I really enjoyed it. I am not a camping girl and my husband booked this as the toilets were cleaner and the shower was hot. What I liked best about this campground is that there were no RV's and because it was slightly more expensive than the other camp grounds there were no "party groups" or loud music. It was beautiful and I loved our spot which was almost right at the beginning. The staff were helpful and friendly. Would come again. read more

Disrespectful, dismissive camp "host" + ugly, loud campsite = miserable time Loved our campsite's proximity to an ugly  parking lot and the traffic noise of Highway 1, the view from our campsite of two storm drains in the "creek," and the Ventana Inn's Glamper-luxury-vehicle thoroughfare lighting at night! But the best part! The demeaning, rude behavior of the camp "host." First campsite assigned to us, perched over the highway, was so thunderous we asked to be moved. "Host" was not accommodating  -- she was disrespectful and too busy to be bothered -- and ended up putting us in the "only other campsite available," even though there were empty sites everywhere, which she said were "reserved." (When you go to reserve on the campground's website, you find you cannot reserve a particular campsite. She informed us that the night before your arrival a computer assigns campsites and she was powerless to change things. Who set this system up?) I've been California camping since I was two, and that means for 50 years, including countless times in Big Sur State Park. I thought I'd pay the extra money to  have a quiet, peaceful, upgraded long weekend with my family. I cannot recall a more miserable ordeal being so appallingly treated by this host, and in front of my son. Oh, but the bathrooms were clean. read more

My husband and I decided to take a little vacay to Big Sur and after scouring the internet fell in love with the the Glamping at Ventana Campgrounds. I don't know how, but we got super lucky and the exact dates we wanted were available. From what I'm told they're always booked, so if you are planning on booking the Glamping, do it far in advance! The grounds of Ventana are absolutely Beautiful! Nestled in the middle of the forest with huge redwoods towering over you, the pictures just don't do it justice! We were in Glamping tent T-6, which we were very happy with. We had just enough privacy and were only a short distance from the portable bathrooms and bathhouse. The Glamping tent was perfect and had all the comforts of home, without feeling like you're roughing it too much. The staff at Ventana was amazing. Jamie was who checked us in and was so lovely and knowledgeable. Throughout the whole stay he made sure we had everything we needed. He even found us a hammock and brought it to our site. Manuel was also super helpful. We had an outlet that wasn't working properly and he quickly fixed the problem. He also gave us some amazing hike recommendations and told us where to watch the most beautiful sunset. We left relaxed and happy. Overall we would definitely stay here again! read more

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We (our big group of 10 plus one four legged fur baby) enjoyed our 2 night stay at campsites 17 & 18! After camping at both Big Sur Campground and Riverside Campground up the street my boyfriend and I will definitely be returning back to Ventana! Why? 1. The cleanest bathrooms I have personally ever experienced 2. Cell phone service (nice to disconnect, but a plus to also have if needed) 3. Service, service, Service! Shout out to Wendy for helping us out during our stay celebrating our friends birthday! You rock! :) 4. Proximity to Pfieffer Beach and Nepenthe to watch stunning sunsets! Things to note, tent camping in big sur is more costly so 80/90 a night is average at most campsites nearby and is worth every penny. Also, people stop complaining about cost of firewood. Anywhere you go in a remote area is going to be more costly so come prepared!!! Or stop at the Safeway in Monterey on your way down!! Now stop reading these reviews and just go and book your trip!! ;) read more

Camping has changed lol but i like it. First time camping in Big Sur. This campsite is ridiculously clean. Hot showers with restrooms cleaner than most restaurants. The campsites are very clean as well. I didnt see any animals besides bugs weirdly. The staff was amazing and helpful. Shower token machine was broken and they gave us some complimentary tokens for the trouble. The sites are very small but we were lucky and got spot 38 which is up above the other spots and more secluded. Tip: use bath house 1 for showering because showers are private. super close to Pfeiffer Beach but very far from any big supermarket. Luckys or Safeway are like 50 minutes away in Carmel lol overall great experience and yes its pricey but you can tell where the money is going and thats for superb upkeep and great staff. read more

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We went Glamping last weekend. What a wonderful experience. Not cheap, but cheaper than staying in the actual resort, and frankly, much better. Of course, the rooms at Ventana are amazing, but Glamping is something else. Very clean, beautiful tent. Gas AND wood fire, nice sink with cool and pimping hot water (for tea etc). Electric blanket, fan, the works. Pet paradise. read more

