the morning.  But thankfully I had bugspray the insect problem was solved.  Nightsky was amazing! I saw a shooting star and many satellites.  Would for sure camp again if in the San Luis Obispo area.

• C

  Caitlyn R.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 9, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Beautiful View!

  The road was a bit sketchy, any 4WD would be fine I think. I took my mini van and camped at a turn out along the road because I was a bit hesitant, but again, others would probably be fine. There were lots of people going up the road until very late at night, then turning around and coming back down (I assume because there were no spots?) The stars are beautiful and it's very quiet and cool. Got cold at night but nothing unbearable, lovely sunrise too! I'd recommend bringing a warm sleeping bag and any essentials for dispersed camping. Honestly such a beautiful place, next time I'd like to find a space to set up my tent. Loved it!

• 

  sarah M.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 26, 2024

  Other Pullout on TV Tower Road - Dispersed Site

  beautiful spot

  Manageable with fwd vehicle, i’ve taken my car on worse. Got there around 2pm and was the only car in sight until 4 ish when a car pulled up and parked for the night 5 feet away from me 🙄 RUDE!! Remember to be respectful of others space especially if there’s 15+ other spots available. lots of sunset watchers but none stayed the night

• 

  Nicole M.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 17, 2024

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  sketchy

  very sketchy getting up there in a van as its a narrow one lane road with a vertical drop, as a solo female traveller felt pretty unsafe around the guys at the top there that i ended up leaving. its beautiful up there but wouldn't feel safe at all staying overnight.

• 

  Jules R.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 4, 2023

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Windy cliffside

  Drove up here at night and the road is windy and bumpy and narrow and youre on the side of a cliff. Was a bit scary but the view was beautiful in the morning. The wind is loud and powerful and will push your car a bit thru the night. No restrooms but lots of shrubbery. Got there at 11 pm and the stars were amazing due to no light pollution.

• 

  Henry D.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 27, 2023

  Other Pullout on TV Tower Road - Dispersed Site

  Pretty sick views

  Lots of spots

• G

  G D.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 7, 2023

  Other Pullout on TV Tower Road - Dispersed Site

  Cool Ridgetop camping

  Awesome spot on the ridge, lots of sites up past the mountain bike staging area and the best spots are a little past the TV tower its self. Best with a decent clearance 4wd - definitely not an RV spot. Windy at night for sure, and can be a bit busy with people going past on the road. Takes a while to go up - winding road, so give plenty of time. But cool spot off the 101 and right near SLO

• 

  Julian T.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 3, 2023

  Other Pullout on TV Tower Road - Dispersed Site

  Great spot

  The road up the hill was small and rough, but the view is worth it! Only a few other campers were there.

• L

  Lenie R.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 1, 2023

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  very good view

  When we got here, the sun was setting and we had an incredible view. There is no toilet, but there are bushes everywhere so if you don’t mind that should be no problem. For one night it is perfect, make sure you come here before the sun sets and you have a car that can handle rough terrain.

• m

  melissa

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 25, 2023

  Other Pullout on TV Tower Road - Dispersed Site

  Beautiful

  Drive up was a little nerve wracking, but found a pull out for 2 vans and it was perfect. Love this spot.

• 

  Tim W.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 10, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Easy Access with views

  Was passing thru SLO and needed an easy access spot to sleep for the night. Started with a paved road into dirt on the way up and passed a few other cars on the way up. Found a nice pull out for the truck and woke up to a nice view!

• 

  John R.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 30, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  The Battle of Tower Hill

  The road up is truly awesome. However, the flies will swarm and begin to collectively murder you. Once you think you are safe inside your tent, the endless popping of gunshots from the shooting range nearby will lull you to sleep, but also induce some pretty f-d up dreams. Now that it’s actually dark, the TV Tower begins to strobe into your tent all night like a pulsing defibrillator on your eyeballs. After your body is too fatigue to care or you’ve cut a breathing hole into a brown bag and put it on your head, immeasurable gusts of wind will blow your house down. The only thing you can now look forward to is taking out your rage on the flies that will meet you outside of your tent. Let the battle begin.

