Figueroa Mountain Campground in Santa Barbara County

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Figueroa Mountain Campground in Santa Barbara County

Postby Esteban » Mon Nov 25, 2013 4:50 pm

Figueroa Mountain is a beautiful, off the beaten path, camping spot up above the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, Calif. It's "free" to camp with an Adventure Pass. Has anyone here camped at or visited Figueroa Mountain? If you have please share how you liked it. I don't think reservations are available. It seems to be a first come first served campground with 32 campsites. There are some additional campsites further up the mountain road too.
:thinking:
I'm considering doing an informal exploratory campout here sometime in the future. If that goes well it may become a future scheduled destination for a teardrop gathering.
:thinking:
I haven't had the opportunity, yet, to scout the area out. I've read about Figueroa Mountain and seen so many beautiful pictures and videos that I want to visit and camp there. An old fire lookout at the top is a favorite spot for star gazer get togethers and their camp outs. Figueroa Mountain has spectacularly beautiful wildflower displays in the spring. It is tall enough to gets snow in the late fall and winter.
It would be a beautiful place to camp :vroom: in the spring time to enjoy the abundant display of wild flowers and green hillsides. Its affordable (free!) with an Adventure Pass. USDA information on the campground Figueroa Campground.
Nestled in a grove of beautiful red Manzanita and a variety of oaks and pines, lies Figueroa Campground with its’ 32 campsites fully equipped with fire rings, pedestal barbeques and a picnic table at every site. Hard packed soil makes several of the sites accessible to the three, double vault, wheelchair accessible bathrooms. Figueroa Campground can accommodate up to 25 foot trailers and RVs, although hook-ups are not available. Three dumpsters are located on Figueroa Mountain Road for convenient trash disposal. Figueroa Campground serves as a centralized location to various trailheads, including the Davy Brown/Fir Canyon and Ballard Trails. It also provides a short drive to the beautiful Pino Alto Day Use Area/Nature Trail and Cumbre Day Use Area, located on Figueroa Lookout Road. On this road you will also find the Figueroa Lookout and its’ majestic view of the San Rafael Wilderness. During spring, Figueroa Campground is an ideal place to camp while you enjoy the magnificent wildflower displays that Figueroa Mountain has to offer. This is also the home of numerous spring migrating birds, such as the exquisite western tanager, who breeds and raises its’ young on Figueroa Mountain until August. From the middle of August to the end of September, this campground is very popular with hunters during the annual deer season. Nights are often cold, even during the summer months, therefore, jackets and sweaters are recommended. Hot summer months also bring out gnats and deer flies, so don’t forget your insect repellant. Potable water is not available. An Adventure Pass is required.

Figueroa Mountain Recreation Area Santa Lucia Ranger District Los Padres National Forest

summitpost.org/figueroa-mountain an overview of Figueroa Mountain with photos and driving directions.

Figueroa Mountain photo illustrated information about Figueroa Mountain
Wildflowers, snow season and summer campouts are the seasonal high notes for Figueroa Mountain, a wilderness paradise accessible from the Santa Ynez Valley

Campgrounds: The main Figueroa Mountain campground, closest to Los Olivos, is a traditional forest camp with no water, pit toilets, and Manzanita groves surrounding the campsites. It often gets cold and windy at night, so pack accordingly. You can almost always find a site up here, no matter what day of the week or holiday weekend it might be. Water has been turned off in the campground for several years, so be sure to bring your own with you. There are picnic tables and BBQs, but fires are often prohibited in the summer months due to fire danger, so check before you go. This campground is best for tent/car camping, with a few sites that can accommodate a small RV.

toddling-down-the-davy-brown-trail photo essay of a hike with a toddler on the nearby Davy Brown trail.
With a toddler in tow I recently had the fortunate opportunity to rediscover the Davy Brown Trail with fresh eyes.

Google images for Figueroa Mountain Figueroa Mountain and for Figueroa Mountain campground

kcet.org/five-great-stargazing-spots-in-santa-barbara-county
Figueroa Campground, Los Padres National Forest
Figueroa Mountain in the San Rafael Mountains near Los Olivos is a favorite of local stargazers and astronomers for its altitude, its relative isolation from city lights, and its peace and quiet. But the mountain, in the Los Padres National Forest, has lots of tree cover. The Figueroa Campground, run by the U.S. Forest Service, is in fact so thickly forested at its entrance that first-time visitors to the area might pass it by, thinking there's no way they'll see any stars from beneath the forest canopy. But at the end of the campground opposite the road, a broad ridge devoid of trees offers unparalleled views of the sky in almost all directions. The campground is up 13.5 miles of often incredibly narrow mountain road, so take care getting there and yield the right of way. Don't feel like camping? the nearby Figueroa Lookout offers a shorter-term alternative. The Los Padres National Forest requires that all parked cars show Adventure Passes, so be sure to get one.

yelp.com/figueroa-campground-los-olivos
My bf and I planned on camping closer to Santa Barbara but all the campgrounds in that area were full so the ranger told us to check out Figueroa Campground near Los Olivios. I'm so glad we did. There are 33 sites and only about 10 were being used when we were there. There is no ranger and camping is free, but you need an Adventure Pass. There is no water available, just vault toilets (maybe 5 total, each with 2 toilets). Use at your own risk. I personally am scared of them and have no problem going outside ha ha. Each campsite has a fire ring, picnic table, and bbq. It was very peaceful and quiet when we were there. We saw no animals except for birds and squirrels. There are no bear lockers so I'm not sure if bears are a huge problem here. Only thing I should mention is that it gets really windy up here - makes for campfire smoke blowing in your eyes and I found it really hard to sleep because the wind was very loud around our tent. There are some dirt roads nearby that we explored in the truck - really cool views. I'd come back again, just bring a lot of food and water because services are kind of far away. You have to pack out your trash as there are no dumpsters at the campground. Oh, and bring toilet paper because the bathrooms were empty when we were there.

Figueroa Mountain Activities links to information about scenic drives or hikes near Figueroa Mountain by the Santa Barbara Independent (newspaper website)
Last edited by Esteban on Sat Jan 04, 2014 11:06 am, edited 4 times in total.
Steve - SLO, CA
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Re: Figueroa Mountain Campground in Santa Barbara County

Postby Esteban » Sat Nov 30, 2013 6:31 pm

Figueroa Mountain and its splash of wildflowers


Driving up Figueroa Mountain Road (first in series)


kcet.org/living/travel/socal_wanderer/outdoors/photos-california-poppies-in-bloom-at-figueroa-mountain.
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Re: Figueroa Mountain Campground in Santa Barbara County

Postby celticquetzel » Fri Dec 06, 2013 12:43 am

Thanks for sharing. Seeing as I'll have kids in SB for eight years!!!! Sounds like a definite destination. (Just need to get a TD built. :)
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Re: Figueroa Mountain Campground in Santa Barbara County

Postby annsailor » Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:33 pm

We want to go...
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