Escondido

Summary

Escondido Campground is a beautiful family-friendly camping spot located in the Santa Lucia Mountains surrounded by rock formations and sprawling oaks. Here, visitors can explore and enjoy activities like hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, picnicking, bird watching and more. Facilities include nine primitive campsites with picnic tables and fire rings, as well as two vault toilets. Nearby, visitors can explore the San Antonio Mission or go fishing, horseback riding and more.

Overview

Escondido Campground is one of the best kept secrets in the Santa Lucia Mountains. This family-friendly campground boasts scenic vistas that will take your breath away. Surrounded by spectacular rock formations and sprawling oaks this campground rests in a beautiful grassy meadow. The outdoor activities are endless. Hiking, biking, wildlife viewing, picnicking, and bird watching are just a few of the activities you can do while visiting this Los Padres National Forest gem.

Recreation

Escondido Campground has trailheads located near the campground and is only a short drive to multiple other trails with access to backpacking, hiking, biking and horseback riding. Hitching posts for your horses are available at the campground trailhead. Sandstone landscapes, wildflowers and wildlife are part of the experience in this pristine part of the forest.

Facilities

Open daily and year-round, there are nine campsites and each include a picnic table and fire ring. Two vault toilets are located near the campsites. You should plan to be completely self-sustainable for the duration of your trip. There is no potable water (drinking water) onsite. There is no dump station.

Natural Features

Escondido Campground has a diverse and thriving environment that contains ponderosa pine, oak madrone and sycamore trees, just to name a few. The Arroyo Seco River runs through this canyon terrain and only a short distance from the campground. A variety of wildlife viewing and backpacking opportunities await at this hidden treasure.

Nearby Attractions

Hiking trails, biking, fishing, horseback riding are within minutes of this campground. The San Antonio Mission, one of the oldest of the California Missions, is within a 15-minute drive.