This past Memorial Day weekend we spent 3 nights at Big Sur Campground and Cabins in Big Sur, California. While I am working on an awesome Big Sur road trip itinerary write-up, here is a detailed review of Big Sur Campground and Cabins to help you plan your next trip. We stayed in a tent so I cannot give you any details about cabins specifically.
Big Sur Campground and Cabins is located at the Northern End of Big Sur territory right on Highway 1. It is privately owned and operated.
Big Sur Campground and Cabins PROS
1. Big Sur Campground and Cabins attracts a certain crowd. It is the crowd that can afford the hefty price tag for camping here. This crowd consists predominantly of families with kids, quiet and polite. We saw several multi-generational groups. You will not find any party animals or rowdy youngsters here. Quiet hours from 10 pm to 8 am are strictly enforced here.
2. Big Sur Campground and Cabin is located right on the banks of the Big Sur river. There is water access on site with a cool swimming hole. I can only imagine how great it is during summer months! (below is a view from our camp site)
3. Big Sur Campground and Cabins is located in the redwood grove so there is plenty of shade and when it rains these same redwoods are dense enough in places to give you a decent protection from rain. It did rain 1 day when we were there at the part of our tent that was under a tree was just barely wet.
4. Big Sur Campground and Cabins has a number of nice FREE perks (which do compensate somewhat for the price of camping here): there is FREE bottomless hot tea and coffee for everybody throughout the day and hot shows are absolutely FREE too. This is the first campground that I saw where the showers are not coin operated.
5. There are a couple of nice facilities on site at Big Sur Campground and Cabins: laundry machines and dryers (coin operated), very good playground for kids and a store where you can buy a lot of camping necessities from fire wood, ice, poison oak remedy and even ice cream 🙂
6. The bathrooms at Big Sur Campground and Cabins are spotless and odorless. I believe they are being cleaned every 2 hours or so. They are amazing! I have never been so excited about bathrooms!
7. The staff at Big Sur Campground and Cabins is very nice, friendly and helpful.
8. Big Sur Campground and Cabins is located in close proximity to a gas station, cafes, restaurants and a couple of grocery stores, in case you need anything.
Big Sur Campground and Cabins CONS
1. The current price (year 2019) for a simple tent camp site at Big Sur Campground and Cabins starts from 70 USD/night (this is for 2 people and 1 vehicle; every child above 4 years of age is additional $5 per night, an additional vehicle is $15 per night). The price of cabins I believe starts from around $200/night. For weekends there is a 2 nights minimum stay requirement and for holidays – 3 nights minimum stay. This is one of the most expensive campground that I have ever seen (private campground with excellent facilities right on the Russian river with swimming and kayaking costs at least one third less – stay tuned for an up-coming review)
2. For the price you pay you may get a rather small site. Our site did not even have space to park our car. We had to parallel park it along the main road.
3. When it rains the water does not drain well at Big Sur Campground and Cabins. The whole campground turns into one huge mud pie even after just one day of rain. It was very unpleasant. In some places water ran off right under people’s tents. We were lucky it did not happen to us but our neighbors were not that lucky: there was a small stream constantly flowing towards and under their tent once it started raining (and I am talking about regular rain, not a storm or downpour).
4. Big Sur Campground and Cabins is a private property surrounded by private properties, so there are no hiking trails around, there is nowhere to go even though you are in the middle of Big Sur. You are sort of locked in. There are several campgrounds in Big Sur located within state parks – those have plenty of hiking trails.
5. Even though the campground itself has a quiet crowd in terms of its patrons, this place is located right on Highway 1 so you do hear some traffic noise, even at night. Not too loud but still, for some people it may be a little annoying. It did not bother us much but I thought I should mention it.
A couple more important things to know about Big Sur Campground and Cabins. When we stayed there in May there were no any annoying creatures: no wasps, yellow jackets, flies or mosquitoes. I don’t know if it was just the season (too early/too cold for bugs?) or there are no bugs there at all. We were also happy that there are no bears in the area. When we camp in the Sierras this is always a concern – see my Giant Gap Campground review.
Please, note that Big Sur Campground and Cabins books out very fast. You literally have to book a year in advance to get a spot.
One last thing: if you plan to go camping I urge you to buy Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent
. This is NOT a sponsored review but a heartfelt THANK YOU to Coleman for such a great product. First of all, it withstood 24 hour of pretty much continuous rain and it was 100% dry inside. Second of all, it has this perfect screened (netted and covered) outdoor area where you can hide your shoes, chairs, etc. form the rain. It is big enough to fit at least 3 people with chairs to have a meal and it is also great to hide from annoying bugs in summer and still be “outside” rather than “inside” the tent.
Things you will find indispensable when camping:
Good stove (it will save you lots of time cooking, it gives you many options what to cook (rather than just grill) and it does not use lots of gas): Coleman has the best product in this category as well –
Portable Propane Gas Classic Camp Stove with 2 Burners
Self-inflating camping pads with a pillow (I love that you can just open a valve and forget about it – if it is not fully inflated you can add just a couple of breaths through the valve and that’s it. AND you do not need to bring pillows with you). MOVTOTOP Self Inflating Sleeping Pad is super comfortable – we all slept like babies! We tried a different, cheaper, pad before and it was horrible – do yourself a favor and get this one.
Everybody needs a sleeping bag for camping but which one to choose? We have 3 different sleeping bags (3 different brands) in our family and we definitely have 1 winner – Coleman Palmetto Cool Weather Adult Sleeping Bag
(make sure your bag is weather rated at 30 F for California – my husband got a bag with a lower limit of 45 F and it was useless when it is 52 F outside)
If you are new to camping definitely read my detailed expert article Camping Guide for Beginners which has tons of invaluable tips and hacks, information on useful things to have, preparation and so much more.
If you found this Big Sur Campground and Cabins review useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
