Pine Mountain Campground
Description
Time to watch them California Condors soar at the high elevation Pine Mountain Campground. These remote and spacious sites will offer peace and solitude (and if no one is camping with you, a chance to get in touch with your wild side). If you need some inspiration, there are trails nearby that are great for wildflower and wildlife viewing.
Activities
Offered near the campground.
Biking
Ride along the beautiful Santa Barbara coast, the central Monterey coast, or anywhere you want in this huge forest. The recomme...Read more
Fishing
You can fish in the rivers and streams located throughout the forest, and fish in the ocean on the Monterey coast at Sand Dolla...Read more
Hiking
Up by Big Sur, the Ventana wilderness is a popular hiking destination, with 260 miles of hiking trails, making it a unique exp...Read more
Horseback riding
The Saint Lucia Mountains have been taken by horseback many a’ times, and the time you visit should be no exception. To truly f...Read more
Paddling
Lake Cachuma in the Santa Barbara region offers some of the best kayak fishing, especially with its location admist the mountai...Read more
Swimming
You can’t go wrong at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, but it’s no match for the Seven Falls in Santa Barbara. This hike might not be...Read more
Wildlife watching
Whether you are an avid birdwatcher (California Condor...check), or just enjoy seeing what the wilderness has to offer, Los Pad...Read more
Terrain
Natural features you'll find at Pine Mountain Campground.
11 Reviews
Contrary to the Hipcamp description, this campground has 4 are reservable sites and 2 walk-ups. You can reserve sites on the recreation.gov site.
The campsite was really cool with good views and tons of big rocks to explore/boulder on. It was a bit smoky due to fires in the area, but at night the skies cleared up and stars were plentiful. As some other reviews have mentioned the flies were a MAJOR annoyance. Luckily the flies didn't bite, but even with a thorough dousing in bug spray me and my gf couldn't stand more than one night. Flies were a dealbreaker for me, so I recommend checking out this site during spring or fall and hope that the flies aren't so rampant.
Like another camper, I found this one by surprise when Reyes Peak was full. PROS: Plenty of free firewood from fallen logs, big camp sites, tons of trees perfect for hammocks and bird watching. CONS: wasps/bees live strong here—the one bathroom was always full of them; in early May it was still freezing at night, like freezing freezing, and it doesn’t accommodate people with disabilities. The bathroom is not accessible at all (there’s a huge step to get in), there are no accessible nearby trails, and it’s really sandy. To get here, you need to drive 30 minutes at 15 MPH up a *very* narrow road. Not recommended for people afraid of heights or trailers. :)
If you're a climber who loves bouldering... this is your spot!
I'm so glad that Rose Valley and Middle Lion campgrounds were packed the weekend we went camping, because that led us to Pine Mountain! To get to Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak, you drive up a skinny winding road up the mountain. Beautiful views! Wouldn't recommend driving to the campsite when the sun isn't up. We loved how spacious the camp sites are. Plenty of trees for hammock hanging. Lots of exploring to do around the campground. The only negative thing we experienced was an abundance of flies. It is the outdoors, after all! The bug spray we brought didn't phase them. The only thing that seemed to help was smoking them out by burning pine needles. They probably won't be as bad when it cools down.
- Park
- Los Padres National Forest
- State
- California
- Country
- United States
- Phone Number
- 805-434-1996
- Directions
- View on Google Maps
- Official Website
- View Website
- Coordinates
- 34.638° N, 119.327° W
- Unknown price
- Tent / Van: 6 Sites (Up to people per site)