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    Arroyo Seco Campground

    3.3 (143 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Uday M.

    The experience: We stayed for 2 nights in the campground area, and utilized the hiking trail up the side of the mountain as well as the small lake at the bottom. Need to know: There is no cell service within ~15-20 mins of the campsite, and no wifi offerings once you are there. Make sure you take care of any urgent business before you spend extended time here. Notable: The showers are coin-operated, and seem to break frequently. I was not able to take a shower in the time I was there because they were either out of service, or there was a long line for the one or two that were still working.

    The nightlife here is pretty fun. :)
    Kat A.

    This was our first camping trip since the big shut down last year. We tried to male reservations,but their website says Friday and Saturdays are first come first serve only. We made reservations for Sunday through Tuesday with hopes to get there early enough Saturday morning to get a first come site. We get there and are rold they do not have first come first serve sites anymore and that everything is reserved through the website. We explained what the site said and they acknowledged that it has been messed up for a while. We asked if they had any other site we could use for the night and they said no, they were all reserved online. She couldn't explain how they reserved online when it says first come first serve only? She just kept saying that they know the website is broken. Smh.. so we drove to King City to try and find a hotel room for a night. We came back the next day. Check in is at 3, we got there just before 2 and asked if we could just hangout and make lunch in the day use area. They had us wait for 7 mins till 2, then let us check in to our spot. We had spot #21. It's a double spot and had nice parking, 2 picnic tables, 2 BBQ grills and a nice fire pit. It's across from the bathroom/showers and close to water (bring a few jugs though, not close enough to use on a whim) there was plenty of shade and we did not use our pop ups. It does get a bit windy in the evening. There was a smaller flat area behind the fire ring and a bigger spot on a slight incline next to the parking area. The weather was warmer than you may think, best to wear layers. There were some insects, but an application of OFF made it comfortable. Aside from a few carpenter bees buzzing around (pretty harmless, but they do freak out the kids) The map provided made the gorge trail seem very close to our campground. It was a bit further than expected. We took a circular hike and decided it was nice to hang out at camp. The camp hosts were.friendly enough and the staff were on top of cleanliness. The bathrooms were great. They have regular flush toilets and plenty of TP. We did not use the showers, but they seemed to be popular. On the whole we have no complaints about the campground in person.. I just wish they'd get their website working correctly.

    Jill H.

    It's a lovely place and the river is stunning. The staff, unfortunately, must be taken advantage of regularly because they are super unpleasant and defensive. Parking lots are confusing and the signage is very unclear as to what is allowed where. Different staff members continued to give us conflicting information and attitude (for kindly asking to clarify rules and expectations). I suggest only going to the day use area or the gorge hike lot on a week day - and avoid the horrible camping experience. It's a lovely place that desperately needs more structure and staff training to align on the regulations.

    Fox visitor
    Sarah M.

    Just had a great family camping trip. The moment we got there, the people at gate greater us, and we're so welcoming. Then at the campground the host was very kind. Bathrooms were really clean, I feel like they get cleaned multiple times a day. We saw lots of animals at our campsite too!! If you love nature, wildlife with amenities, this is the place!

    Cliff Jumping
    Ny H.

    Um, hello Cliff Jumping anyone? FYI it's extremely hot here and no cell service for 15 miles. Camp grounds are great, sometimes it gets loud but quiet during sleep hours. Dogs are welcome too!

    Erin L.

    We stayed over a Thursday and Friday night in site 24 which was spacious and shady. It was well accommodated! The site had two picnic tables and fire ring and paved spots for two cars right at the edge of the site. The bathrooms were a very short distance with clean flush toilets and two coin operated also clean showers. We hiked to the gorge in the morning (about 2-2.5 miles in) for swimming and catching crawfish. It was a very hot and unshaded walk but worth the trek! The camp hosts were lovely and we were very impressed with the cleanliness of the grounds. Put your food away at night! We had a fox visitor and lots of crows!

    Gay G.

