Upper Oso Campground

First of all, know what you are getting yourself into when you camp here: no showers, spigot but not really drinkable water, technically flush toilet toilets, but not like home, and no privacy between sites. So, why four stars? Well, being at the end of the line means no road traffic. The campground host was super chill. Mountain bike and hiking trails begin at the camp (as do motorized vehicles if that is your thing). Each site come with a cement picnic table, a fire pit with an adjustable grill, and a separate BBQ grill (BYO charcoal). Each site also seemed to have at least one large oak tree for shade. There were eight in my party, four adults, four kids, and one dog. We biked to Red Rock day use area one day for the swimming hole (about 8 miles with some hills). Hiked another day with the kids up the creek to explore. Early morning walks with the dog for sure. Downsides: crazy ants all over the outside of the tent so make sure you don’t have any tears. Inconsiderate neighbors whom we had tell off at 2 am. Lack of privacy, but that can’t be helped. All in all, I’ll come back.

We had a blast! Very end of the road/​last camping area so kids could ride bikes safely and trails begin right from the campground. Tons of wildlife, kids found tadpoles, butterflies, a gopher snake, lizards, etc. The bathrooms suck but we had an RV. The camp host was super chill and maintained the grounds great. We will definitely be back. Please keep in mind that there are no showers if you are tent camping.

A couple of weeks ago we returned to Upper Oso.
There were 3 of us and we could not wait to experience the same wonderful time as before.
Unfortunately in our 3 day stay the restroom was NOT CLEANED ONCE.
The toilet paper ran out the second morning and was not replaced. Thankfully we are seasoned campers and always bring a few rolls, but who knows what other people had to do … leaves, grass ???
The environment is the same beautiful rugged little spot but it did not seem to have the same maintenance as before.

Not being a «nature girl» at heart I truly enjoyed myself here! Great campsite nestled in between majestic mountains everywhere you look during the day & under beautiful twinkling stars at night. Just a beautiful place!
The bathrooms were stinky & dirty. They needed to be cleaned more than once a day.

This is a great gem hidden in the Los Padres forest. It is definitely worth the trek (it’s a bit far removed from the beaten path)!! Bob the campsite host is great! I would give him more than 5 stars if I could! He is everything a campsite host should be: inviting, open and hospitable! You really get a great camping and nature experience at this campground. There are no major roads close by, giving you a true camping experience nestled in a little valley surrounded by mountains. ADDED GREATNESS: Bathrooms and the grounds are kept very well.

A nice calm campground. We went in the summer and we didnt have anyone too close to us. Bob the campground host is quite the character and very nice dude. The red ants were kind of annoying but the beauty of the campground squashed that.
TIP — go swimming at RED ROCK
NEGATIVE — the noise of ATVs at the campground… COME ON GUYS WE ARE IN PEACEFUL NATURE VRRRROOOOOOOOOM

I had a great experience camping at Upper Oso campground this past weekend (August 2013) while visiting Santa Barbara. The campground hosts were very friendly and helped us locate our camp site and provided us with everything we needed to know about the campground. The camp area (ours was #17) was very large and close to our car and bathrooms (which was much cleaner than what I expected with flush and paper toilets!). Outside the bathroom, there was drinking water. Surprisingly, we even had cellphone reception and 4G in the campsite! Most of other campers were families and hunters. We didn’t see any animals other than squirrels and birds, but we saw that hunters had found a deer.
At night, the weather was in 70s and hundreds of stars were visible. With a short hike, you get to see a beautiful panoramic view of Los Padres National Forests (see pictures). The paradise store was about 15 mins of driving away from the campground and it had everything you need as well as delicious breakfast tacos (and also lunch and dinner). The campground itself is about 30 mins away from Santa Barbara and the ocean!