This was a great campground. The prices were reasonable, and we had a great time. The campground was clean; we had a nice creek running by our site, and the ground wasn't rocky or too bumpy. The only lament was that an evil tree stump grew out of the ground and munched on my friend's car's bumper. Evil tree stump! Other than the mishap, it was a blast. I'd definitely come back. read more

Ventana Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Big Sur, California

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I've camped at this campground probably 50 times. In 2007 my entire wedding party camped here before heading up to the fancy hotel for a reception. It used to be a gem. Then the new owners took it over and literally quadrupled the prices and crammed 3 campsites into each single pre-existing site. What you have now is a homeless encampment squeezed in between the redwoods, for which you can pay $85/night. I have camped in a thousand campsites around the world, and not a single one is as tight and crowded as this one. Good luck staking out the lines for your tent without overlapping with your neighbor. I hope they don't snore. This used to be one of the most beautiful little pockets on the Big Sur coast. Instead its fallen prey to the same development money grab as everything else in Big Sur. What the owners have done here is nothing short of tragic, and though I'm sure they are still booked full nightly, you'll find its an entirely different kind of clientele -- the ones who dont know any better. read more

Love this magical magical place! The airstream with the cocktails and ymmy bites is amazing... with little fairy lights overhead, beautiful bon fire going, and lots of tables and chairs to chill... some of the sites are a bit closer together, just request when making a reservation for a site that is a bit more secluded. Pretty much every site is magnificent. They sell fire wood there for you as well. We went camping in the spring and just went in mid Sept. My recommendation is to go early spring- there are less bugs and the ground isnt nearly as dusty! Enjoy this MAGICAL place it will rejuvenate your soul!~ read more

I give this place 3 stars. It's beautiful but the showers have no hot/cold water set control and for $80.00 bucks a night I think showers should be at least be able to set for desirable temp. We have been to this campground 3 times this year. Last time being October 1st 2021. There was a plethora of annoying flies to the point that we had to leave for the day on Saturday as to not lose our minds. Its nice not to have too many rules but when people bring their dogs to a campsite they should be able to control them. There happened to be a group of campers with 3 dogs that were barking Into the night; one even attacked my husband. Im not a fan of over managing a campsite but for the campers that have their music on blast till 1:00am and inconsiderate campers that can't control their animals, maybe someone checking in on the site at 10:00pm may be a good idea. Even with those issues the showers were the worse part of our experience at this site. read more

Probably more 3.5 stars. When we went, the campground was very empty so we got a lot of space and it was really beautiful. Sorry to the other 2 people within earshot for our baby crying at 5am. The staff was friendly but not around much. I think $89 is a bit pricey for tent camping, but i guess that's Big Sur for you. Everything was very clean, but that could be because there was no one around. When we left, we returned unused firewood and shower tokens to the kiosk with a note because no one was around. However, we got charged for it anyways, and I am still waiting for a refund so the service is a bit slow. read more

Definitely not the escape from the city I was hoping for. Big Sur is beautiful but I would have had more privacy in my small backyard than this campground. The sites are all like 5 feet from each other. We were placed in in a spot in the center of 4 other campgrounds and spent 20 minutes trying to figure out where to place our tent where our view wouldn't be another campsite. We ended up placing the window of the tent up against a tree. That didn't help us feel isolated though because we had kids wandering through our site. Aside from that there were a TON of mosquitos. There were also a ton of crows in the trees that made noise all day. The showers were DISGUSTING and it took a lot of effort to not touch anything in them in order to walk out feeling reasonably clean. In hindsight I should bathed in the creek. I have been camping a lot and this is definitely not what I consider camping. Maybe it could pass for a homeless encampment. read more

We stayed here 2 nights. What a beautiful campground. It was so clean and quiet. We absolutely loved our stay here. We will definitely be back! read more

Ventana Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Big Sur, California

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What a great last minute camping spot. Unfortunately there wasn't any staff around 7pm when we arrived, which made it difficult for us to find a good spot.. Overall very beautiful & relaxing. Also, staff was very friendly the following morning!!! read more

