Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Hanging Valley Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 36.16856, -121.49539
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 Hanging Valley Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,725 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Hanging Valley CampgroundNIFC · 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 Hanging Valley Campground · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- EVEV fast charger15 mi
- ShShower16 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- LLaundry16 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- +Urgent care18 mi
- DDump19 mi
- RxPharmacy20 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- AAir-up25 mi
- OOutfitter32 mi
- PPropane36 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 7 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 — Hanging Valley Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,725 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
36.16856, -121.49539
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Hanging Valley Campground · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureArroyo Seco (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townTassajara Hot Springs · ~5.4 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.1 mi
- FuelShell · ~16.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~18.6 mi
- GroceriesNoggles Place · ~6.7 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~19.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicAgile Occupational Medicine · ~20.0 mi
- HardwareSoledad Hardware & Lbr Inc · ~20.0 mi
EV charging — from Hanging Valley Campground · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.4 mi straight-line W — Big Sur, CA - Ventana - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach12 within 25 mi · 59 within 50 · 391 within 100 · 939 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS19.6 mi — Kroger – Foods Co 387 (Soledad, CA), Soledad
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO19.7 mi — Soledad Mission Shopping Center, Soledad
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)19.6 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, 8.5 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 149296 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Hanging Valley Campground · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomNorth Chalone Peak Vault Toilet #403 · ~25.5 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomWest Pinnacles Visitor Contact Station · ~26.1 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomScout Peak Vault Toilet #400 · ~27.2 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomChaparral Comfort Station #518 · ~27.4 mi NE · NPS
Open Hanging Valley Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Hanging Valley Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Escondido Campground~1.9 mi
- Tassajara Creek Campground~3.7 mi
- Memorial Park~3.8 mi · fee
- Arroyo Seco Group~4.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Hanging Valley Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Hanging Valley Campground are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Hanging Valley Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Hanging Valley Campground
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 — Hanging Valley Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading the aerial →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 →