• 

  Jade M.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 13, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  too much wind

  Pulled up right before sunset. Main lot of was full but kept driving and found a cute little site with a view. Great sunset with magical colors. The wind was INSANE!!! No protection and the wind only got crazier as the night went on. Ended up breaking down camp at 3 am because we did not get any sleep. I would stay here again if there was no wind but if the same conditions I would not camp again.

• 

  Summer A.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 17, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Seclusion

  We came up to TV tower road and found a great spot to pull the car into, with a little trail that pulls off to a spot to pitch the tent. This is definitely a great spot for car camping, parking, or camping. It was absolutely beautiful, and we only passed a few cars on the way up. Our 4WD car was able to handle the dirt road. The drive was manageable, but high up!

• R

  Robert

  Guide

  

  Jun. 11, 2022

  Other Pullout on TV Tower Road - Dispersed Site

  Dispersed camping along tv tower road

  Nice spot for large rv, but road up is winding. Great views. Great way to get a little bit cooler. Windy in night.

• R

  Robert

  Guide

  

  Jun. 4, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Nice views windy. Busy in weekend

  Nice place to go for car camping. There were a lot of other campers along the road in different spots. I didn't drive all the way to the end but turned and picked a spot that looked nice. A bit windy, but great views in the morning.

• C

  Curtis W.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 3, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Memorable Mountain

  Anytime I can find a new spot, i get excited. The last time i attempted to camp here the gate was closed, and because we live so far away from here, its always risky. Im glad to report that i can finally check this site off of my bucket list, and it did not disappoint. Nobody was able to sleep due to windy conditions, but the view from our campsite made it all worth while.

• 

  Robert B.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 21, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Freedom

  Little bit of mountains in ocean number one for today's country

• V

  Vick

  Traveler

  

  Feb. 23, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Nice view

  Good spot for car camping. We were into the clouds when we arrived but in the morning we had a beautiful view. Some other campers around, really quiet and respectful.

• C

  Cliff K.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 21, 2022

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Open! (Jan 2022)

  Super spectacular views! I went all the way to the end as it allows some walking around room. If you’re tent camping beware the wind, gets pretty crazy. Had one wind free day out of three. Looking down on the bay, San Luis Obispo and HW 1. Can’t stress how flippin beautiful it was. Just. Wow.

• 

  Matt L.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 29, 2021

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Dispersed campground

  Great views, just a spot to park, and maybe go for a walk but nothing else.

• 

  Amy B.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 24, 2021

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Windy night

  This spot was perfect for car camping. The night I was there was very windy and rocked the car most of the night. 3 other cars also stayed at the top of this mountain. Beautiful views in the morning!

• 

  Dominic M.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 31, 2021

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  One of the greatest sites in the US

  NOTE: VISITED BEFORE TEMPORARY CLOSURE
  For the second night of my 3-month long road trip, we stayed up here and cooked a wonderful meal that overlooked a sprawling landscape of fog, mountains, valleys, and the ocean off in the distance. True beauty but was rather busy. Make sure you really have a capable vehicle as the climb up the road is not suited for small or casual cars.

• 

  Laura M.

  Legend

  

  Mar. 22, 2021

  Los Padres National Forest dispersed camping

  Free Dispersed Camping

  Turning on Redhill Road from hwy 58 follow the dirt road about 2 miles to the intersection of Redhill and Fernandez. This spot, and there are others, is right at the intersection so it can have some traffic with residents that live further down the road and OHV riders. It is a good spot for the night or to stay while you bike or ride ATVs. We stayed one night. It was very quiet and walking down the road was pleasant as there weren't any OHVs riding around on a Monday.

  It is a fairly flat spot and we had no trouble with our 26ft Class C. The road in is wide and dirt with some washboard but fairly smooth overall. Further down the road is Navajo Flat Campground which is $20/night with additional fees. (see review of Navajo Flat campground) This spot is in National Forest Land so we camped for free. There seem to be other areas for dispersed camping but be mindful of the private property areas.

  There is zero amenities so pack in and pack out. There is no water, garbage or fire pits. Cell service is spotty with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Download map before you come so you don't camp on private land.

  Campfires are allowed with permit.

  Overall a nice place to stay, quiet at night less traffic on weekdays. We would stay here again.

• 

  Piper

  Scout

  

  Sep. 20, 2020

  TV Tower Road Dispersed Camping

  Closed as of 9/20/20

  Closed due to fire hazard since 9/7. Gate blocking road up.