Agency-listedUSFSFee
Arroyo Seco
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 36.23603, -121.48136
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Arroyo Seco
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 892 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Arroyo SecoNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Arroyo Seco · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- GGrocery3 mi
- FFuel14 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- MMechanic15 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- EVEV fast charger15 mi
- RxPharmacy15 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- ShShower16 mi
- DDump18 mi
- +Urgent care19 mi
- AAir-up20 mi
- OOutfitter29 mi
- PPropane31 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 3 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Arroyo Seco
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
892 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
36.23603, -121.48136
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Arroyo Seco · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townGreenfield · ~14.6 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~0.2 mi
- FuelShell · ~14.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~18.2 mi
- GroceriesNoggles Place · ~2.9 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~15.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicAgile Occupational Medicine · ~19.2 mi
- HardwareSoledad Hardware & Lbr Inc · ~15.6 mi
EV charging — from Arroyo Seco · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger14.6 mi straight-line NE — Greenfield, CA - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach12 within 25 mi · 63 within 50 · 422 within 100 · 966 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS15.3 mi — Kroger – Foods Co 387 (Soledad, CA), Soledad
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO15.3 mi — Soledad Mission Shopping Center, Soledad
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)15.3 mi — Tractor Supply Store - Front Entrance, Soledad, CA · Blink Network · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 6 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Esalen Institute - Tesla Destination, Big Sur, 11.6 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 170436 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Arroyo Seco · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomNorth Chalone Peak Vault Toilet #403 · ~21.6 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomWest Pinnacles Visitor Contact Station · ~21.9 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomScout Peak Vault Toilet #400 · ~23.1 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomChaparral Comfort Station #518 · ~23.3 mi NE · NPS
Open Arroyo Seco elsewhere
Other camps near Arroyo Seco
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Arroyo Seco Group~0.4 mi · fee
- Tassajara Creek Campground~3.0 mi
- Lower Piney~3.3 mi
- Upper Piney~3.5 mi
The unit that manages Arroyo Seco
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Arroyo Seco are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Arroyo Seco
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-20: $40 per night for a modern single site; a primitive single site is $35, a modern double $70-$80, a primitive double $60-$70, and the group campground $150 (50 people and 10 cars included). Add $2 per night on weekends and holidays and $10 per night per extra vehicle; day use is $10 per day. Interagency Senior and Access passes take 50% off the camping fee only. Concessionaire-run (Parks Management Company). recreation.gov confirms $40 standard / $35 tent-only / $150 group for all of 2026. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation/arroyo-seco-campground.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Arroyo Seco
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Arroyo Seco
What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Bugs & critters →Power off-grid →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →