TV Tower Road

This place is a dream! It’s a bit of a steep, windy road and our 32’ made it up but we had to take it slow. The road is in good condition though. Once we arrived at the first pull off, we knew we wanted to park there. There’s the most incredible views of the valley and the Pacific Ocean. The sunsets are spectacular!

It gets pretty busy during the day with mountain bikers. Everyone was super friendly and we felt very safe.

We had att service (enough to watch Netflix) which almost never happens in a forest! We received good solar here (4-5 amps) as well.

We had to leave eventually because the winds (40-50 MPH) were rocking our airstream back and forth. We couldn’t get much sleep so we moved further down the road. It was so windy because it’s a wide open space up there with zero protection from the wind.

This spot is 10-15 minutes into SLO. 20 minutes from Pismo Beach. Couldn’t ask for a better place!

We read the other review and thought “awesome! This place sounds like perfect boondocking!” We’re in a 32’ Class A, the other guy towed up a 32’ airstream - no problem, this will be great! Oh man were we wrong. The road is single narrow lane and dirt most of the way. It is also surprisingly busy. The pull out at the top is actually a loop that cars/trucks expect to be able to turn around in. We pulled in the only spot we fit and immediately had someone waiting for us to move. The locals let us know that cars would be coming through regularly and it wasn’t a good place to stay. With this being the only pull out we’d seen, we didn’t venture any further up the road. Maybe boondocking nirvana was further up but this place wasn’t it. Maybe if you’re in a van, this could be chill. Anything bigger is going to be a serious challenge.
A good cell signal and beautiful views might make it tempting for other boondockers but don’t say you weren’t warned.

Should have listened to the 2nd reviewer. We too were lured by the amazing views of the 1st reviewer and thought we’d be fine with our 31’ trailer given his 32’ made it up. We were wrong. The road up is quiet steep in spots and hairpin turns made it extremely difficult and technical to navigate. We made it to the top but only after ripping some stuff off the bottom of our trailer. Then, once we got to the top, the views were amazing, but there are no even remotely level spots to pull off the road for anything more than a camper van. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to spend the night up here because we got a flat tire on our trailer somewhere on the way up. I know the pictures make this place look amazing, and the views are glorious, but please DO NOT attempt to reach this spot with a trailer. It’s not safe, it’s sheer cliffs on either side of the road in some spots, and there are really no places to turn around. Spoke to a Forest Ranger who said they do NOT encourage trailers on this forest road (too bad their weren’t any signs to that effect!). Also, when getting our tires replaced, the tow company rep said “what made you think you could bring a trailer up there?”... I keep asking myself the same question. Take my advice; don’t do it (with a trailer).

If you’re in a camper van, you HAVE to stay here! It’s amazing! The views are incredible, it’s not crowded, it’s FREE!

The roads are a little scary going up but the roads themselves are clean and well maintained.

Like other reviews have said, I would NEVER drive an RV or pull a trailer up here, but vans are great!

We’ll definitely be back!

We scouted this spot in our truck while we were in the area. The spot itself is large enough for a trailer. However, the road up is only a single car width and it's a two way road. We met 4-5 oncoming vehicles on the short drive up and 7 mountain bikers. We're pretty adventurous trailer drivers, but I wouldn't attempt with ours, unless I was sure there were no other vehicles coming down the mountain.

Vans and truck campers should be fine, but there are a lot of low branches on the drive in. I think anything over 8'-9' might scrape a bit.

Also, be aware that the pullout that you would camp in is a popular parking area/turnaround for trucks carrying mountain bikers, so be considerate when choosing your parking spot.

Well worth the drive up there. I agree with the previous reviews, car or van only. Don’t try this road with anything larger, you will be sorry.
It was so quiet and peaceful and the sunset amazing.

Boondocking in my 4-door sedan.

Drive was quite easy with a smaller vehicle. I can see some of the other reviewers' issues with large RV vans and vehicles. Probably won't be an issue with "normal" size ride. Its right off the highway so easy access and leaving points. The view was amazing, really beautiful! I camped in a tent on a small piece of land off-shooting from the main road. Overall good experience, very tranquil location, and definitely worth the view.

Stayed here for one night. Firstly missed the turnoff from the main road, so added an extra 30 minutes to our journey going to turn around at the next exit. Arrived late so most spots lower down were taken. Our van (dodge 2500) was fine getting up the roads but a trailer would be a nightmare. Saw an RV in the first turn out area but I wouldn't be keen to drive that up there.
We stayed in a level area probably 3/4 way up. I personally didnt sleep much as the wind was battering the van pretty relentlessly, especially in early hours but my partner slept through it fine. Quite a lot of traffic from 6am-10am. Good cell service. Probably wouldnt stay here again, unless could get a better spot lower down the hill

Gorgeous view. One of our favorite boondocking spots thus far. It did get busy as locals drove up to watch the sunset. They all left after the sun went down.

We have a 20’ class b van and had no problem with the road up. I wouldn’t recommend anything much bigger as there are some tight turns. The tight turns are all paved, but once you get past those, it’s decently maintained gravel. 4WD not necessary unless it’s raining. *Watch your clearance once you get to the top. There are a few spots that a bigger vehicle could bottom out on.

There are only a couple of spots with super level ground, but unless it’s a weekend, I don’t imagine you’ll have trouble snagging one of those.

Great AT&T and Sprint cell coverage. Hitting 45mbps down. Great if you need to work on the road and want a cool view.

Okay let me start by saying the views are as breathtaking as the pictures show and the other reviewers claimed, but everyone greatly downplayed how dangerous it was to get here. We are in a 14’ van and STRUGGLED to make it around the turns, especially because it is a single lane road and we were faced with oncoming traffic at least 5 times. The road winds up a steep mountain with no guard rail on the side which made the entire trip terrifying for us. On top of all of this, we were heading up as the sun was going down so we had very limited visibility or awareness of our surroundings. As other reviewers said, there are not many flat spots to park in. We were told by a passing car to drive up to the TV towers and there would be parking by those, but once we pulled off we couldn’t find a spot that wasn’t super close to the edge or very rocky. Hesitantly, we headed back down. We ended up staying at one of the first pull offs we saw that is on the left side of the road, and there were about 3 other sets of campers there. Once we found the spot, we were just happy to be alive, but still extremely anxious about getting back down in the morning. Luckily, the drive down in the daylight was far more manageable. When we finally made it back down, we seriously cried tears of joy.

TLDR: If you have any fear of heights or you’re not an extremely skilled driver, do not attempt to camp here- no matter how big your car/camper is