Agency-listedUSFSFree
Hardluck
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.68813, -118.84757
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 Hardluck
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,861 ft.
Fire & smoke — around HardluckNIFC · 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 Hardluck · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel7 mi
- GGrocery7 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- PPropane9 mi
- +Urgent care9 mi
- WWater10 mi
- DDump10 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- RxPharmacy11 mi
- LLaundry11 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- OOutfitter26 mi
- AAir-up29 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, 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 — Hardluck
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,861 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.68813, -118.84757
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Hardluck · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSnowy Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townCaswell · ~3.7 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~9.6 mi
- FuelShell · ~7.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~9.7 mi
- GroceriesSuperstar Food Market · ~9.3 mi
- PharmacyRite Aid · ~18.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicFirst Aid · ~22.9 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~25.2 mi
EV charging — from Hardluck · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.1 mi straight-line N — Lebec, CA - Tesla Supercharger · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 38 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 reach15 within 25 mi · 192 within 50 · 925 within 100 · 1229 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS9.2 mi — DC CORRIDOR FRAZIERPARK DC1, Lebec
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO9.2 mi — DC CORRIDOR FRAZIERPARK DC1, Lebec
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.2 mi — DC CORRIDOR FRAZIERPARK L2, Lebec, 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 372599 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Hardluck · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLos Alamos Group Campground · ~2.3 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLos Alamos · ~2.4 mi NE · USFS
- RestroomYellowbar · ~3.3 mi SE · USFS
- Flush restroomEmigrant Landing · ~3.8 mi E · USFS
Open Hardluck elsewhere
Other camps near Hardluck
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Los Alamos Group Campground~2.3 mi · fee
- Los Alamos~2.4 mi · fee
- Kings~5.1 mi · fee
- Gold Hill Camping Area~5.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Hardluck
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Hardluck are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Hardluck
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 Hardluck
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 — Hardluck
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Getting unstuck →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 →