Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Lower Piney
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 36.28345, -121.47026
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 Lower Piney
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Lower PineyNIFC · 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 Lower Piney · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery3 mi
- WWater4 mi
- EVEV fast charger12 mi
- FFuel12 mi
- RxPharmacy12 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- LLaundry13 mi
- @Mail13 mi
- MMechanic13 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- AAir-up17 mi
- ShShower17 mi
- DDump19 mi
- OOutfitter27 mi
- PPropane28 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 — Lower Piney
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
CA
Coordinates
36.28345, -121.47026
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Lower Piney · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featurePiney Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townMillers Ranch · ~3.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.5 mi
- FuelValero · ~12.4 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~18.7 mi
- GroceriesNoggles Place · ~3.1 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~12.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicAgile Occupational Medicine · ~19.2 mi
- HardwareSoledad Hardware & Lbr Inc · ~12.6 mi
EV charging — from Lower Piney · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger12.3 mi straight-line NE — Kroger – Foods Co 387 (Soledad, 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 reach12 within 25 mi · 65 within 50 · 462 within 100 · 983 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)12.5 mi — Soledad, CA - H Dela Rosa Street - Tesla Supercharger, Soledad
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.4 mi — Soledad Mission Shopping Center, Soledad
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.4 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
- 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 167524 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lower Piney · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomNorth Chalone Peak Vault Toilet #403 · ~19.0 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomWest Pinnacles Visitor Contact Station · ~19.1 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomScout Peak Vault Toilet #400 · ~20.4 mi NE · NPS
- RestroomChaparral Comfort Station #518 · ~20.4 mi NE · NPS
Open Lower Piney elsewhere
Other camps near Lower Piney
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Upper Piney~0.4 mi
- Arroyo Seco~3.3 mi · fee
- Arroyo Seco Group~3.7 mi · fee
- Wildcat Campground~5.1 mi
The unit that manages Lower Piney
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lower Piney are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Lower Piney
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
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
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 Lower Piney
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 — Lower Piney
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →First-night troubleshooting →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 →