Thousand Trails Rancho Oso, near Santa Barbara, California, is a unique campground that caters to those looking for a rustic escape with a touch of adventure. Set in a remote mountain location, it offers a variety of accommodations, including tent sites, RV spots, cabins, and even yurts, making it a versatile choice for different camping styles.

This campground is particularly popular among horse lovers, with horseback riding opportunities and plenty of trails to explore. Visitors have noted the peaceful atmosphere, with wild turkeys and the occasional deer wandering through the area, adding to the charm of the surroundings. One camper mentioned, “I love it in the mountains... the Western feel of Rancho Oso has a nice vibe to it.”

Amenities include clean restrooms and showers, along with picnic tables and fire pits at each site for those cozy campfire evenings. While the Wi-Fi can be spotty, many appreciate the chance to disconnect and enjoy nature. As one reviewer put it, “If you want remote, this is good.” 

For those who want to venture out, the scenic drive to Santa Barbara is just a short distance away, offering a lovely winding mountain road. Whether you're here for a weekend or a longer stay, Thousand Trails Rancho Oso provides a welcoming environment for a memorable camping experience.

Bordered by the Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Ynez River, Rancho Oso RV Camping offers acres of beautiful scenery and endless opportunities for horseback riding, hiking, and photography. Explore 310 beautiful acres of our RV camp in California, filled with history dating back to 1845. Put on your boots and hats (spurs optional), come to our RV camp in coastal California, and experience the Western atmosphere of Rancho Oso from our RV camping sites.Have a horse? Board it with us & take advantage of our Western Village and horse camping options with spacious pasture, covered corrals and more.

 Visit the Western Village, adobe, stables, conestoga wagons, cabins, stone lodge and all the unique amenities we have to offer at our RV camp in California. At Rancho Oso RV Resort, we encourage you to participate in the recreation events, entertainment, or sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery and wildlife native to our area. We are also just a scenic 30-minute drive from Santa Barbara or Solvang.

Thousand Trails Rancho Oso

Goleta, CA is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Discover secluded campsites where you can reconnect with nature. Or maybe you like to bring your family and friends along. Either way, there are Goleta campgrounds just for you. Discover great camping spots near Goleta, reviewed by campers like you.

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Scary climb, lost transmission and brakes...if you do not have big diesel pusher in tip top shape, AVOID

One Lane Mountain Climb

This Campground belongs to the Thousand Trails network. We use it quite often as it is only 2 hours from our house. The campground is nice. There are wild turkeys that wander thru the campground and you will see an occassional deer or 2\. Good &amp; bad is that your wifi, cell service is very limited here. If you want to get away from that hectic "connected 24/7" life this is a place you can do it. If you need that constant connection you won't like it.

My home base Campground

Part of the Thousand Trails network. There is very clean bathrooms, room for RV'S, a rec center, store, pool, hot tub. There is a small creek and plenty of hiking trails. 

Nice. 

We stayed at Rancho Oso for two weeks. We chose it because it was near Santa Barbara. And it was affordable (with Thousand Trails). So near to Santa Barbara is a relative term. It’s a 35 minute drive on a lovely windey mountain road. Beautiful drive!!!  The problem was the resort does not have wifi or Verizon cell service. So I had to commute daily, I work remotely. If you want remote this is good. 
The other problem was ants. The 2nd day we came back and we were infested.  We were able to move spots but what a hassle. We used all of our available poisons (windex, bug spray, rubbing alcohol) to kill or drown them. Then vacuumed for hours. It took two weeks before they were gone. The resort knew they had a problem but didn’t really help.  So we recommend you be proactive and watch for them and maybe spray your perimeter occasionally. 
So no wifi and cell service - on them. They need to fix this.  
Ant infestations- they should spray. 
Hot, dry, things closed because of Coronavirus and fire risk - not on them.  
If you want remote, it’s good. 

Honestly 

Only two nights this time. Parked trailer in section without sewage, which I prefer because it has more trees and campers are not on top of each other. Horse trips were booked up, so call in advance. 

Nice trip

I drove up the 101 by the coast of Santa Barbara on a Wednesday. It was beautiful, and pretty chilly by the water. Then I made the climb up the mountains to Rancho Oso. I stayed in the 5th level that had full hookups, and it was tiered in 7 levels, with an average of 10 spaces a level. The pool is open by sign up. I played some mini golf, right next to the horseshoe pits, but other amenities you use at your own risk. The store, and kitchen are closed. The lodge is open to use their WiFi, which is wicked slow, but beggars can’t be choosers. They have horse rides, and farm animals for the kids to view, and horses to rent for rides. There’s also there’s also a couple of families of Turkeys wandering around. The closest full grocery store is about 1/2 hour away, in Solvang, but Lake Cachuma has a gas station, and a small convenience store, and gas, at the midway point. I ran out of gas on my Vespa going there one day. No bueno! 
And forget about that chilly weather on the coast. This is in the mountains, and even though it’s a little over 1,000 feet up, it was quite a bit warmer. Unseasonably warm for the first week, in the mid-90’s. There was also a steady breeze going through. More like a steady wind, as it was pretty strong. I had to take my awning down it was so strong. My second week started out nice, as it cooled down to the upper 70’s, but that wind still swept through the canyon we’re located in.
Since I don’t have a truck or car in tow, I had plenty of room to back in, and fully open my awning when I first set up, not realizing the wind in the early afternoon kicks in. Plus there was still room for the picnic table, BBQ at every space. And I also had plenty of room for my Vespa . Most people can’t open their awnings, since they parked their tow vehicle in that area. The ones that could open them had them closed, like I did, because of the wind. All levels are full hookups, and some in another area were just E/W. Pretty much full sun all day, except for a couple of shady spaces. No fires, but charcoal grilling is okay, and probably a portable propane fire pit would be okay, too. 
The Men’s and Women’s rest rooms/showers were 2 spaces over from me, right where the washers/dryers were. The lI stayed on the 5th tier, right next to the laundry was , whichvery reasonable at $2.00 to wash, $1.50 to dry. If you have a heavy load of clothes to wash, they charge an extra 25 cents to wash., and free hot ,  No cell service, but I The only was and it was super slow, and that was with my WeBoost. I ran a speedtest, and it wasn’t even 1 Mbps. The upload speed was twice as fast, at a whopping 2Mbps. I was there for an hour for something that should have taken 10 minutes. On one But, beggars can’t be choosers, if you really need it, which I did. 
Cell service was , surprisingly, one bar, if you’re lucky, but most days it’s none, even with my WeBoost. Next time I’ll put it up higher. No OTA channels with my Winegard antenna. I only watch TV at night anyway, and I have the Dish Playmaker, so no biggie. I mostly listened to my tunes, walked the dog during the day, and take the the occasional scooter ride., and I played a couple rounds of mini. Even got 2 holes in one!  ranger I his Took water for both of us. 
They cater to horse owners, and there were at least 20 horses I saw roaming in their corrals, and I’m sure there’s some nice trails around here, too. I love it in the mountains, heat and all, and the Western feel of Rancho Oso has a nice vibe to it. I’ll be back, as it’s nice and quiet, and you always see the rangers, or employees riding around. Not bad enough to keep me away, as I’m sure I’ll be back this way again. I spent a nice quiet, enjoyable, 2 weeks.

Nice Place

If you are looking for a campground with horseback riding opportunities, this is the campground for you. Remote, mountain location. Almost no cell coverage, no restaurants or services nearby. 

Photos of Thousand Trails Rancho Oso

Real photos from real campers