Kirk Creek Campground

Stayed here for a night, was lucky to get a Sunday night campsite with a 3 week advance booking. Stayed at site #17. The adjacent sites are a little too closely spaced for my liking and there was hardly any privacy, but honestly that view of the ocean was just gorgeous. We enjoyed a late dinner watching the sun set over the pacific and slept in a tent under the full moon, listening to the sound of the ocean. The next morning we had a leisurely brunch and checked out the small trail below the campground. There are numerous hiking trails from the highway nearby including Vicente flat which is just opposite the campground. The site and facilities were very clean and I would love to come back.

This used to one of my favorite campgrounds, but since learning about all the changes recently I must amend my review. Even though they were gross, there used to be flushable toilets and they used to have running water. Now there is no water and pit toilets. There also used to be more walk-​in sites, namely the choice sites #8−10 and now they are by reservation only and another reviewer mentioned they even do a lottery for these sites now because they are just too popular?
It seems that this campground is really going down the drain. I wish they would just raise the rates some, improve the toilet situation and bring back the water. It’s a shame that with a view as amazing as the one they have other factors have to ruin the experience.

This place is beautiful!!! Only thing people need to know is reservation only no walk in. Only walkin they take are bicycler people and if you get lucky someone didn’t show up then maybe u can get their spot but best not to take the chances just to be safe. Campsite # 8 #9 #10 has turn to lottery site where u have to put yur name in and whoever name they draw will get that site since it’s the most popular one. Quiet time is 10pm no shower no water and toilet that have doesn’t flush very nasty so just be prepared bring lots of water. $ 25 a night stay cash or check only if u wanna pay when get there. 2 car only per campsite. Not that big of a campsite either. At night lots of raccoon so make sure u put All your things away cos they will get to it real quick. Suckers try to get into our tent. No campfire either so don’t bother bringing woods only propane gas to cook your food no charcoal no grill either. Sucks but beside that it’s beautiful place.

The camp host is completely rude!!! Seriously when somebody says «Excuse me sir I have a question for you» and you respond with «that’s nice and walk away…» You are a rude jerk.

Kirk Creek was a top-​ten site in the US and our favorite until its recent conversion to a primitive campsite. Neither
nor the Forest Service site will tell you that there is NO WATER on the site. You have to drive 10 miles round trip to Plaskett Creek to fill your water jug.
That makes it easily accessible only to the rich, self-​contained RV owners. How is a bicyclist supposed to haul enough water to drink, cook and clean up? Do they expect campers to waste precious water putting out a campfire? What will it take before they put in the filtering system that Monterey county asked them to do? A major fire? We are deeply upset by the changes to what was our favorite site in California.

Was here this past weekend w/​a group of 8. Was fortunate to get a first-​come/​first-​serve campsite. The trick is to arrive early & listen to Rick (the camp host) – don’t take your time. If there is a site – take it! It might not be there 5 min later. Campsites are very spacious & all sites have an ocean view (some better than others), but they are truly all amazing sites.
The only con would be the bathrooms, however, they always did flush & were never clogged so I guess the signs in there are effective: P.
Lastly, I am in LOVE w/​this campground b/​c my bf of 6.5 years proposed on the beach at this campground. So yeah, full-​discloure my opinion may be biased… but I say Kirk Creek is the best!!! *heart* :D.

Don’t stay in site 16 with an RV even a small one.
The bogus thing about the reservation system is, it doesn’t tell you the site is on a hill, but yet it will tell you it’s ok for an RV that is 25 feet. Ridiculous! We booked this, the view was gorgeous. We backed in and used our leveling blocks and it didn’t matter, we were on such a slant our propane wasn’t making it to our fridge. The temp got up to 50, so we left instead of losing a lot of food. We lost $ 22 because we ended up leaving and go to Big Sur.
Another very small problem with this site, if someone in 17 has a big motorhome (it will fit there), the people in site 16 won’t see the ocean.
This place is on a cliff and you have to walk to the shore. No beach, just lots and lots of rocks. It’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but just so you know.
I’d stay here again since i know now.
The bathroom is nasty. Clogged and only one working.
When the people in 17 left, we watched camper in a tent grab it, too bad he didn’t know the next reservations were on the back of the sign with the names and dates. Ha! wish I was there to watch that guy have to pack up his things.
There was road noise too, very close to HWY 1. Too bad you don’t hear the ocean instead of the road.
One more complaint. This is a personal one. I think everyone there uses lighter fluid to cook their dinner and boy it stunk big time.

