Camp Observer1/2
Camp site features
Across 32 camp sites:
- Pets allowed: 31 of 32 sites
- Longest rig: 56 ft
- Largest party: 8 people
Fees
6 PEOPLE 1 VEHICLE
Directions
Hwy 1 is TEMPORARILY CLOSED from the Monterey area
From San Luis Obispo, take Highway 1 north for approximately 60 miles to the campground.
Stay Limit
Check in from 3 PM, check out by 12 PM.
Reviews
Dyon Z
Loop:Kirk Creek Campground
Site:
Reviewed 5 days ago
Kirk Creek Campground is pretty scene but the campground is poorly maintained by the Federal Forest Service. For starters the access to the beach (which is the main draw) was closed due to poison oak overgrowth. It hasn't rained in California for 5 months ... so that means the beach access has been closed all summer because the federal forest service can't get around to sending someone with a weedwacker for 30 mins to cutback the trail. That's pathetic. Secondly, there was an active hornet's nest the size of my head (no exaggeration) over the main bathroom. Thirdly, it wouldn't take much to improve this site with running water (there's an active year round creek nearby) ... if you're gonna claim it's a premier site and thus charge people for 2 nights (even on weekdays) when in fact they only want to stay one ... go ahead and splurge and provide the most basic necessity of life. I understand that every Park/Forest service is "underfunded" but it always blows me away how many white collar people they have manning desks/computers and how little prioritization is made on the blue collar maintenance folk (who actually make things operate). Maybe a little less white and lot more blue would be a good budgeting goal.
Maria A
Loop:Kirk Creek Campground
Site:
Reviewed 7 days ago
Million Dollar Views
Aimee L
Loop:Kirk Creek Campground
Site:
Reviewed 9 days ago
We absolutely loved our stay at Kirk Creek Campground! It was incredibly peaceful, and it almost felt like we were the only ones camping there. The sites are spaced out nicely, which gave us a great sense of privacy. Falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean was one of our favorite parts.
We stayed at Site 20, which isn't directly on the cliffside, but it was still a wonderful site with a great coastal view. The nighttime experience was just as special. So many stars came out and we were lucky enough to watch the moon rise over the ridge. It was breathtaking and made the experience feel really memorable.
Another huge bonus is that the Kirk Creek Trail starts directly across Highway 1 from the campground. We hiked up the trail and were rewarded with beautiful coastal views. There are some steep sections, but you can turn around whenever you'd like, making it a great hike even if you don't want to do the full trail.
We also made the trek down to the beach, which was more of an adventure than we expected. It's steep in sections and there was quite a bit of brush, but it was fun and definitely added to the adventure. I wore regular shoes and wished I had worn hiking shoes or something with better grip.
A quick heads-up for future campers, there is no running water but the vault toilets were very clean and well stocked with toilet paper. The raccoons are bold, so keep an eye on your food and trash. Since dumpsters aren't available from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., we kept our dinner trash in the car overnight. Also, there is no or little cell service.
Overall, we loved Kirk Creek. We were actually sad to leave and wished we had booked a third night. We would absolutely come back!
Jennifer O
Loop:Kirk Creek Campground
Site:
Reviewed 10 days ago
This was such a wonderful site! Our reservation started on a Monday with a checkout on Friday with a family of five— that’s a tremendous task given the site doesn’t have water. To achieve this we leveraged one of our trips to Julia Pfeiffer Beach to fill up on water at the hotel nearby, which has a water fountain on the outside with a dispenser that makes it an easier task.
Was able to take a hike down to the Creek, which you can get to only from the trail that starts inside of the campground — make sure to wear pants and long sleeves as the entire trail start to finish is covered in poison oak/ivy with the last portion coming onto the beach bring a full tunnel of foliage. Just like everyone says, the raccoons are absolutely bold, having proper lighting from end to end in your campsite at night helps, and making sure to ratchet down any of your coolers is essential. Please note that these raccoons absolutely can unlatch most coolers so having extremely heavy items over your cooler or the ratchet-down ties is the best solution. Most of the time at this site you’re gonna be under a blanket of sea fog that comes in, it gets extremely hot in the summer, and there is absolutely no shade at many of the sites - so keep that in mind. During our family stay there it wasn’t too windy which was something I was a little bit nervous about, so I regret not putting up a tarp for shade. The camp experience that everyone gets can be entirely different dependent on the different campers, different sites, the time of year, so I was a little bummed out that the kids didn’t have a whole crew of other kids to run around with, and this is not a ding at the site because I am not entirely sure if that’s just because families don’t frequent this campsite enough, but I did notice that in our five days there every site around us didn’t have camper staying any longer than two days.
Alexia L
Loop:Kirk Creek Campground
Site:
Reviewed 12 days ago
Amazing campsite! Would come back again. Please listen to the reviews and put all your food away before it’s real dark, the raccoons will come out and look for food. They woke me up by knocking down the trash can lids. I wish the trail down to the beach was in better condition to go and explore. During our stay we went to Jade cove, sand dollar beach & a couple other trails.
Michelle H
Loop:Kirk Creek Campground
Site:
Reviewed 15 days ago
Beautiful views, raccoons are no joke!
