Brett L.

Nipomo, CA

Joined May 2021

My camping crew includes myself, my wife, 3 boys and a dog named George. Our rig: 2010 Dodge 2500 Diesel and a 30' travel trailer bunkhouse.

Incredible trails, lots of tree cover, all sites are in the shade

This is not a camp ground for taking your big travel trailer or large RV!!!!  I would say that your max tow trailer would be a 24' and then you will need a place to park your truck.  Some spots are great, some horrible.  Meaning that you are just parking next to the main road.  We got very lucky because the camp host saw us trying to set up and said that someone else was a no-show and we could have their spot.  It turns out it was the only spot that we could fit in!!!  Other spots are just a spur from the main road, but have a nice area a little further from the parking spot.

If you are tent or van camping, I think that this place would work fine.  Picnic tables, fire rings, and pit toilets.  We made reservations months in advance so I don't know how busy it can get.  Our 4 day/3 night trip was in November and all of the sites were reserved, but only 30% of the people showed up (at most).

It rained when we were there and it was beautiful.  We probably won't return due to the size of the camp sites and there are other places near this one that are cheaper.

Incredible terrain, beautiful skies, super easy access

Please note:  This review is regarding the dispersed camping.  There are (at least) two formal camp grounds right near the dispersed camping area.

We went up there with another family, both of us towing camping trailers with 4x4 trucks.  A 4x4 is not needed, nor is a high clearance vehicle.  All of the camping spots in the dispersed area are either off the the side of the main road, or down small roads branching from the main.  A lot of the sites are not visible from the main road, you need to travel down the little road to see if anyone is there.  Easy to do if you are in a car or truck.  A little more challenging if you are towing something big.  If it looks like there are a lot of people there and you are driving something that can not turn around easy, I would suggest dropping of your trailer at the beginning of the dispersed camping area and scouting out your spot.  Every spot has an incredible view.  The terrain is awesome.  There are several short hiking loops in the area.

The only thing I would change is that we would park further off of the main road.  Some people rip down the dirt roads in their cars and dirt bikes. 

Also, there is an evening breeze that can come out of nowhere and relocate your chairs and adjust your awning so you might want to put them away before calling it a night.

Hard to believe that it is free

We towed our 30' travel trailer up to this dispersed campground that is located along a ridge line on the west side of the 101.  When we went, of the (7) formal sites that are up there, only 3 of them were taken and that was off and on.   We didn't need 4x4 getting up there or even a high clearance vehicle.  Our transmission did start heating up as the road was filled with washboard and it was steep and we had to go pretty slow.  However, any car will be able to make it up there.  The road was safe and relatively wide, but it drops off and you wouldn't stop until you got to the bottom…..  If the (7) spots are taken, there are at least 2 large areas before and after the camp ground that you can camp. 

The view is fantastic, there is a really nice pit toilet, but I don't remember seeing any water hoses.

Each of the (7) sites had a concrete pad with a covered picnic table and a BBQ pit!  Please pick up your trash if you go.  There was some beer cans and other garbage left behind by some mental midgets.

Out in the middle of no where....

My family would camp here once a year for 4-5 days.  It is dispersed camping, so there are no hookups or designated sites.  It is primarily for off road enthusiasts, however, we just came out here to enjoy the desert and go for walks.  We would usually go toward the end of the year when it is not so hot (Oct-Dec) and have had a variety of weather over the years.  From beautiful skies, to wind, rain and snow.  The wind always picked up in the evening, so don't forget to roll up your awning.  Our rig is a 30' bunkhouse trailer being pulled by a full size 4x4 truck.  Although you don't need 4x4 and probably any car can make it out there.  You just might have to drive slow as some of the road are pretty tore up.  The camping is all over the valley and I can't see ever showing up and not being able to find a good spot (for what it is).  There will be dust and some dirt bikes, trucks and OHV's rolling around.  You will probably hear some of them long into the night.  But I think there are areas you can go to get away from a lot of it and enjoy the stars and solitude of the desert.  As you drive in you pass a ranger station.  $10 gets you water to fill up your tanks and a pass to use their dump station.