San Simeon Creek Campground

A very nice, well maintained campground with lots of trees, birds, and wildlife. We even saw bald eagles, which was a treat. There's a short boardwalk type trail to the beach alongside a sream. It's a beautiful walk. There's other trails in the area too that we didn't go on. We ran out of time. We stayed in the lower campground where there are very clean restrooms and showers. Campground hosts are super nice. They sell firewood. It's an enjoyable place to stay. It's a short drive to the cute quaint little town of Cambria. Hearst Castle is also nearby. There's also Elephant Seal Vista Point. We visited when there were many young pups with their parents. (February 2025) It's quite the amazing sight.

I love this place. When Big Sur and other campgrounds are booked, San Simeon usually has room. It’s a nice campground with views of the ocean (about half to 3/4 of a mile away), and you can hear the waves at night. There are 3 campgrounds, the cheaper one has pit toilets only, but you can just walk or drive the mile to the main bathrooms and use the showers and flush toilets. This is a great base for touring the Hearst Castle. The nearby town of Cambria (4 miles) is absolutely adorable with plenty of whimsical shops and restaurants from affordable to pricey. North of the campground about 8 miles there are elephant seals in the winter months (dec-march, roughly).

We've stayed several times. Nice and cozy. No hookups, have showers and flush bathrooms at lower sites. Upper Washburn not as pretty and has pit toilets but still nice. Very clean and hosts were very nice. They have a water fill up and a dumpststion. Only reason for 4 and not 5 is the hook up scenario, I feel atleast electric hookup would be nice

Beautiful central coast beach access. Smaller sites that may be tricky to level in some cases. Fall asleep to the sound of the ocean waves. Some cell phone signal in the upper campground. Close to Hearst Castle and the town of Cambria.

We recently spent two nights at the Washburn Campground at Hearst San Simeon State Park. Overall, it was a good stay, but there were a few things to note. The generator hours are from 10 AM to 8 PM, which was fine, though it would have been nice to use it earlier in the morning. We stayed in site W228, which unfortunately wasn’t the best choice. It was right next to the bathrooms and trash bins, and the view was disappointing as it didn’t include the ocean I was hoping for. Additionally, the RV backed up directly to another campsite, which wasn’t ideal for privacy. That said, the campground itself is well-maintained, and I would consider returning but would choose a different site next time. Lesson learned—research your site location carefully if you’re hoping for ocean views or more privacy!