My fiance and I are in our late 20's and decided to drive up the coast to Napa and stop in Big Sur for 2 nights along the way. After a lot of research and reading reviews, we chose Ventana Campground and couldn't have been happier. General There is a reason you pay $55 per night versus the $35 you will find at state sites...the bathrooms are some of the cleanest public restrooms I have ever seen, they are cleaner than all the Starbucks we stopped at so that says something! Also, the campsite in general was extremely clean, the trash bins were in designated areas and emptied daily, and the staff was nothing but friendly. Although some of the reviews said this place isn't for kids, we saw a handful while we stayed here and they were out and about a little bit but didn't disturb us at all. The Ventana Campground is in a great spot if you are trying to hit the tourist attractions...it took us about 5-10 minutes north to get to Pfeiffer State Park for hiking and Pfeiffer Beach and another 30 minutes south to McWay walls...we went north in the morning, came back to eat lunch and nap, then went south in the afternoon. Campsite We chose to stay in the Grove section and were assigned Site #47...looking at the map I was hesitant and asked the gal if one of the more highly reviewed sites were free but she assured us we had a good site. The site looks like its in the fork of 2 roads, and it is, but it actually ended up being very spacious, private and not very disturbed. We parked our truck parallel to the road and it blocked our fire/table area from across the way to make it more private. If you are looking to have 2 tents, this site can hold it and then some. The only complaint with this entire campsite, not just #47, were the mini flies, which the Site Manager Jim said were because of the warm weather. We had to start a fire around 430-5 PM and they were gone within 30-45 minutes...if you don't start a fire early, the flies were gone by 6 anyways. We haven't been here with cooler weather so I am not sure if they will be there then, but if you go during the warmer months, plan on seeing these little flies by late morning and bring a little extra firewood so you can start a fire earlier in the evening than expected. Some of the other sights across from us looked like they were on top of each other and not very private so I was very very happy with our site after we got there and setup everything. Campsite #36 is right down the hill from the restrooms so unless you want a lot of foot traffic, I would avoid it. Campsite #37 has a trail behind it that everyone takes to the restroom so unless you want a lot of people walking by, I would avoid this site too. Campsites #45, 46, and 48 are all very close to one another...unless you are going with a group, if they assign someone next to you, you will need to position your setup so you're not staring at each other at night. Bathroom The Grove section is closest to Bathroom 2, which has 2 individual bathrooms and then a women's and men's. Both the women's and men's bathrooms each have 2 stalls, 2 showers and 2 sinks. I showered at 1PM one day and didn't have anyone come into the women's restroom and the next day I showered at 9AM and didn't see anyone until I was all dressed and walking out the door. There are also locks on the doors for the women and men's restrooms and it is OK for a couple or family to go into one and lock the door so they can use both showers/stalls at the same time. Other We did end up paying for extra firewood, it came to $11 per cord. We brought some with us but still needed a little extra because we started it earlier in the evening. There are electrical outlets in the restrooms. We weren't sure if we should bring our air mattress so we opted out of it but we did see some people air theirs up at the bathrooms then drive them back to their campsite. This place gets dark so if you are planning on arriving in the middle of the night, all you will have are your headlights and any light sources you bring. Overall, we loved Ventana Campground and would come back again. 2 days was just enough to see the tourist attractions and a nice stop for our travels up to Napa Valley. read more

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I camped here summer 2018. It was amazing. Yes, it is expensive, about $100 a night. But if you are traveling with kids it's worth it. Here are the pros: Clean, proximity to all the big sights, beautiful trees, and you can book it fairly easy (not 6 months in advance like state parks). The con is - yes it is expensive. However, the convenience and cleanliness does it for me. read more

Pros: so beautiful among the trees, campsites are clean when you arrive, campground is quiet at night. Cons: the sites are EXTREMELY small, way overpriced, the camp host has a terrible attitude, and the showers cost $2 for 5 minutes. When we arrived the camp host (the middle aged guy that works the check-in booth) was in a horrible mood and had no problem taking it out on us, which was charming. He literally exhaled after every simple question I had, such as 'can you please explain the directions to my friend in the car behind us as well' , and chose not to explain it to her after all. All camp hosts are characters but this guy seemed like a bad guy out of game of thrones. He also gave me a really hard time about the fact that we had 3 dogs, and according to him only 2 dogs are allowed per site, even though I had explained to him that I had called specifically about this issue when I made the reservation and the person I spoke to assured me it was no problem. When we arrived at our site we were all shocked because the site was extremely small. We stayed in site #67 in the upper creek and it was less than half the size of any camp site I've stayed in in the country - lopez lake, fernwood campground in big sur, Yosemite campgrounds, Yellowstone campgrounds, Leo Carrillo, Joshua Tree, etc. It was comically small. We barely had room for 2 regular sized tents for a total of 4 people , the fire pit, and the picnic table. We actually had to move the table towards the road away from the fire so we could pitch a tent. Additionally , the edge of the campground was a small cliff, so we couldn't spread out at all because we would drop down into the creek. The sites are also waaaay more expensive then most , and they justify this and say it's a luxury campground because of the bathroom facilities. The shower costs $2 for 5 minutes. So $4 for a 10 minute shower. Which is ridiculous considering the price of the facilities are already included in the heavy price tag of the site. I understand having visitors pay for showers to make users aware of water use, but that price tag is ridiculous. The bathrooms got disgusting over the weekend and weren't kept up in any way so it was the same as any gross campground bathroom anywhere. Considering all these factors, I won't be camping here again. read more

