Agency-listedUSFSFree
Hidden Potrero Camp
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.56888, -119.73861
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 Hidden Potrero Camp
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,718 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Hidden Potrero CampNIFC · 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 Hidden Potrero Camp · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump3 mi
- WWater5 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- +Urgent care8 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- PPropane9 mi
- RxPharmacy9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- MMechanic9 mi
- @Mail9 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- AAir-up9 mi
- OOutfitter11 mi
- ShShower11 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — Hidden Potrero Camp
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
2,718 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.56888, -119.73861
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Hidden Potrero Camp · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureStream · nearby
- Nearest townPainted Cave · ~5.4 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.3 mi
- FuelShell · ~8.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump stationThousand Trails · ~2.7 mi
- GroceriesCielo Store · ~6.2 mi
- PharmacyFederal Drug Company · ~8.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicPesetas Care Center · ~8.8 mi
- HardwareChannel City Hardware and Gifts · ~8.9 mi
EV charging — from Hidden Potrero Camp · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger8.9 mi straight-line S — BOA North Santa Barbara CA6-121 (Santa Barbara, CA · Electrify America · CCS · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach18 within 25 mi · 61 within 50 · 509 within 100 · 1083 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)8.9 mi — Santa Barbara, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Santa Barbara
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO9.1 mi — La Cumbre Plaza, Santa Barbara
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)8.8 mi — PCS1 PEABODY CHARTER, Santa Barbara, CA · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Best Western - Pepper Tree Inn, Santa Barbara, 8.8 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; guest use only; 2 hour limit · 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 219790 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Hidden Potrero Camp · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomOutdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center · ~11.7 mi S · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletDavy Brown · ~17.9 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletNira · ~17.9 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletFigueroa · ~18.1 mi NW · USFS
Open Hidden Potrero Camp elsewhere
Other camps near Hidden Potrero Camp
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Upper Oso~2.0 mi · fee
- Sage Hill Group~3.4 mi · fee
- Los Prietos~4.1 mi · fee
- Paradise~4.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Hidden Potrero Camp
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Hidden Potrero Camp are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Hidden Potrero Camp
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 Hidden Potrero Camp
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 — Hidden Potrero Camp
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 →