“a beautiful location to relax and enjoy nature”
Overview Ponderosa Campground offers visitors a beautiful location to relax and enjoy nature. It runs along the Nacimiento River, which provides a variety of recreational opportunities. Swimming, fishing and wading are all enjoyed by visitors, as well as hiking and backpacking on any of the surrounding mountain trails.Recreation The Nacimiento River provides opportunities for trout fishing and wading, as well as swimming in any of the swimming holes along its course. A variety of hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking trails can be accessed within a short drive from the campground. The trails offer scenic views of waterfalls, massive redwood groves, meadows and mountain streams. Facilities The campground offers single-family sites for tent and RV camping. Utility hookups are not available and the parking surfaces are paved. A maximum of two vehicles is allowed for each site. Additional vehicles are not allowed in the campground. Each site is equipped with a table and campfire ring with grill. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Trash collection bins are available throughout the campground.Natural Features The campground is situated next to the river and has a scattered canopy of ponderosa pine, oak, madrone and sycamore trees, which provide ample shade in most campsites. It is located in the Los Padres National Forest in the mountains of Big Sur at an elevation of 1,500 feet. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area. Nearby Attractions Mission San Antonio is a short drive east of the campground. Located in the Fort Hunter Liggett Military Base, the mission is one of the oldest in California. A museum, original aqueducts and a Native American cemetery are found here. The San Antonio Reservoir Recreation Area is located about 32 miles southwest of the campground. Boating, fishing, swimming and guided tours are available.
Reviews of Ponderosa Campground
5 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on October 01, 2019AT&T 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on April 26, 2018T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on October 01, 2019Reviews
Nice quiet campground spread out so you're not on top of every other camper. No showers but toilets are clean.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T
This campground is really only for tent campers. We tried hauling our 30-ft trailer up here to no avail. Poor decision.
The road in is narrow and windy. Doable, but a little scary. The campground itself is too tight for campers over 20 ft long. We got stuck going around the main campground loop and it took us nearly 45 minutes to maneuver our way out.
I would only go here with a tent.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 0
Site Number: -
RV Length: 30 ft
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
It was 102° with an overwhelming number of flies and wasps. No cell service. Site was pre-assigned and did not work well with my rooftop tent setup. Outhouse only. Only available water was at camp entrance. Other campers were building large fires in spite of the prohibition against fires due to the exceptionally dry landscape and heat. We left early because the egress is slow and challenging. I would return in the Spring if I could get a better site for my setup, if the handles were put back on the faucets nearer to the individual sites, if there really is a camp host and if there was routine trash pickup. The nighttime stars were amazing. Incredibly quiet during the week. Properly run, this could be a great campground.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 20
This is a very nice NF campground in a remote forest. Sites are nicely separated with a picnic table and fire ring. Not all have a decent tent pad. There are 3 pit toilets with a water spigot next to each. I assume it's potable water as there are no signs indicting otherwise. Best for tent camping but a small RV or campervan would fit in most sites. I didn't overnight here as there is free creekside camping along the road not far away. There are a lot of little flies even in the fall when I was here but they didn't bother me unless I stayed in one spot too long and they didn't bite.
To get cell service you will have to drive about 7 miles East or West to the end of Cone Peak Rd.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 0
Site Number: 0
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
T-Mobile
Ponderosa Campground is run by the United States Forest Service in the Los Padres National Forest. One of the campground feature's is the Nacimiento River that runs through the backcountry camp. This is just 13 miles off PCH-1.
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Ponderosa Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- National forest
- Check In
- 3:00 PM
- Check Out
- 2:00 PM
- Last Nightly Rate
- 25.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 30 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 15.0
- Max Length
- 32 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 22
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
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