Really not good. The setting is lovely and they have a really nice converted Airstream Trailer from which they serve a surprisingly good meal and cocktails. The meal was overpriced, but not more than I would have expected for this type of resort. The $6 cup of coffee self-served from an air pot was an insulting money grab, but aside from that, the only surprise was how delicious the meal was. That concludes the nice things I have to say about Ventana Campground. The sites are on top of each other. And by that I mean, picture a typical site in a California State Park, and then picture 3 sites being crammed into one. That's Ventana. The bathrooms are fine. We had a choice between 2 showers; one with a broken shower head and a trickle of water pressure, and another with a pressure that made you feel as if you were being pelted by tiny bbs. The disabled shower had a bench, and there was a bench in the main area of the bathroom, but aside from that, the showers had no place to hang a towel or place toiletries. I'm not a princess--prior to arriving at Ventana, we spent 4 blissful days at a campground with nothing but a pit toilet. But when I pay $95 per night for a campground with a shower, I don't think it's too much to expect that it be nicer than your average state park. Oh, and did I mention the showers work with tokens at $2 for every five minutes? Really, Ventana? I spent $95 bucks a night to be stacked like cordwood and you can't throw in the shower? Oh, the noise. My husband and I joked that we may as well have pitched a tent in the nearest Wal-Mart parking lot. During the day the place was peaceful and lovely. After about 6 pm, there was a cacophony. Seriously, there is no way to overstate how loud it was. I will say that on our first night, folks really respected the 10 pm quiet time and we had a good night rest. Not so on the second night. A group of 20 somethings moved into the two campsites across from us. We watched in dismay as they set up tent, after tent, after tent, until the last person arrived about 9:30 pm. Then the party really got underway. They were in and out, partying and slamming car doors until 4 am. Never did security or a camp host ask them to quiet down. I know, because I was awake the entire time. Look, 20 somethings will be 20 somethings. But Ventana, if you're going to advertise a 10pm-9am quiet time, enforce it. And perhaps consider limiting the number of people allowed at each site? Lastly, the traffic. I'm not even sure how Ventana could mitigate this issue, but we had a car past our campground at least every 5 minutes from 6 pm to well after 11 pm. The kicker was when we lay awake at 2 am listening to a family across the road arrive and set up camp. Not ok. This place is engaging in shameless price gouging because...well, because they can. I booked about a month in advance and this was my only choice. Now I understand why. read more

I'd probably give it a 4.5, but am rounding up. The campgrounds cost about $55/night (min 2 night stay if you do Friday or Saturday; vs the state campgrounds which are $35/night but book up 6 months in advance). We booked online about 3 days before, which was very convenient. The extra $20/night was worth it to (a) not be around RVs (this is tent only camping) and (b) have nice bathhouses with electrical plugs, clean bathrooms, and warm showers (have to get tokens at campground entrance, they cost $2 for 5 mins). We got in late (11pm) but were able to blow up an air mattress in the bathhouse without worrying about waking others. A crew a couple sites over was in party mode the first night (doesn't really bother me), but were quiet by 10pm the next night (I imagine someone complained). As others mentioned, the campsites are a bit close together. We were in campsite 48 and had a nice little area protected by a tree and another big fallen tree. There's a guaranteed parking spot for each campsite, plus a fire pit and your standard camping picnic table. Overall, the grounds are very well maintained. Jim at the front was great and very friendly. Location is great relative to everything in Big Sur. Will definitely be back! There are only 1-2 other private campgrounds in the area, I think--we were looking at Fernwood, but after driving by it am VERY glad we went with Ventana. Fernwood was cheaper, but didn't have online booking, allows RVs and has a motel section, and reviews made it seem like it's a little less classy / more party. If you're going with a big group and want to be loud, Fernwood might be better. But Ventana is good for couples / families / smaller groups. read more

