Best Dog-Friendly Camping near San Simeon, CA

Washburn Campground is one of two campgrounds in Hearst San Simeon State Park, the other being San Simeon Creek Campground.  We stayed in both campgrounds. The two campgrounds have different amenities and features, with the Washburn one being more "primitive" even though neither have hookups.  

Coin operated showers are technically available to San Simeon Creek guests only, though I'm not sure how anyone would know or care if a Washburn camper went over to shower at San Simeon Creek. 

There are pit toilets available in Washburn, as well as trash and mixed recycling dumpsters.

Washburn is $20/night, with an $8 reservation fee when making reservations online.

There is practically zero verizon service, very weak AT&T service, but decent T-Mobile service on our hotspot.

There is a path over to the beach, very convenient (goes under Hwy 1).

Elephant seal viewing is nearby, as well as being close to the cute town of Cambria and San Simeon.

Warning: the map is wrong!  We picked site #226 based on the map showing that it wasn't next to the toilet.  The toilets ended up being directly next to 226, which was fine but not our favorite thing.

There is a dump and water fill for RVs located in between the campgrounds, and they are available to guests of both (or $5 to use for people not staying at the campgrounds).  Firewood also available for sale from the host, but check out the hours before heading over to buy wood.

We stayed here in mid-March, and the campground was beautiful and green and peaceful.   The landscape may turn brown later in the year.  

The sites are nicely spaced out for the most part.  Each site has a picnic table and steel fire pit.  Some sites have some trees for shade, but most do not.

We really liked it here.  The $20/night compared to the $35 at the busier and more active San Simeon Creek makes it a no-brainer that Washburn is where we'd choose to come.

General: Two campgrounds: San Simeon Creek, close to Highway One and the beach and Washburn Primitive, located about a mile inland. We stayed in San Simeon Creek, so the bulk of this review focuses on that one. 

Site Quality: Sites are spaced a decent amount apart, some with foliage providing privacy. The camper pads are level, paved, and designated as either 25 - or 35-foot campsites. Site 102 was a 25-foot site but IMO that is a stretch as our 18-foot campervan fit but not with much extra room. Surprisingly enough, we saw some rather large rigs in some of the spaces. No hookups. Depending on where your site is located, you will hear road noise from the highway. The tent section is closest to the highway. 

Bath/Shower House: What we’ve come to expect from California state parks: single units, most with a toilet and sink but one with just a toilet. Although they had toilet seat covers, there was NO soap or trash receptables in any of the units. Two outside sinks. Token-operated showers that looked decent but did not use. In the Washburn Primitive campground, there are only vault toilets but the one I looked at appeared clean. 

Activities: There is a horseshoe pit, but it looks like it has not been used in a long time. Also an amphitheater but do not know if there are currently programs as we were there during the week in the “off-season”. There are two trails that lead to the beach: one from the campsites and the other via a wooden boardwalk, a short walk from the campground. There is zero cell service in the San Simeon Creek campground, but I got two bars of Verizon in the Washburn campground. 

I waffled back and forth between three and four stars; the sites were fairly well maintained, and the beach access (and proximity to Hearst Castle) is likely the reason most people stay, but it annoyed me that there was no soap or garbage receptacles in the bathrooms (in an eternal Covid world, there should be soap in all bathrooms!) but we had a quiet and pleasant stay during the week in early November.

San Simeon Creek Campground is one of two campgrounds at Hearst San Simeon State Park, the other being the primitive Washburn Campground. The only difference between the two besides the $15 / night price difference is that San Simeon Creek has flush toilets and showers available, and Washburn has pit toilets.  Neither have hookups and both have access to the dump and water fill which is located between the two campgrounds near the host.

We stayed in site #9 for one night, which I would recommend you avoid. This spot is used as a cut through to the bathroom, not only by campground guests but by people parked on the road behind the campground who hop the fence to come into the campground and use the restroom.  We had people traipsing through all day and all night.

Showers are clean and reasonably priced, at $1 for 12 min. Pressure was decent and temperature was good (warm enough).  

Campground was busy with families and kids and large groups.  It was very active, but we stayed there on a Saturday night so that might be why.

Staff was really friendly.  When we arrived there was a sign indicating both campgrounds were full but we asked if there were any cancellations or anything available and they said one spot had just opened up which they allowed us to pay for and take without making the reservation online.

The campground is close to the cute town of Cambria, as well as some restaurants in San Simeon.

Firewood is sold by the host only during certain hours, currently 330-630pm only.

There was good ATT and ok TMobile service, but Verizon was very weak/unusable.

This is the closest developed campground to Hearst Castle on the south side of “The Slide” (they hope to have Hwy 1 reopened this fall). Its also close to the Elephant Seal beaches (the young adults were moltIng when I visIted). This is a nice campground with three loops/camping areas, none of which is tent only, although there is a section next to the road that is tent only (while that gives these tents the closest access to the the tunnel to the beach, it also means lots of Hwy 1 traffic noise). Try and get a site along San Simeon Creek (sites 114, 72, and 70 are nice, and you can hang a hammock). The bathrooms and showers are clean. If a view and access to hiking trails are important, head all the way back to the Primitive Campground. SItes have a slightly bigger footprint, there is a great view of the ocean from several sites and there is access to the San Simeon Trail. There is also a footpath leading to the boardwalk and trail to the beach.

