Washburn Campground

A GREAT find, can't say enough good things about this place. We stayed in the Washburn campground (up the hill/less expensive/better views/less people, more space, less trees and a clear view of the sky in every campsite (visited in February, we have Starlink and solar). The stars here are incredible at night, all you hear are the waves crashing, and beautiful views in every direction. The camp host, Shelby, was delightful and very accommodating when we wanted to switch sites. Lots of bathrooms, very clean, lots of dumpsters and water spigots, all conveniently located. Rangers regularly drive through and we felt safe and attended to; a sketchy situation had materialized in one of the sites and the Ranger stood in the pouring rain for two hours, ensuring these folks left. A well run and maintained area. RV water and dump station at bottom of hill. automated, $10.

Over the course of 3 days we encountered numerous dog tics on our site, and one member of our party got bit, and developed Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Do NOT take your pets here. The place should be shot down until this is addressed or dies down. Signs warning of this only appear upon exiting the camp, not entry. As a side note, one staff member at the entrance with a strong accent was extremely rude and shouldn’t work with the public. It’s such a nice location, but I’d avoid it at all costs until this is addressed.

First off, this is a very nicely located campground on the south side of Big Sur with plenty to do in the area. We were here while highway 1 was still closed north of Ragged Point so everything on this side of the closure was within easy driving distance. We stayed in the upper campground (Washburn) which is about 1.25-1.5 miles from the main campground. There are no hookups at that campground but there are water spigots (no threads on the ones I saw) and plenty of pit toilets. The toilets up in this campground were fine for what they were. The Washburn campground doesn't have too much tree cover so you get nice solar and our Starlink worked pretty well. However, Verizon service was very spotty and couldn't be relied on. Even with our booster we would struggle to get signal. Our site itself was nothing special but the sites in the northwest corner looked like they would get really great views of sunset over the Pacific (237 and 238 looked the best but I couldn't say for sure). You can take the road and then a pathway to the beach under highway 1, about 1.5 miles one way probably.

There are showers and flush toilets down in the main campground but they were in really rough shape. First, you need tokens to shower so bring some change. It is 4 tokens per $1 and each token gives you 3.5min of hot water. However, when we were there you could get unlimited cold water. We tried four different showers and only got a good shower in one. The building by site 83 seemed to have no water pressure (shower was just going constantly but was little more than a dribble) and the handicap stall was out of service. The building by site 73 was a similar story but the handicap stall seemed to have OK water pressure. The building by site 93 had fine water pressure but the water never warmed up so I paid for nothing. Plus all of the shower and bathroom stalls were pretty dingy.

Pro-tip, the tokens here are 4/$1 and will also work at Pfieffer Big Sur, where tokens are 1/$1. So stock up here if you are going further north and get showers at a discount.

We didn't check out the bathrooms in the upper loop of the other campground (sites 1-35) but that area looked nice from driving past.

The town of Cambria was within easy biking distance and had some nice restaurants along Moonstone Beach. The elephant seal rookery was not that far north and amazing to see, there were so many of them! Past that further north is more of the same story and then you start climbing to Ragged Point which is quite a distance above the ocean.

Overall an OK experience, but seems like a bit of a ripoff for what you pay. Although most or all of that is probably due to the location.

There were several empty sites to choose from on Sunday Feb. 12. Our fee reflects a 2-dollar senior discount off the $20 fee. They call this campground in the Hearst San Simeon state park primitive but the amenities were fine for us. We had a fire pit, picnic table, level parking, nice grass, and a great view of grassy hills. You are allowed to use the showers in the other campground in this park, San Simeon Creek. That campground was crowded looking with sites very close together. A word about those showers--not great, at least the one near site 39. Tokens are required, the water was barely warm, there is a bench but your stuff can get pretty wet if you're not careful. Definitely needs a re-build. The proximity to the ocean is nice but a long hike from Washburn. You can hear traffic on hwy 1 (definitely moreso in San Simeon Creek) but not bothersome at all.

I have stayed at both areas, Washburn & the Creek Lower section in my travel trailer. Both have its pros and cons. The lower creek had running water, toilets, showers, and is close to the beach. The Washburn was primitive with vault toilets, water in spigots, but is farther than the beach. Ultimately, I preferred the Washburn because it was more open and better T-Mobile internet coverage than the Creek, which had absolutely none. I was forced to interact with my kids instead of watching worldstar hip hop videos.

Best part of both these campgrounds was the price of the stay. It was definitely cheaper than hotels in Cambria.

Maybe if the drought weren't so severe, this would be a pretty spot. But it was a dry dusty, cram-packed place on a summer weekend in late September. Still, it was all we were able to reserve in advance, and that only last minute after a cancellation, I guess. Pit toilets. Lots of big family groups with the usual campfire mania that made it impossible to sleep with our windows open due to smoke inhalation. Why CA parks allow campfires when the area is a tinterbox, I can't fathom. Drove to the part of the park with showers at 6 am, cleaned up and got the heck out of there to make our morning coffee with generator in a scenic pullout up the road. Serviceable only. Can't imagine going there as a destination in its current condition.

We got a walk-up campsite here with no issues. We were given a nice site and the campground was less than half-full which meant we had no one in the neighboring campsites. There were TONS of ground squirrels around the campsite and they kept trying to sneak over towards our picnic table while we prepared food.

Pit toilets were relatively clean and dumpsters were also available in the campground. Community water spigots were between every-other site too. Overall a pleasant stay.

We stayed at Washburn site 202 for two nights in mid-October 2020 (foolishly thinking that by October coast would not be foggy). The campsite was fine, very private, but Campers with a trailer about 100 yards away had their generator droning ALL DAY, and they were sitting outside! So annoying. Generator hours should be limited to a few hours per day, it ruins the camping experience. Hearst Castle was closed due to COVID, but we did visit the Hearst Winery (across from Hearst Castle on the water) where we had blue skies and sun as we shared a bottle of wine.

We visited the elephant seals at the Piedras Blancas Rookery which is a must-see, just 7 miles north of San Simeon on Highway 1. There is plenty of parking with a viewing boardwalk (and it's free).

Cambria, a few miles south of the Campground has many restaurants and a decent grocery store ( Cookie Crock Market, 1240 Knollwood Drive Cambria), if you have a big rig parking at the grocery store would be challenging as it's up a winding road in the middle of town, but we had no problem with our 20-foot van.

The 5 days prior to our San Simeon stay we had sun and warm weather at Pismo State beach (North Campground) and at our Harvest Host locations in Paso Robles (in fact it was too warm in Paso during the day). The CA coast is unpredictable, bring your fleece and down jackets. Regarding cell service, I think we had one bar, very limited, but we had service in Cambria (T Mobile)

The sites are clean, large, and the campground was well patrolled by State Parks, Hearst Castle was close for Covid so I assume we got extra attention). No problem with our 28' travel trailer and F250 parking in the site. The Verizon cell service was 4G 2 bars at the dinner table (inside the trailer), and zero in the bedroom, fire pit, and picnic table, so be careful if reception is necessary. We love Washburn, Cambria and the Elephant Seals. Good place to meet up with friends and family. Several large sites with great views of the coastal foothills. Sunsets over the ocean from the bluff behind the site.

Most campgrounds from my experience are mostly quiet, and if not it is enforced. I am really tired of the country music blaring at night with parties, yet the Cal State Parks treats this campground differently I guess than the rest I have been to where there is a curfew. The campground is nice, with enough space between campers, and a nice view of trees and small mountains.