Campsite and location was great, but make sure before you check out you take enough pictures of your campsite because if not you will be surprised by an unexpected charge to your card by at least $200 with absolutely no explanation. Also it took a full day for me to get ahold of customer service, and once i did get ahold of somebody they couldn't assist me with the unexpected charges on my card or give me an explanation. read more

We stayed Friday and Saturday night. We checked in at 9:00pm, but the kiosk was closed. We purchased firewood ahead of time when we made the reservation. Thankfully, they had a bundle of wood waiting for us at the campsite since their office was closed when we got in. Ventana has a campground for around $80 per night, a glamping area for $250 per night (only worth it if you truly need a bed and cannot sleep on a sleeping pad), and a hotel which is totally separate. You definitely need reservations ahead of time if you want to stay the weekend. We had campsite #1. It is a hike in site, but it is a very short walk from the parking space. The reservation says 1 car per campsite, but there is overflow parking at Cadillac Flats nearby. We only had 1 car though. Bathrooms and potable water spigot is a short walk away. I wish they posted the open/closed hours for the airstream/kiosk, because we wanted to pick up our second bundle of wood for Saturday morning breakfast. We ended up buying more wood from the store 5min north so we could cook breakfast because the airstream was not going to open until 11am or noon. The sounds of the creeks are nice. Campsite #01 is at the entrance to the park, so more traffic coming in and out, but since the site is a bit away from the street, it did not bother us. We liked our site because it was a bit more remote than many of the other sites. It was super annoying that the campground phone number on the Ventana website goes to their hotel, and they don't know anything about the campground. We were not able to call anyone in advance to ask a few questions. read more

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It is very unfortunate that I ran into the same problem as one of the previous reviewers. I haven't camped in ventana campgrounds for several years and was excited to share this beautiful property with others. I booked two campgrounds for multiple days and a month in advance. We booked for a birthday as well as traveling from afar. So when Jim called us back to tell us that the site was not available and they had to refund our money it was a bummer no doubt. Shit happens and I'm willing to move past that but when the customer service does not match that of the Ventana name and big sur reputation it's very disappointing. Jim passed me off to a young lady that sounded like she had zero people skills whatsoever and that was that. I'm willing to pay good money for a nice campsite but it's not worth all the fuss Fix your website scheduling system and find people that are enthusiastic about customer service. It's a simple fix but it goes a long way. read more

Typical overpriced privately owned campground! I will say the campground is very nice and clean, as it should be, they are making a killing at 85.00 a nite to dry camp. It felt like we were camping on top of each other, little privacy and people walking through your campsite depending on what number site you get. For how much they charge per nite they should include free showers. You have to pay 2.00 for a 5 min shower. I would have rather camped at a state park. The staff was nice and accommodating! Be aware they don't give a AAA or veteran discount. read more

Pros: Beautiful spot in the redwoods, Very Clean campground, clean trash enclosures and bathrooms. We used bath house #2 and it has two private bathrooms (unisex) and separate mens / womens rooms that have toilets and showers (showers dont have privacy so come when no one's around!). In love w/ how clean it was. Our check in wasnt a problem and we were lucky to get a great spot (there's no changing sites). I didnt mind $2 shower tokens. Buy when you check in so you dont have to track someone down later. We came w/ our 5 year olds and they had fun crossing over the little Post creek on logs and exploring. Didnt seem dangerous for this age. Cons: Many of the campsites are very close to the road (and eachother). So many people have their tents just 10' off the road. I would be very upset if i had one of those sites! If you come w/ a group theres lots of groupings of sites that would be great (ie. sites 25-29 or 32-34). Firewood here is expensive. Just go 2 mins up the hwy on the left and there's a general store/sandwich shop that sells cheaper. (its Pine so buy extra, burns quick). We drove around and i would just NOT recommend most of the Upper Creek sites that are near the road. Also not #45 which is very small or 13 and 14 that are right by the entrance, w/ so much traffic. Put down some request when you make reservations because its the only chance you'll have before they assign you. read more

Ventana Campground - Bath House 2 showers. You do have to set your stuff right outside in the open so it wont get wet. Come when no one's around! - Campgrounds Near Me - Big Sur, California