Choice place, gorgeous views, first come first served. Get there by 9am for a spot. Bring your camera or beach fishing gear. No lifeguards, you can die out there!
This is remote car/​tent camping with an ocean view; barely adequate toilets and running water.
Chilly nights, you always hear the ocean’s waves pounding the sand!!!
Windy and cold nights.
No convienance stores within 8 miles; closest is the tiny town of Gorda about 8 miles south.
Excellent place to camp overnight, then wake up early for some choice driving. It’s a good place to blast off for some high speed runs thru the gears at redline on hiway 101, before campers and families clog up the road =)

So this campsite definitely has the million dollar view fo sho. Its a beautiful campsite with 34 sites or so, 4 dedicated to bicyclists or backpackers. You get a view of the ocean no matter which site you are in, which is a huge plus. The reason for the 4 out 5 rating for me was the lack of privacy. I like a bit more trees and feeling a little more secluded when I go camping. None the less a great time. You can buy firewood on site for $ 5. You get a measley 6 pieces of wood, so make sure you stop beforehand. We got the best deal in Gorda which is very close. I negotiated with the guy a bit. They wanted $ 7 a box which by the way was more than double the amount of wood you would get from Rick (campsite host). I picked up 6 boxes for $ 36. The closest real town is Cambria. There, you can get gas, beer, snacks. Make sure you have everything. I mean everything. You will pay ridiculous prices for water, foil, ice, food in the two nearby locations should you run out. The bathrooms werent the cleanest and not the worst ive seen so be prepared. Seat covers and butt wipes! No drinking water or showers. Can take a nice dip in the ocean with the super close sand dollar beach though. Also make sure to bring some sunscreen if you happen to go in the summer. Doesnt feel like you are getting sun because of the cool breeze. But I promise you will get color. I will definitely be back. Have fun!

I have received a lot of requests for additional information so I’ve listed here some info to ease the research attempt.
Directions:
From San Luis Obispo take Hwy. 1 north aprox. 65 miles to Kirk Creek Campground. You will pass through Morro Bay, Cayucas, Cambria, San Simeon, Ragged Point and Gorda (8 miles north of Gorda).
From Monterey take Hwy. 1 south aprox. 50 miles to Kirk Creek Campground. You will pass through Carmel, the town of Big Sur and Lucia (8 miles south of Lucia).
See the location on a map here
Half the sites on Kirk Creek are reservable; the other half is first come first serve.
Fee: $ 22.00 per night
34 total sites
6 – 8 persons per site
2 vehicles per site
RVs permitted
You can also go to this website
or this website
to get more information (If the sites don’t pull up Kirk Creek Campground correctly, go to the home page and type in «Kirk Creek» under the «Park Name» box on the left hand side of the webpage).
You can map your driving route from these sites, see the site map, facility details and amenities, and make reservations.
You can also make reservations by phone with Reserve America at 877−444−6777.
Hope this helps!

Unzip your tent flap and gaze upon the coastline that Henry Miller said was «the face of creation as God intended it.»
Yeah, but God thinks you *definitely* should make online reservations before heading to this campground situated on the coastal side of California’s drop dead beautiful Highway 1. Our first night there we were in the least desirable campsite right near the entrance, yet you still had a lovely ocean view. Our second night, the view was absolutely stunning as we moved to a campsite closer to the bikers-​only walk-​in sites (spot #25?). That evening at sunset everyone positions their chair *just-​right* to watch the symphony of colors change the blue sky to rosy golden hues.
Other miscellaneous notes:
— Campsite advisor fellow told us we could drink the water… but there are signs everywhere that say don’t drink the water! We had plenty of our own water anyhow, so we were okay.
— You can build a fire! The wood we bought from the campsite guy was a little wet and hard to get burning, a stop in Lucia, 8 miles up the road, might be in order, but you will pay way too much for firewood there!
— No cell phone coverage. No wi-​fi. Some of your friends will take your lack of Facebook updates as a sign you are dead, but ‘eff em. This is Big Sur, you’re off being inspired by nature while they’re hitting F5 back in their cubicles.
— We were here in early August and the weather and scenery was perfect.
Be advised: many campgrounds in the Big Sur area are actually closed right now due to wildfires in the area last year. Lime Kiln was currently closed last month; this means without reservations your soul-​cleansing camping vacay to Big Sur ain’t gonna happen.
Don’t deprive yourself of a chance to UNWIND, cholo. Plan ahead!

