Agency-listedUSFSFree
Buck Spring
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 35.13495, -120.11798
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 site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. 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 Buck Spring
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,572 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Buck SpringNIFC · 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 Buck Spring · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery20 mi
- FFuel21 mi
- EVEV fast charger21 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- @Mail21 mi
- PPropane21 mi
- HHardware22 mi
- MMechanic22 mi
- WWater22 mi
- LLaundry23 mi
- +Urgent care23 mi
- ShShower29 mi
- DDump29 mi
- AAir-up31 mi
- OOutfitter32 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 22-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 20 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 — Buck Spring
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,572 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
35.13495, -120.11798
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Buck Spring · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureBrown Canyon (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townCalifornia Valley · ~14.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelChevron · ~20.9 mi
- Propane / LPGPropane · ~17.4 mi
- Dump station~29.2 mi
- GroceriesMarina · ~19.9 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~21.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicMarian Medical Center · ~20.9 mi
- HardwareMiner's True Value · ~21.9 mi
EV charging — from Buck Spring · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger21.0 mi straight-line SW — Fairfield Inn Suites By Marriot - Santa Maria · EVCS · CHAdeMO, J1772, CCS · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach11 within 25 mi · 67 within 50 · 229 within 100 · 821 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)21.1 mi — Santa Maria, CA - Nicholson Ave - Tesla Supercharger, Santa Maria
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)19.5 mi — THEGATEHOUSEBNV FRONT, Santa Maria, CA · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 422102 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Buck Spring · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBuck Spring · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBaja · ~1.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMiranda Pines · ~8.5 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHorseshoe Spring · ~9.5 mi S · USFS
Open Buck Spring elsewhere
Other camps near Buck Spring
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Baja~1.2 mi
- Paradise Spring~1.9 mi
- Brookshire~7.9 mi · fee
- Miranda Pines~8.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Buck Spring
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Buck Spring are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Buck Spring
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
Free but developed (not dispersed) - review
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 Buck Spring
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 — Buck Spring
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Off-grid communication →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 →