This review is customer service based only. We had a reservation booked and were canceled due to COVID, which of course can't be helped at the moment. However, we were sent an email with no other recourse for priority rebooking. Nothing but a sorry, the resort continued booking after an apparent arbitrary amount of time without notifying people who had previously had a reservation canceled. To me that is bad business. It seems to at this time you would want to treat people who are wanting to spend money at your business with a little more care. This may seem like I sound super privileged to some, I'm sure, but I'm not. We saved for this trip after a really hard year and we're really looking forward to some quarantine time in wilderness. It would have been nice to have some consideration and to be offered an opportunity to rebook our stay when they reopened, as they are now booked until June apparently. So frustrating. read more

This review is for their poor customer service and faulty online reservation system. Online the nights that we would like became available, there's a minimum, but we're booking multiple nights. So we called and were given three different explanations of why they couldn't help. Other reviewers were right, the manager needs a serious lesson in customer service. With the Ventana name and slight premium on camp fees, you'd expect someone that could help you book nights that are visibly available. It looks nice - but unless someone there can help us to book the available nights, we'll never know. read more

I wanted to like this campground, but I couldn't. It looks nice and could be quiet and peaceful. We got stuck next to a loud group that kept it up until 3am. The staff was nowhere to be found and didn't seem to patrol. The staff disappears at 6pm, the store is closed, and I could find any staff people at checkout either. The bathrooms are passable but the showers, which are coin-op, are not very good. There is no space to change after your shower except out in the open. There is no access to the river or anything else. Oh, and a stay here is really expensive. It'll run you about $85 per night. read more

Had a very pleasant experience at Ventana Campground this past weekend. The grounds are gorgeous... well sheltered under a canopy of tall redwood trees. (So if you want to lay out and see the stars, go elsewhere.) The bathrooms--while by no means posh--do have ample hot water and aren't nearly as revolting (read: smelly eww eww) as those in public campgrounds. There aren't any trails at the site other than the one that leads up to the inn, so you'll want to get in the car and drive to one of the nearby State parks to do any real exploring. However, the nice area and well maintained sites really do make this a perfect location for a weekend camping getaway. Some suggestions if you go: 1. Dress warmer than the weather forecast. The tree cover makes it a bit colder than you might think. 2. Buy your wood before you get there. We got a box at Safeway just as we left Carmel. A much better deal. 3. In fact, buy pretty much everything you need before you get there. 4. Book EARLY. This place fills up quick, especially in season. The staff was very friendly and helpful about picking a spot. 5. Don't plan on staying up late. Pretty much everyone was asleep and lights out by 10 pm. And this place gets DARK after dark. Bring a flashlight. read more

do not book here! they say you can cancel but when you try within the cancellation period, they do not refund your money. i have called 7 times for a refund and still no credit to my account. read more

I am hesitant to write this review because part of me wants to keep this campground a secret, but I know that this is the right thing to do. The boyfriend and I made last minute plans to go camping in Big Sur. The night before leaving, we looked online for a place to stay. All of the places we looked at were either booked or too expensive. By a stroke of luck, we came across Ventana campground. We were able to book three nights for $55 each. There weren't too many recent reviews on it, but we thought we'd give it a shot. Our experience was fantastic!! This was my first time camping, and this place was perfect. We slept amongst the redwoods. Each campsite has a firepit (no license necessary), picnic bench, space for a tent, and a parking spot. A bundle of 7 pieces of fire wood can be bought for $10, which lasts a good hour and a half. The best thing about the campsite is that the bathrooms were so clean! Oh, and hot water!! The showers require tokens, $2 per 5 minutes, charged to your account. There were some reviews that said that the campsites were too close together. I don't have many to compare to, but our site (#29) was not too close to the others. Our last night, we did hear some faint snoring, but it was ok. You can look at the campground map and choose a site that seems less crowded. Jim and Lisa (and Rich) were also very friendly. They've taken very good care of the site. Overall, I highly recommend Ventana campground. It's close enough to everything in Big Sur to make it the ideal location. There is a 72 hour cancellation policy, but just make sure you're aware of it before booking. I would 100% come back and recommend it to all of my friends and family who want to camp without having to rough it too much. read more

