Agency-listedUSFSFee
Upper Oso
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CA · 34.55468, -119.76941
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 Upper Oso
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,142 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Upper OsoNIFC · 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 Upper Oso · Los Padres National Forest · CA
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump1 mi
- WWater4 mi
- GGrocery4 mi
- +Urgent care7 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- AAir-up8 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- EVEV fast charger8 mi
- PPropane8 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- OOutfitter10 mi
- ShShower11 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — Upper Oso
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,142 ft
State
CA
Coordinates
34.55468, -119.76941
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Upper Oso · Los Padres National Forest · CA (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townMission Canyon · ~7.4 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~3.7 mi
- FuelFuel · ~7.3 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~8.1 mi
- Dump stationThousand Trails · ~1.2 mi
- GroceriesCielo Store · ~4.2 mi
- PharmacyFederal Drug Company · ~8.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicSamsum Clinic · ~7.2 mi
- HardwareChannel City Hardware and Gifts · ~8.0 mi
EV charging — from Upper Oso · Los Padres National Forest · CA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger8.0 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 reach19 within 25 mi · 61 within 50 · 489 within 100 · 1064 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)8.0 mi — Santa Barbara, CA - Tesla Supercharger, Santa Barbara
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO8.2 mi — La Cumbre Plaza, Santa Barbara
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)7.6 mi — CSB SB County - South County Jail, Santa Barbara, CA (at a municipal building) · POWERFLEX · J1772 · 10 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2025-11-13 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Best Western - Pepper Tree Inn, Santa Barbara, 7.9 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 Upper Oso · Los Padres National Forest · CA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomOutdoors Santa Barbara Visitor Center · ~11.3 mi SE · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletFigueroa · ~17.5 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDavy Brown · ~17.5 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPino Alto · ~17.6 mi NW · USFS
Open Upper Oso elsewhere
Other camps near Upper Oso
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Sage Hill Group~1.3 mi · fee
- Hidden Potrero Camp~2.0 mi
- Los Prietos~2.1 mi · fee
- Paradise~2.5 mi · fee
The unit that manages Upper Oso
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Upper Oso are set by Los Padres National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Upper Oso
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: THE TWO OFFICIAL SOURCES DISAGREE and a camper should budget for the higher one. The forest page posts $30 per night plus $10 per extra vehicle, with day use in the campground at $10 per vehicle. recreation.gov 231961 -- the system that actually takes the booking -- charges $40 per night for standard, tent-only and walk-to sites and $45 for equestrian sites, for the 2026-05-15 to 2026-11-30 season. Concession-managed by the Parks Management Company; Interagency Senior and Access passes give 50% off camping but not day use or extra vehicles. Sources: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/recreation/upper-oso-campground and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/231961.
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 Upper Oso
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 — Upper Oso
What “dispersed” means here →Hot-weather camping →Bugs & critters →How to read this page →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 →