USFS · California

Los Padres National Forest

Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland. Elevations range from sea level to 8,847 feet (2,697 m).

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest2.0 million acresUSFSCA48 campgrounds within 10 mi128 Forest Service sites335 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1 fire
active
Dunes Lake Cultural Rx Burn (prescribed burn) · 33 mi from the center
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateCalifornia
Size2.0 million acres
Forest Service code0507, region 05
Center point34.94° N, 120.03° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 16)

Boundary map

2 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Los Padres National Forest50°60°70°January: 4.04 inches of precipitationFebruary: 3.43 inches of precipitationMarch: 3.25 inches of precipitationApril: 1.47 inches of precipitationMay: 0.55 inches of precipitationJune: 0.10 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.04 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.01 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.07 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.88 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.40 inches of precipitationDecember: 2.96 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 51.9°F averageFebruary: 52.5°F averageMarch: 54.6°F averageApril: 56.5°F averageMay: 59.0°F averageJune: 62.3°F averageJuly: 65.0°F averageAugust: 65.7°F averageSeptember: 64.8°F averageOctober: 62.3°F averageNovember: 56.2°F averageDecember: 50.3°F average0 in1 in2 in3 in4 in5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Twitchell Dam, 17 miles from the center point at 582 feet, station USC00049111 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 18 inches a year. The station sits about 2,500 feet lower than the center point, so temperatures on the ground run cooler.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

42 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 6 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
American Canyon Campground
Reservable12 sites
FS · Inside
Arroyo Seco
Reservable40 sites
FS · Inside
Arroyo Seco Group Campground
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Ballinger Campground
Reservable13 sites
FS · Inside
Bottchers Gap Campround
First-comeCA
FS · Inside
Campo Alto Campground
Reservable19 sites
FS · Inside
Cerro Alto Campground
Reservable22 sites
FS · Inside
China Camp
Reservable10 sites
Show 4 more

36 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 128

The Forest Service lists 128 recreation sites in this forest, among them 48 campgrounds, 23 trailheads, 14 picnic areas, 11 backpackings. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 68 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 335 named trails in this forest, 1,392 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Sisquoc ↗32.7
Horse Canyon la Brea ↗28.6
Manzana ↗22.9
Pine Ridge ↗22.3
Santa Cruz ↗18.9
Gene Marshall-Piedra Blanca ↗18.6
Lost Valley ↗18.3
Sespe River ↗16.5
Hurricane Deck ↗14.6
Mission Pine ↗14.6

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 335 trails in Los Padres National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Dunes Lake Cultural Rx Burn

    33 mi from the center point

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Park · 19 mi
Pinnacles National Park
National Recreation Area · 26 mi
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
National Register listings within 15 miles · 98 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for California

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Walkabout Northern California
    Tom Courtney, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacking California
    Wilderness Press, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Coastal trails of Southern California
    Linda B. Mullally, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking northern California
    Bubba Suess, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California
    Shawnte Salabert, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Los Padres National Forest?

2.0 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Los Padres National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Los Padres National Forest in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Los Padres National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Los Padres National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 34.939° N, 120.031° W. Pinnacles National Park is 19 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Los Padres National Forest right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Dunes Lake Cultural Rx Burn at 33 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Los Padres National Forest?

Pinnacles National Park (19 mi) and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (26 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Los Padres National Forest?

The National Register has 98 listings within 15 miles, including Mission Santa Ines, Church and Jeffers, Robinson, House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Los Padres National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.