All the negative reviews are right so read them. I was anticipating a different experience for the rate of 80 per night. The sites are on top of each other. You can hear conversations right in your tent. There is no staff. No one checked us in. At 8pm the garbage staff leaves and you can come in and claim an empty spot since no one is here. They dont return till 12 the next day. Read that twice because they close the bathrooms and you will not have access after 8pm till 12 the next day unless you walk to the bathhouse in the center of the camp which is three times farther than any state park has their bathrooms. There were left over underwear on the floor and beer cans and showers broken on the ground. This rate pays for the fancy amenities the resort goers have like the pool which you do not have access to. Why would you when you dont even have bathroom access? There are no trails in the property all roads lead to private homes or cabins. There were moms with babies waiting at the port o potty assuming someone was going to open them. Instead they had to have their babies pee behind the bathroom. When you call the "emergency" number you are prompted to leave a message, seriously at 11 am. Found another number and was connected with Hyatt the owner of Ventana. The woman on the phone gave me yet another number where no one answered. There is no such thing as glamping here. You have been bamboozled yet again by a mega corporation. Better off at a state or national park. Your taxes pay for that anyways. There was also a strange absence of wildlife. Perhaps the close proximity to actual homes above the campsite where mega trucks go up and down constantly keeps the animals away. read more

Normal close together sites. The camping site map isn't accurate. Roads are tight for large trucks. Only thing I don't like is, you can't walk to the ocean, I tried, it's all private property around. But there are real trails into the mountains. read more

Ventana Campground - Big tree - Campgrounds Near Me - Big Sur, California

We had the best time camping at ventana! Bathrooms are clean, and the grounds are so beautiful. We'll definitely be back especially because the staff are all SO wonderful and nice! The sweet girl serving drinks at the airstream on sat night was absolutely lovely. We got to know Anna who works at check in and she was such a kind, helpful and wonderful woman! Friendly staff makes all the difference! Emanuel was also so nice and friendly, they're all really looking out for the campers to make sure they have the best time. Thank you for all the tips for local hot spots and for making our stay so special! We'll be back soon! read more

My favorite part of this campground are the bathrooms - they have warm water! Aside from that, they are pretty clean and well-lit for a campground bathroom area. (My personal enthusiasm for these bathrooms have convinced anti-camping friends to try camping here!) This campground is in a forested area with a creek, and they've done a good job to maintain the natural landscape. The campsites are built around the terrain, so each site is different - the ones I've stayed at have all been relatively private, but there were some quite close to the bathrooms. In general, I would say the groups here tend to be families or 'quieter campers' - I've never encountered a super-rowdy group here. Groups are awake after dark, but are mostly talking quietly around the campfire. I would recommend you buy supplies before you get to Big Sur - there are some convenience stores not far from Ventana, but there's a markup. I don't recommend if: - your group wants to stay up late drinking beer and being noisy - you want to drive to your campsite and park there for the weekend. the campsite is relatively remote and no good hikes within walking distance. So, during the day, we drive out for lunch or to a nearby hike or beach. read more

Living in a city shrouded in nightly fog , I'll forget about the stars. Not so at Ventana in Big Sur. There's almost a sadness at sunset in Big Sur. All the beauty dims and dims until only your ears tell you the waves are still there. But then you look up, and there they are. I don't know how to spot Cancer or Virgo, and I'm not really sure if the blur of a billion stars above me is the Milky Way. And yet it's mesmerizing. I laid on my sleeping bag last weekend and looked up and the night sky --- amazing -- a movie without characters or a plot, and no beginning, climax or end. Go there when you can. Go there when you can't. Go soon. The campground isn't very private, but it's well taken care of and at a good location. Reserve campsite #62 if you want a ton of room and privacy. read more

Jim is just the best, kindest guy! His family run campgrounds is beautiful and has the best bathrooms you will ever come across. We were at campsite 24 and it was a great spot a little more removed. The redwoods were magical and there were even some lovely women who brought a violin and did three part harmonies. So yea, campsite came complete with sirens ;) read more

