Agency-listedUSFSFee
Mono
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.52778, -119.62835
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 Mono
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,439 ft.
Fire & smoke — around MonoNIFC · 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 Mono · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- MMechanic6 mi
- WWater6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- EVEV fast charger7 mi
- RxPharmacy7 mi
- +Urgent care7 mi
- @Mail7 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- DDump8 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- PPropane9 mi
- AAir-up11 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 — Mono
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,439 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.52778, -119.62835
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Mono · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townMission Canyon · ~7.1 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~6.2 mi
- FuelVillage Service Station · ~6.3 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~8.7 mi
- Dump stationThousand Trails · ~7.9 mi
- GroceriesMontecito Village Grocery · ~6.2 mi
- PharmacyPavilions Pharmacy · ~7.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicCottage Urgent Care · ~7.4 mi
- HardwareBuena Tool · ~8.2 mi
EV charging — from Mono · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger7.3 mi straight-line S — 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 reach17 within 25 mi · 58 within 50 · 576 within 100 · 1096 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS7.6 mi — Santa Barbara Eastside Library, Santa Barbara
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO8.5 mi — CSG EV SB ORTEGA 4, Santa Barbara
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.4 mi — INNOVATION PL EV1, Santa, CA · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: Mon: 6:00am-4:00pm; Tue: 6:00am-4:00pm; Wed: 6:00am-4:00pm; Thu: 6:00am-4:00pm; Fri: 6:00am-4:00pm
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — San Ysidro Ranch - Tesla Destination, Montecito, 5.6 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 Mono · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomOutdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center · ~9.3 mi SW · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletPine Mountain · ~18.8 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletReyes Peak · ~19.3 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHoliday Group · ~20.0 mi E · USFS
Open Mono elsewhere
Other camps near Mono
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- P-Bar Flat~2.3 mi · fee
- Middle Santa Ynez~3.0 mi · fee
- Lower Caliente~3.7 mi · fee
- Hidden Potrero Camp~6.9 mi
The unit that manages Mono
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Mono are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Mono
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 live page for Mono (every slug probed under fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation/ and fs.usda.gov/fs-rec-area/ returns 404), it has no recreation.gov listing (a name search and a 25-mile radius search both come back with nothing nearer than 150 mi), and the Forest Service recreation-sites record flags fee_charged=Y with fee_type EXPANDED AMENITY FEE but carries no amount and no page URL. Checked https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation/camping-cabins and https://apps.fs.usda.gov/arcx/rest/services/EDW/EDW_RecInfraRecreationSites_02/MapServer/0.
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 Mono
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 — Mono
What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Bugs & critters →Power off-grid →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 →