Ponderosa Campground

I came here on a solo camping trip in March 2018 for a few days. When I came to Ponderosa campground, it was $25 a night. There is a host that lives on site, Pat. He went around the campground several times a day to check in, make sure everything was good and to make sure the restrooms were stocked. The campground itself is beautiful. It's pretty nicely spread out too. It is right by a creek, which was completely flowing when I visited. There were so many birds, it would be a great place for bird watching. There is no service out here, so be aware of that. It also got below freezing at night when I stayed so make sure you have the right sleeping bag. Each campsite has a picnic table, a firepit (which you don't need a separate campfire permit for here), and a charcoal grill. I would de

Stayed here for the first time this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. The sites are spread apart enough to offer some privacy and certain sites even offer the sounds of the neighboring stream. It’s also 13 miles from some fantastic hikes and a less traveled pocket of Big Sur. The sites offer both fire pits and bbq stands which is much appreciated. We will definitely be back

We just stayed here May 17th-19th 2019 in spot 1. Friday and Saturday was absolutely beautiful. Only one other group camping in spot 6 since the forcast said rain. We didn't get any drops till halfway through Saturday day. Friday was absolutely amazing. Spot 1 is HUGE!!!! We have a 9 person condominium tent and could have had at least 5 of them in this spot. It's a short walk to the bathroom. And the creek runs behind and to the side of the camping area. I can see if it was a busy time that the bridge that leads into the camping area could be bothersome, but seeing as nobody was here that wasn't a problem. The creek is amazingly beautiful and absolutely clear! You can see the trout swimming in place and salamanders crawling along under the water. The bugs weren't a bother as I think they k

The place is excellent for car camping. It’s easy to park and set up your camp site. They have running water, a grill, and fire pit at each site. The area is very green and beautiful. The creek is nice to lounge in with the mid 80 degree weather when I visited in August. The camp site is also remote enough to get a really good view of the stars yet still really close to the Bay Area. The only downside is that you can occasionally smell the toilets from the site. So I would recommend that you reserve a site away from them.

We used the route from Jolon Road to get to the campgrounds, it's a beautiful drive and remains generally untouched aside from all the explosion warning signs on Fort property. The campgrounds were scattered in a paved loop and there are some great no neighbor plots if you want alone time and shared areas for small groups. The river was flowing, some places deep enough to submerge yourself. Not too many bugs, a few black legged ticks (Lymes carriers, be careful). Very clean, the bathrooms were holes, no oder issues for us but hot days could get bad I suspect. Great simple camping area.