This was my 2nd time here. The first was in 2004 and while that was a 5 star experience, my most recent 3 day trip in June was definitely not. Back in 2004, the camp sites were less clustered together, were much larger, and the bathrooms were clean and more abundant, leading to less crowding and lines. Fast forward to 2018, and it's now become a sh*t show - literally. *Sigh*, where to begin? First, the positives. -We were assigned campsite #2. It had a nice feature, where a small foot bridge led to a more private single (possibly double if it were flatter) tent pad across from the creek/main road. The caveat to more privacy would be having to trek all your stuff back to this area, and also meander your way in the dark to the restroom, table, fire ring, etc. Probably not a big deal if you weren't traveling with a youngster or lots of stuff, however we were. -Lots of tree's (redwoods, etc), and did not notice any mosquito's (none of us were bitten in the 3 days we were there). -There's hot running water for showers, and sinks. -The garbage area was well kept, and was picked up regularly. -$2 shower for 5 mins (token machine located outside bathroom). Not sure if this is a positive/negative, but it's nice to have this option. Now the negatives. -The bathroom was horrendous. Toilets were filthy and 10x worse that what you'd find in a gas station. The bowls looked like a crap bomb went off in them. The worst part was that there were only a total of 4 bathrooms for our camp site area which served about 30 campsites! Two of the bathrooms have showers, so if someone is showering, then that leaves only 2 bathrooms available. To make matters worse, seat covers and toilet paper were sporadic (available in some, and out in others). Over the course of our 3 days there, only 1out of the 4 bathrooms was cleaned and supplies were not regularly restocked, so bring your own TP...and toilet wand if you want a clean toilet to do your business in. Also expect lines in the morning and evening. Not extremely long, but maybe 4 or so people waiting. -The campsites are tightly clustered together and close to the road. Some of the campsites looked like a tent city, very close to one another. Ours was thankfully 'ok', but super close to the road and because the campsite is setup with one road in/out, you get a tremendous amount of traffic rumbling thru. -Inability to reserve a specific campsite. Even if you were able to, I'd avoid it still. -Electric carts driven by some of the employees flying down the hill past our campsite! Dangerous young men flying down in their carts in an unsafe manner. I would suggest you avoid this campground. You are not getting any value for the amount paid. Don't ruin a beautiful trip to Big Sur by having such a poor experience at this campground! read more

My boyfriend and I have just returned from a fabulous camping weekend at the Ventana Campground. This was far and away the nicest situated campground we have seen. There are 80 sites all nested along a small creek heading up the canyon - which allows for some very private sites. Not all sites are as private but these provide great spots for families or small groups to be close to one another yet have their own space. When we arrived we were given a map up to our site - #61a . We arrived to the cooing of an owl and the trickling of the creek. Each site has a picnic table and a fire pit (with an adjustable grill). There are 3 bathhouses with showers, sinks and flush toilets. They even have electric outlets for those who want the "comforts" of home. There are also many water spigots around for convenience. The only drawback of our site was that we were a climb up back from the bathhouse and didn't have a water spigot near our site. But for the privacy we had - a great trade off. We went up to the Ventana Inn to speak to the concierge about hiking, beaches, etc. and were given great recommendations. The views from the restaurant were unbelievable but we had brought our own gourmet feast for the weekend so we passed on Cielo. Each nite we were sung to sleep by the owl and the trickling of the stream. Not once did we here our neighbors or any disturbance for that matter. Technically the Ventana Campground isn't "glamping" but with all the necessary amenities, the sheer beauty, and the looks of the cars and the other campers we met - this place is a close second to "glamping" All in all, an amazing campground that we will definitely revisit! PS - One minor drawback is the $8 bundle of firewood that really just looked like a small batch of kindling. read more

A very late review...but I needed to share our awesome experience at Ventana Campground. I've gone camping at several SoCal state parks...but none of those compare to this beautiful, private, tent-only campground in Big Sur. This serene location is what I have always imagined camping to be like. The area is so beautiful and peaceful...especially because there are no RVs around running their loud generators all night. Another thing is the bathrooms are very clean. The shower rooms with their multiple sinks and toilets may not be as clean as the single bathrooms...but definitely a lot better than most other campgrounds. The campsites we had for our group of 16 was gorgeous especially since it was surrounded by so many tall redwoods trees and right next to a running creek. All the while we were there the temps were in the 60s and 70s during the day (compared to the 90s in SoCal), which made it fun to have a campfire during the day and night. I really can't say enough how awesome and majestic this campground is...I truly feel that I have found the epitome of all campgrounds for me. Even though the pricing is more than the state parks, I would definitely come back to Ventana Campground. read more

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I'm glad I read the reviews in regards to the pesky little critters. When it's cool it's great. Start off with a good breakfast go for a hike or visit a beach then return back when it's cool and most of those pesky guys will be gone.First time camping. We went during the week and it wasn't crowded. Campers were spread out. May be packed on the weekend. There were 3 camp spots where we were We were two families/reservations and the third spot stayed vacant which was nice. If the spot was taken may have been awkward...very close. My first time camping. Glad it was at Ventana. So beautiful, clean and quiet. Will enjoy going again next October. Los Lobs is not far of a drive. They have great tide pools for kids to explore. My little one saw a small octopus! No dogs allowed here but they have flyers at the check in where their is dog friendly places to enjoy. We went to Pheiffer Beach? I may have the name wrong. It's known for a large arched rock formation and purple sand. Very nice beach. The family enjoyed it and the dogs had fun exploring. read more