Nira Campground

This is totally UNPLUGGED.......... Satelite ONLY Very narrow & LONG road, ONLY road in & out. Lots of Trails to hike. Pay attention to WILD ANIMALS

A nice REMOTE campground. Be warned if you are expecting all the amenities in normal campgrounds, there is no running water or ranger station near by with firewood. The road on the way up is one lane, narrow, and part of it is unpaved getting there is not meant for all vehicles. Other then that it is a nice campground with great hiking trails, really takes you out of the city. I recommend this campground, but do come prepared if not a seasoned camper.

We stayed Friday and Saturday night last weekend. The campground is in very poor repair. Our campsite had a broken cooking grate on the fire pit and no small charcoal grill, we had the post just not the grill. Our table was alright but many of the picnic tables were broken or rotten. The dumpster was overflowing and people continued to pile trash outside of it, both unsightly and dangerous for wildlife and potentially campers. The women's restroom was out of toilet paper by mid day Saturday and there was little left in the men's. We paid $30/night for us and an extra vehicle, $60 total. We chose to stay at Nira over Davy Brown because DB campground was in worse shape. We are fine with paying to camp and often camp in state parks. The difference is that the state park campgrounds are in good shape and well looked after. We didn't see any Parks Management Company employees the entire weekend, no one to service the bathroom, no one to address the trash build up, and no one to check to see if people were paying the correct fees. Where does the camp fee go? It certainly doesn't appear to go back into the facilities or to hire staff.

My all time favorite car camping go-to spot in all of Southern California. Takes an hour and a half to get to from Santa Barbara on (mostly) paved ranch roads, and it is deep in the backcountry. However, it is a popular campground, especially on long holiday weekends. Manzana creek is seasonal, and between Memorial Day and Thanksgiving the water is largely unpotable except in the wettest rain years. However, it is a jumping off point for true wilderness backpacking.

Nice camping site. Surrounded by trees, next to Manzana Creek, gateway to San Rafael Wilderness. Lots of flies in summer. Most of the ground is very hard on tent stakes. No water!