Agency-listedUSFSFee
Middle Santa Ynez
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.51084, -119.57925
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 Middle Santa Ynez
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,585 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Middle Santa YnezNIFC · 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 Middle Santa Ynez · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- MMechanic6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- +Urgent care7 mi
- RxPharmacy7 mi
- WWater8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- DDump9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- PPropane10 mi
- AAir-up13 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, 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 — Middle Santa Ynez
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,585 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.51084, -119.57925
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Middle Santa Ynez · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townToro Canyon · ~6.2 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~7.5 mi
- FuelVillage Service Station · ~6.0 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~9.6 mi
- Dump stationMarborg Industries · ~8.6 mi
- GroceriesPierre Lafond · ~5.9 mi
- PharmacyPavilions Pharmacy · ~7.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicCottage Urgent Care · ~7.1 mi
- HardwareBuena Tool · ~8.9 mi
EV charging — from Middle Santa Ynez · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger6.8 mi straight-line SW — Montecito, CA - 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 reach18 within 25 mi · 67 within 50 · 598 within 100 · 1103 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS8.2 mi — Santa Barbara Eastside Library, Santa Barbara
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO8.7 mi — Shepard Place Shops, Carpinteria
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.3 mi — Las Canchas Homeowners Association, Carpinteria, CA · Blink Network · J1772 · 2 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 — San Ysidro Ranch - Tesla Destination, Montecito, 5.1 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 195781 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Middle Santa Ynez · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomOutdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center · ~9.8 mi SW · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletPine Mountain · ~16.9 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoliday Group · ~17.2 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletReyes Peak · ~17.4 mi NE · USFS
Open Middle Santa Ynez elsewhere
Other camps near Middle Santa Ynez
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- P-Bar Flat~0.7 mi · fee
- Lower Caliente~1.9 mi · fee
- Mono~3.0 mi · fee
- Hidden Potrero Camp~9.9 mi
The unit that manages Middle Santa Ynez
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Middle Santa Ynez are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Middle Santa Ynez
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-22: no rate published by the agency. Los Padres publishes no recreation page for this campground -- twelve slug variants under /r05/lospadres/recreation/ and /fs-rec-area/ all returned a clean 404. The live EDW recreation-sites record flags fee_charged=Y with fee_type=EXPANDED AMENITY FEE but its fee_description field is EMPTY, so the agency asserts a fee without ever stating an amount. recreation.gov returns ZERO campgrounds within 15 mi of this pin. There is no number to publish and we are not guessing one. Checked: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation/middle-santa-ynez-campground (404), the EDW recreation-sites layer, and https://www.recreation.gov/api/search at lat 34.51084 lon -119.579251, radius 15.
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 Middle Santa Ynez
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 — Middle Santa Ynez
What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Bugs & critters →Leave no trace →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 →