Washburn Campground at San Simeon State Park

The Washburn Campground at San Simeon State Park is our go-to campground for quick and easy camping in Central California. My boyfriend and I met at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and love visiting SLO and the surrounding areas. If we don’t want to pay to stay at a hotel and can’t crash with some friends, we like to set up our base-camp at Washburn, the primitive campground within San Simeon State Park. SSSP does have full campsites with hookups on its Creek Campground, but we prefer the views and the star gazing at the primitive Washburn sites - Washburn is on the top of a hill, with beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding hillsides and mountains. The fees for the primitive Washburn sites are $18 per night, versus $35 per night for the full campsites in the Creek Campground.

San Simeon State Park is easy to get to, as its right off Highway 1. You can make a reservation ahead of time, but you cannot select a specific site until you arrive. The ranger will ask you to go check out the campgrounds, and compile a list of site numbers that you are interested in. Once you return, they will go over the list with you and if one that you like is available, that site is yours.

Each primitive campsite has a fire ring and a bench, and there are pit toilets available. These are the nicest pit toilets I have seen anywhere. There are water spigots in Washburn, which have had running water for the last year or so; the water had previously been shut off due to the drastic drought. I believe there are plumbed toilets in the lower Creek Campgrounds, but we have yet to go down and confirm that.

Some sites are on the perimeter of the Washburn are more barren, but most sites have trees for some shade. Because you are right by the ocean, it can get pretty cold at night. Each site has a picnic bench and a fire pit - I can’t recall if the fire pits have grates. We generally do not cook while we camp at Washburn, as we usually pick something up in the nearby cities. Sebastian’s Store in San Simeon has GREAT burgers and various barbecue sandwiches. There is also a Hearst Ranch wine tasting room in the same shared building that sells frozen steaks from Hearst Ranch - great quality steaks, if you will be camping for a couple nights I suggest getting some Hearst steaks to cook while you are there.

There is a great new-ish restaurant and bar called Centrally Grown just down the road on Highway 1. This place has great, locally sourced food, and a good bar. We have been there for dinner, breakfast, and just for drinks, and have always had a great experience - the view from the upstairs restaurant is GORGEOUS. Centrally Grown is part of what looks like a compound called Off The Grid - it has a Bed and Breakfast, some goats and chickens, an event space for bands, and a very very interesting garden. Even if you want to just stop in for a coffee or pastry, I think Off The Grid is worth seeing - we like sitting in the garden with coffee.

I am a rock hound and Central California beaches have some reach rocks! To the North is Big Sur, so small jade can be found. There are moonstones from Cambria, and lots of agate and quartz.

The small town of Harmony (literally - it has a population of 18) is worth the visit - there is a lot of local art to be seen and purchased there at the hand blown glass shop and the pottery shop. There is also a winery and ice cream.

The elephant seals are always fun to go watch, and individuals can sometimes be seen on San Simeon beach. This beach is open to the public, and the seals are not behind any barriers as they are at the rookery. If you see a seal on the beach, give him lots of space and don’t harass him - elephant seals are huge animals, and are quicker than you’d think.

The Firestone Walker Brewery is in nearby Paso Robles - if you like beer, the tour is super interesting, and they have a tap room and store. The tap room restaurant is very good.

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $20/night (primitive site fee)

Plumbed Toilets: No - pit

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: No

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grate: Yes

Shade: Yes

Cell Service: Limited

Animal Bins/Food lockers: No

Trash: Yes

We stopped here for a few nights so we could hook up to shore power for a bit, do laundry, dump etc. The campground itself is small and old so the sites can be a little small for the larger rigs. Bathrooms and showers were clean. People who run it were extremely accommodating - it was difficult for us to access the dump hookup in our first assigned site (we have a macerater with a very short hose) so they moved us to a better site. Easy walking/biking access to Avila beach (4.8miles round trip), and quick drive from Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo. They allow leashes pets and have a small dog park and pet “walk,” and while these are great, I also like to walk my dog around the whole campground when we can’t take her walks elsewhere, and this campground is very limiting. They have several signs up where dogs aren’t allowed.

Overall, this is a great location if you want access to the beach and nearby towns with nice basic amenities.

When I stayed at San Simeon State Park, the campground loop closer to the road (San Simeon Creek Loop) was full, so I ended up in the more primitive Washburn Loop. I switched spots from my initial camping spot for one along the back. It was by the pit toilets, which actually weren't bad. It had a nice fire pit and my site overlooked the mountains to the east. I could get to hiking trails from my site, which was nice. Campsites are with short grass. No showers. (I believe there are showers in the developed loop closer to the ocean.) Still, this was pretty quiet, despite the lack of privacy.