This campground has a great location, to be sure, as you’ll read from the other reviews. I thoroughly enjoyed my recent trip to Big Sur, and part of that enjoyment came from the proximity to the ocean and the Vicente Trailhead from this campground.
However, please be aware of a couple of things if you’re planning to camp here. I hope they will help you be prepared and not be disappointed.
1. This campground advertises «drinking water.» To me, that means you can safely drink the water that comes out of the faucet. Not so here. There is water, but there are safety warnings posted all over the place. It is not safe to drink before it is treated, and you have to do that yourself. If you don’t feel like boiling or otherwise treating all water you use for cooking and cleaning, make sure to bring enough of your own.
2. The bathrooms were in pretty lousy condition. The toilets (at least in the women’s bathroom) were very challenged in their ability to flush, and they constantly seemed backed up. There was only one working sink in the women’s bathroom; the other had been ripped out of the wall. Finally, the floor always seemed flooded, which is gross when you wonder what you’re walking through.
If you’re prepared for these conditions, you should have a marvelous time at this campground. Enjoy!

I’m not a camping buff, but I’ve bee going on several camping trips this summer thanks to my dad’s new RV and my brother’s love for the great outdoors. My bro happened to find Kirk Creek Campground online and I was excited. It actually went beyond my expectations and has been my favorite campgorund site by far. Fire wood was $ 5 for 6 pieces and was paid by honorably (no one attended to the wood and you just place your money there). The view is just impeccable. I could literally sit outside all day and just enjoy and take it all in. Closeby is a trail that is easily accessible to walk down to the beach area. Careful though because it’s rocky and not much sand. When you get down, the water is so crisp and fresh and it makes for gorgeous pictures! There aren’t too many bug issues and I didn’t even need top wear bug spray. And everyone at the camp site were really friendly and my sister said that compared to other campgrounds, the people here were more attractive if that is more leverage to come! But to me, it was beautiful to sit and watch the sunset right over the ocean and enjoy the fresh air. I’ve never really been an out-​doorsie type of gal, but I could easily see myself escaping off here week after week!

Even without showers I’m giving this one 5 stars. The view alone is worth that rating. It was also quiet, clean, and the host was friendly and courteous each time we dealt with him. We didn’t have one of the campsites directly on the bluff but ours still had an amazing view. We spent one afternoon just laying in the tent reading and enjoying the ocean view. Definitely will be back at some point to camp again. We’re hoping for one right on the bluff next time:) The only downside is that they fill up so fast and you have to get reservations months (I made mine in December for an April stay) in advance.

This campsite has great views of the Big Sur coastline. Get there on the early side though to get a site right on the ocean. We arrived around 5 PM in mid-​March mid-​week, and most sites were already gone. We grabbed a good one, only to be told by the host that it was reserved (even though the sign said «open»). Then there was another one that was labelled as taken even though the slip ended up being from the previous night, and we missed this site until someone already took it.
Rather than get one of the ones near the main road, we were allowed to park right outside the entrance and walk in (a short distance) to one of the «hiking/​cycling» sites, which had good views, were nice in that they were not near the cars, but were a bit less private than the other ones.
All the sites at Kirk Creek had a nice grassy area for your tent, a picnic table, and a fire pit. Some were right on the edge of the cliff, whereas others were not, but all are situated in a scenic area. Also, even though it was packed, it felt rather quiet. Furthermore, a grocery store and restaurant («town» of Lucia) is only a 5 minute drive north, which we used to grab some beers to enjoy the sunset.
Overall, besides a bit chaotic campsite-​choosing experience, a great campground!

it pays to get here early. we got the LAST campsite available on a saturday morning, and we arrived @ 8:20 am. but boy was it worth it!!! our tent had ocean views! soft grass to set up shop on. large, private campsites. the only bummer was we couldn’t make a fire or use our bbq due to coal. this was not on the website but we were told by the camp host upon arrival. other than this glitch, i’d stay there again in a heartbeat. fantastic!