American Canyon Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 12All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
American Canyon is a small, secluded campground which borders the Machesna Wilderness. While the campground is accessible through the wilderness, it is a long and strenuous hike as vehicles are not permitted in wilderness areas. The only motorized entrance is through the Avenales Ranch. This is a working cattle ranch, and the owners have been generous to grant access to American Canyon through their ranch. Entrance via the ranch gate is opened only during deer hunting season, by reservation only on rec.gov and with an issued combination code provided. The campground is an Adventure Pass site managed by the Forest Service. The campground is embedded within beautiful oaks, providing much shade and cooling during the hot summer days. While the days do have a tendency of getting rather toasty, ranging between the 90s and 100s, the nights cool down into the 50s and 60s. Keep reading
Recreation
The campground is surrounded by wilderness and private lands, so mountain biking isn’t practical. Horseback riding, hiking and wildlife viewing isn’t really recommended during rifle season. This really is a hunting camp. There are cattle trails in abundance and a rigorous trail (1800’ of elevation gain) from the campground to the Nunez Potrero and Pine Spring near the top of the ridge. The American Canyon watershed is dry in deer season.
Facilities
The American Canyon campground offers 12 campsites for tent and car camping (no RVs due to size restriction). Each site includes a picnic table, and a combination fire ring/grill. There are two outhouses with pit toilets in the campground. No drinking and non-potable water at the site. No trash service, so pack it in, pack it out.
Natural Features
The campground is in a grove of mature oaks. The watershed is dry during deer season. The lower areas are a mix of open grasslands with oak and pine woodlands. The higher terrain is covered in chaparral, with coulter pines near the top of the ridges and scattered open grasslands.
Nearby Attractions
Due to its remoteness, there are only a couple of nearby places that might be of interest. The Vintage Cowboy Winery in Pozo opens on most weekends. The Pozo Saloon is also open on some weekends, but not consistently. Both are approximately 10 miles west of the campground.
What the agency tells you
Adventure Pass and Interagency Pass holders can make reservations and enter the campground. There will be a registration fee applied ($8 for online reservations; $9 for call in reservations) managed by Rec.gov. For more information on purchasing an Adventure Pass, visit Adventure Pass on the Los Padres National Forest website. National Forest Daily Adventure Pass: $5 (valid for 1 day from the date that is scratched off) National Forest Annual Adventure Pass: $30 (valid for 12 months from the month of purchase) - You can purchase your Daily and Annual Adventure Pass at: - Local - San Bernardino National Forest Offices - Local Vendors - Choose your vendor from this Vendor Map - Online - MyScenicDrives.com
Reservations can be made three days in advance.
All single campsite reseravtions cover 6 people and 1 vehicle. Maximum number of people per single site is 6. Maximum number of vehicles per single site is 1. Additional person or vehicle are not allowed.
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Potable and non-potable water not available at the campground. Bring adequate water supply.
Fireworks are not permitted. See fireworks ban for more information.
No cell service can be found in the campground.
Campfires are normally permitted year-round without a California Campfire Use Permit. Under some conditions, wood fires and barbecues may be prohibited in all areas of the national forest. Fires at Campground are only permitted in fire rings provided by the Forest Service. Please check local office for local fire restrictions prior to your arrival.
Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov
Know Before You Go
In campgrounds and picnic areas, dogs must be kept on a leash. Dogs must wear a collar with current tags at all times, as state and county laws apply on National Forest System lands.
There is no trash service in the campground. Remember Leave No Trace. Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled food. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter. Burning trash is never recommended.
Click here for more information on the Los Padres National Forest.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 12
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 18 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- PIT TOILETS on 12 of 12 campsite records
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- Hunting
- Night sky · 687th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 11
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 4
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
12 sites
All 12 sites
| 1 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 10 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 11 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 12 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 2 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 3 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 4 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 5 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 6 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 7 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 8 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
| 9 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Turkey Flat OHV Staging AreaLos Padres National Forest · 5.5 mi
La Panza CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 5.9 mi
Hi Mountain CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 6.1 mi
Navajo Flats CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 6.4 miFriis CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 7.3 miFrom Hwy 101, take the Santa Margarita exit, turning off at El Camino Real and across the railroad tracks at the east end of town on Estrada Avenue/Hwy 58. After 1.4 miles Hwy 58 turns left but continue straight on Pozo Road. From where Hwy 58 leaves Pozo Road, follow Pozo Road for almost 20 miles, through the town of Pozo, keeping right at the La Panza Road junction, until you reach the Avenales Ranch Road. Follow Avenales Ranch Road about 5 miles, through a gate (keep closed!) to the sign for American Canyon where you turn left and continue another 2 miles.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Edna, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 49°F, day 75°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 39°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Septembers are colder than the September line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
American Canyon Campground is in California’s 24th congressional district. Its representative, Salud Carbajal (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →