Los Prietos
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 44 mi
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:42 UTC
- A night
- $40From, per site
- Sites
- 3837 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Los Prietos Campground is situated in the Los Padres National Forest and provides access to a variety of outdoor adventures, including water-related recreation and hiking. The family-friendly campground is green and lush and is a great place to camp in the mountains of western California. Keep reading
Recreation
The Santa Ynez River is popular for a variety of water-related recreation. The river can be accessed at White Rock Day Use Area, less than a half-mile from the campground. Cachuma Lake Recreation Area is no-body-contact reservoir about 10 miles northwest of the campground. It offers boating, fishing and kayaking. Anglers will find an abundance of annually stocked trout. Carp and bass are also common catches. Visitors enjoy a variety of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. The Aliso National Recreation Trail is a popular, 2.5-mile loop that begins near the campground. Also nearby is the 18-mile Santa Cruz Trail, which provides access to a variety of other trails in the area. The Camuesa OHV Route and its connecting trails are available within 10 miles of the campground.
Facilities
The campground offers dozens of single-family sites for tent or RV camping. No utility hookups are available at the campground. Each site is equipped with a table, campfire ring with grill and a pedestal grill. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided. Trash collection bins are available throughout the campground.
Natural Features
The campground is nestled on the side of the Santa Ynez Mountains. Beautiful, mature oak trees provide ample shade, and abundant vegetation blankets the ground. The sites are roomy and allow for some privacy and separation.
Nearby Attractions
The campground is located 19 miles from Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean.
What the agency tells you
In order to contact our offices, please use the email: customerservice@pmcparks.com or view our website: CampOne.Com for answers to frequently asked questions.
Poison oak is abundant in the area; use caution
Additional fees will be collected for extra vehicles at the campground
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Click here for more information on the Los Padres National Forest
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.
Campsite reservation fee covers 6 people and 1 vehicle. Maximum number of people per site is 8 ($10.00 additional charge per person, per night after 6 people). Maximum number of vehicles per site is 2 ($10.00 additional charge for 2nd vehicle per night).
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 38 · 8 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 35 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…ring with grill and a pedestal grill. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided. Trash collection…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…and a pedestal grill. Flush toilets and drinking water are provided. Trash collection bins are available…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, River, Coast
- Biking
- Fishing
- Swimming
- Night sky · 959th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 7 days ago, 26 km away
- No change
Full this Saturdayread 16:42 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 35 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 34 are free on Mon, Oct 19. read 16:42 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 16
What you actually pay
“$30.00 per site, $10.00 for each extra vehicle.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $40 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking, plus the agency’s published $2 weekend rate on Friday and Saturday. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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 · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:42 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
38 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 37 mapped sitesAll 38 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 37 of the 38 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 001 | type not stated | 30 ft | 15 amp | 716 ft | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 002 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 105 ft | 929 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 003 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 105 ft | 1,026 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 004 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 119 ft | 1,144 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 005 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 116 ft | 1,274 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 006 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 98 ft | 1,382 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 007 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 80 ft | 1,352 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 83 ft | 1,470 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 009 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 80 ft | 1,421 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 83 ft | 1,543 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 011 | tent only nonelectric | 142 ft | 1,591 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 012 | tent only nonelectric | 52 ft | 1,466 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 013 | tent only nonelectric | 52 ft | 1,416 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 014 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 78 ft | 1,439 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 015 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 165 ft | 1,130 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 016 | tent only nonelectric | 124 ft | 965 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 017 | standard nonelectric | 78 ft | 1,069 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 018 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 70 ft | 1,121 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 019 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 70 ft | 1,153 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 020 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 69 ft | 987 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 021 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 82 ft | 1,057 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 022 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 69 ft | 933 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 023 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 112 ft | 909 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 024 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 112 ft | 907 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 025 | standard nonelectric | 15 ft | 133 ft | 1,243 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 026 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | 113 ft | 1,088 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 027 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 92 ft | 1,044 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 028 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 54 ft | 935 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 029 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 92 ft | 1,097 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 030 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 91 ft | 1,214 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 031 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 91 ft | 1,150 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 032 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 110 ft | 994 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 033 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 84 ft | 903 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 034 | standard nonelectric | 24 ft | 54 ft | 891 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 035 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 76 ft | 747 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 036 | tent only nonelectric | 84 ft | 866 ft | $40 | ||
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 037 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 70 ft | 716 ft | $40 | |
| AREA LOS PRIETOS | 038 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 70 ft | 675 ft | $40 |
25 of 38 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Paradise CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 0.2 mi
Fremont CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 0.6 mi
Sage HillLos Padres National Forest · 1.0 mi
Sage Hill Group CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 1.1 miUpper Oso CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 2.4 mi
Upper Oso CampgroundLos Padres National Forest · 3.3 miFrom Highway 101 in Santa Barbara, turn east onto Highway 154 and continue about 11 miles. Turn onto Paradise Road and travel about 3 miles to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Eastern Goleta Valley, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 51°F, day 73°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 40°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 Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Los Prietos 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 →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneySalud O. CarbajalU.S. Representative · California’s 24th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAdam B. SchiffU.S. Senator · California
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAlex PadillaU.S. Senator · California
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Los Prietos, Los Padres National Forest, California
Dear Salud O. Carbajal, I’m a constituent in California’s 24th district. I tried to camp at Los Prietos, Los Padres National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 37 of the 38 campsites the agency files at Los Prietos, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 35 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Los Prietos keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Los Prietos. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Los Prietos (Los Padres National Forest, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Los Prietos, Los Padres National Forest, California
Dear Adam B. Schiff, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Los Prietos, Los Padres National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 37 of the 38 campsites the agency files at Los Prietos, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 35 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Los Prietos keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Los Prietos. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Los Prietos (Los Padres National Forest, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Los Prietos, Los Padres National Forest, California
Dear Alex Padilla, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Los Prietos, Los Padres National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 37 of the 38 campsites the agency files at Los Prietos, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 35 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Los Prietos keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Los Prietos. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Los Prietos (Los Padres National Forest, California) via campanac.com