Ventana Campground - Big Sur, California

Seongdo Kim

Here's the corrected and improved version of the review:

I enjoyed a one-night camping trip here with my family, including my 6-year-old son. Overall, our experience was satisfactory, and everything went smoothly. The neighboring campers were quiet throughout the night, allowing us to sleep comfortably.

The restroom facilities were clean and well-maintained. However, the shower situation was a bit challenging. One of the two shower booths had a broken shower head, while the other lacked hooks for hanging clothes while showering.

As many reviews have mentioned, the campsites were somewhat close together. This may actually be beneficial for beginner campers, as having nearby neighbors provided a sense of security. The gated campsite also contributed to this feeling of safety. Access to water and trash bins was convenient.

A small stream flowing through a side of the campsite was an excellent attraction for young children. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it still had water during the fall season.

Despite the minor shower issues, I would consider returning to this campsite in the future. The overall experience was positive, making it a good option for family camping trips.

Ivonne Valdez

We loved the camping experience here, and we were located on top of a creek and you can go in the water to wet your feet if you want. The sound of the creek at night was very relaxing. Although the site did say it was a hike in site(#1), it didn’t disclose it was a hike up and on the edge of a hill site where you had to sleep and walk on an incline constantly. We made it work but I fell and twisted my ankle on the last day while packing up. The restrooms were cleaned and disinfected daily and everyone was good about maintaining them clean. I loved that the showers were located within the restroom area and had hot water only you have to buy coins to use them ($2 each coin and 1 coin buys 5 minutes of water). For the high price of the site, the showers should be free but I get it. This helps with people not wasting water. All in all we loved our stay and will be back, although NOT to site 1 that’s up on a hill. We liked our neighbor’s site 2 instead 🙂

Carsen Greene

We had spot 49 & it was a little tricky to get to, but well worth the privacy up on a little hill. Clean bathrooms, hot showers, friendly staff - ice & firewood for sale. I had service the whole time, but my partner did not. Hit or miss, I guess. We will definitely be back!

Ningyu Gao

Campsite 6 is squeezed between sites 5, 7, and a parking lot. With four people, the space barely fit our two tents, and I ended up sleeping right next to the parking lot—easily my worst camping experience. That said, the customer service was excellent, and the bathrooms were clean.

Elizabeth Hilbert

It is definitely overpriced for a regular tent camping site, but it is Big Sur so you pay for the location. Definitely take a look at the map before you book your site. My spot, 26, had a lot of privacy but was a hike from the bathroom. Other spots were very small with no privacy but closer to facilities.

Nice clean bathrooms!

Alex Boldea

We stayed in camp #48 for 2 nights in early July. Ventana was the only campground in the area with sites available same day. We drove to the South side of Big Sur early to attempt grabbing a spot at Kirk Creek but to no avail. We got cell service and found site #48 at Ventana seemed like a good location in terms of proximity to bathrooms and such. We booked online and checked in easily after making the drive up to the north side of Big Sur past the land slide. The price is steep for camping but the bathrooms are clean and the grounds are gated. You are provided with a gate code for reentry. Site #48 is on a hill and you will have walk through your neighbor's camp if those spots are taken unless you walk around on a steep narrow path directly up to your site. Unfortunately there was trash left in fire pits and in the campsites below us. Workers drove past the trash both days we were there which was disappointing, though it would be nice if people just cleaned up after themselves. For the convenience and location, we would stay again but it would be nice not to see any trash at all considering the nightly rate.

Michael Kaufman

Terribly mismanaged and unhelpful. Stayed at the “glamping” tent spots at the top, woke up and the power was out across the all the tents. No power, not hot water, no showers, etc. We packed up to leave and MGE was blocking the road on the property and doing SCHEDULED PREVENTATIVE maintenance. We were trapped on the camp ground for over an hour and a half which ended up ruining our plans for the day. Ventana KNEW about the scheduled maintenance but never notified any of their guests about it. They wouldn’t even grant us a day pass at the resort spa so we could shower before leaving. The person I spoke with on the phone for the site was also useless and even said there weren’t any showers in the spa. Avoid this place.

Bernadette Simonson

This place is expensive and overhyped for what it is, but because we planned to camp during a holiday weekend, it was our only option. We were in site 50 which is a hike-in site up a steep path. If you’re even slightly out of shape, it will be a tough time. Also site 49 can opt to put their tent super close to 50, if they choose. Even though we only had one neighbor, we were practically on top of each other (see first pic).

So Ventana Campground in general:
-Pros: 1. only 2 hrs from SJ 2. decently clean bathrooms 3. verizon has service
-Cons: 1. many campsites are too close together 2. someone played obnoxiously loud music (for hours!) that bothered most of the campers, but apparently it’s fine until 10 pm 3. aggressive squirrels (lock your food) 4. tight parking spots