Washburn Campground

So I decided to try paid camping for once, why TF did I choose this place🙄🙄🙄 definitely reminded me as to why I choose BLM and forest camping. This place, I felt my neighbors were way too close, people were very standoffish and clickish. The restroom were clean I did feel safe due to the frequent security drive throughs. And there were some young people there who were very loud early in the mornings. I was so over this place, I couldn’t wait to leave. Honestly if it weren’t for their stupid cancellation policy I would have left after the first night.

Camped here many times. Beach is loaded with beautiful rocks some fun hikes nearby plenty of shopping in town if that’s your thing

The photos here on the site and the name of Hearst San Simeon are officially right but there are a few parts to it. There are San Simeon, Hearst Castle, William R. Hearst State Beach and they kinda run together.

This campground is gorgeous if you stay in the upper portion. The bottom portion has no view and is more cramped but it does have a lot of kids running around and you can walk to a beach. I wouldn't suggest swimming at unless you know the Pacific well, it's rough at this spot.

Drive a little bit more N, a few miles p,and there is a protected S facing cove. This is officially known as William R. Hearst beach and the castle is on the other side. Lots of picnic areas, a shower, kayaks, kids and dogs, you can unleash on the N side of the river outlet, leash on S side.

The campground is easy to access, the Rangers will let you drive in and pick your site, it is not noisy, no one ran a generator, and it's totally dry. The showers are turned off, Cambria has no water.

There is a Friday Farmer's Market in town, Cambria, starts at 2:30 and is small but good.
Lots of gorgeous trails right off the campground, lots of ticks though on trails off campground, and tons of trails throughout Cambria/San Simeon.

Gorgeous views from upper part, Washburn.

No water, no fires and no store, there are vault toilets, but I still highly recommend. 4 bars for Verizon and AT&T

(Is 5 stars mean no noise? That's what I mean😃)

There are two campgrounds here. Both are dry, as the area is undergoing a drought. You CAN get drinking water, but the bathrooms are closed and port-a-johns are in place. The lower campground is their "developed" campground, with paved pads. It's nice, but kind of compact, and with no views. There is also no AT&T cell service in the lower campground.
The upper campground, Washburn, is their "undeveloped" campground. The pads are gravel, and the bathrooms are (nice) pit toilets. The sites are very large, and many have great views of either the surrounding hills, or the ocean. There are quite a few trails the area. We were here in January, and did not experience ticks. It had been quite rainy, so it was a bit soggy in places. This campground is clean and appears to be well run. We'd stay here again. It's worth driving up to see the elephant seal rookery.

Good place to stay for Hearst Castel and Sea Lion viewing area. We Stayed one night by showers $35 and the second night dry camp area $20 both are good but for me I liked dry camp more all you have to do is drive over to showers went you need one. Not a lot I can add many reviews just we had a good time.

We stayed at the dry campground just a little farther inside of the San Simeon Park. It's called the Washburn Campground. That's where you get the $20 / night rate. ($18 / night for seniors)
Very well maintained and good level pads. Enough space between that you don't feel crowded. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. The area sits on a bit of a hill so there are views all around. Very quiet at night.
The pit toilets are very clean and good condition. Garbage bin and recycling containers are available. Water taps located around the campground.
There is a dump station and potable water available in the lower campground on your way out.
Very close to the beach (on the other side of the Hwy) , Hearst Castle and the Sea Lion Sanctuary.

We stayed here two nights at the Washburn section and were very pleased with everything.
NF toilets were clean, sites were fairly level and spaced enough apart for privacy. Water spigots were easy to find, and there is a dump station. Showers were not available in the Washburn area so we used our own. Our neighbors were not noisy, and there is a nice hike from the grounds right to the beach which we took advantage of. We saw otters and seals in the water.
We used this spot as a base to visit Cambria and the coastline drive up along route 1 with the gorgeous overlooks of the ocean. There are many free parking areas to get out and enjoy the beach, and a very popular spot to view sea lions. A nice bonus was a visit to the Hearst Ranch Winery where we tasted (and bought) beautiful wines. There is also a post office and restaurant inside the building (Sebastian's Deli) and the hamburgers looked amazing!!!

40’ fifth wheel fit no problem in primitive camping area. Gorgeous views.

This campground is split into two very distinct sections with very different offerings. Actually this should be listed as two campgrounds because they are very different and about 2 miles apart.

The main area is designed as a more modern campground with shower facilities, running water and easier access to the beach via a relatively short walking path. The showers are however coin fed and only got marginally warm for us so I wasn’t impressed. I was also surprised that this part of the campground had little to no cell service coverage.

The primitive area known as the Washburn Campground is about 2-miles up what turns into a well-kept dirt road. Once arriving on the hilltop the sites spread out and the area is very nice dotted with very clean outhouses. This area has better views but it would be a long walk to the beach. This section also has cell phone coverage although a booster does come in handy for both Verizon and T-mobile.

I stayed in the Washburn camp which is considered the primitive campground which has fire rings, picnic tables, water, & vault toilets. Nice views, short walk to the beach, & well kept. Their were mostly trailers with a couple of class B’s.
The other campground (San Simeon Creek Campground) is closer to the beach with the addition of power & showers.
Also is a smaller area for tent campers & a mixed area. Both closer to the beach.
It’s a short drive to the small town of Cambria which has restaurants, coffee shops, & hand few of touristy shops. There is also a couple of gas stations with some groceries but no real grocery store.
Morro bay is a small city about 30 minutes away which is a fun place to visit & has grocery stores or whatever’s you may need. Appears to be the sea otter capital of California. Lots of activities activities including kayaking, Sup, submarine tours, sea life tours.