    We had our First stay at Arroyo Seco over Thanksgiving (2021). It is a beautiful, serene, well maintained campground. The sites are well spaced. The bathrooms and showers are large, well lit and clean. The camp hosts were friendly and helpful and very conscientious about monitoring and cleaning. A great discovery!

    Tatyana S.

    It was my first time in Arroyo Seco area. Going south on 101 and watching the Los Padres NF hills turn from pretty green in the spring to scorched brown in the summer and fall never filled me with much desire to explore this park. That was until I was invited to tag along on a hunting trip. As soon as you exit 101 to Arroyo Seco Road, you start noticing unexpected changes in the scenery: luscious vineyards, cute farms, and, finally, a deep canyon with a river running through it. I was almost hopeless to see water there, judging by the name Arroyo Seco, which means Dry Creek. I was pleasantly surprised. You arrive at the Arroyo Seco Recreation Area. There is a fee that you pay at the gate. Day use is $5 per car and overnight use is $14 (http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundDetails.do?topTabIndex=CampingSpot&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70160). That is totally worth it because you will leave your car at the secure parking lot and nobody would break in (hopefully, you never know nowadays). There are several scenarios for your stay: * arrive in the morning, hike up to the river, jump from boulders into the water all day long * stay at the local campground (make a reservation, for some odd reason they fill up quickly), hike to the dry lakes, hike to the river * hike into the wilderness, camp at one of the river's sleeves, hike up to the highest ridge the next day The dirt road leads from the parking lot to 18 miles along the river going up and down and up and down. There are also many trails maintained by the Forest Service winding through the ridges. Bring a lot of water with you! You'll need it. We veered off to the side road along the sleeve creek. There are no developed campgrounds in the wilderness - camp wherever you like. Pick a spot close to the water, as it gets really hot and you'd want to dip a million times in a course of an hour. Coming back was nice and hard, hot and sweaty. While passing by people panting up the hill I heard this conversation between a little boy and his mother: Little Boy (LB): Look, mama, I found gold. Mama: Honey, it ain't gold, it's fool's gold. LB: I ain't no fool, ma, but I'll still take it. Oh, great, I thought to myself and emptied my backpack full of pyrites... This place deserves five stars in my book. I loved the river and the vast views. It also made me happy to feel that beyond the ridges - there is a Pacific Ocean.

    Site 40, my site
    Aaron H.

    I had this trip planned for months, and my car cracked a head gasket on the way up. But the shop owner I took it to told me to get a rental and push on because I had to experience this place. And I am so glad I did! The ride in from Greenfield takes about 30 minutes and cell reception ends about 2 minutes from town. Basically you stay left the entire way until you reach the entrance kiosk, which is manned perhaps half the time. No big deal. The day use site is on the right as you enter, and they close it at 6pm everyday. Kind of a drag, since I love being near water at night, but also likely one of the reasons it closes so no one does something dumb in the dark. Day passes are 10 bucks, even if you have a campsite. The pass allows you to park at the lower river and up the hill at the Gorge trail. I decided to book 4 days at 'primitive' site 40, which is a bit of a drive past the lower sites. Those have access to showers and flush toilets, yet in my opinion were close together with no natural barriers between sites. Those sites receive the sun a little longer than the upper primitive sites and I'll explain the importance of that shortly. My site had excellent space and several level spots for the tent. As with the other sites I discovered, gophers were rampant and a few times the ground caved in as I stepped. I made sure my dogs didn't go running around a certain area for fear of her twisting a leg. There are 2 pit toilets in one small structure and I must say I have smelled much worse in other places (Cerro Alta is unbelievably nasty). The flies... oh the flies. The kind that don't really land on you so much as hang out half an inch from your face. And they eat OFF for breakfast, at least my regular spray. Maybe they'd stay back with the Deep Woods stuff. Smoke worked too. Down by the river they aren't terrible, however that is where the big black biting flies and yellow jackets hangout. Especially when people leave mango peels and half eaten BBQ all around. However, I noticed that the flies only came out strong with the sun. It gets light around 5:30-6ish up in the primitive sites, and the sun hit my spot around 8. By 9, the flies were out. Then they started to lessen around 6 when the sites got shade from the setting sun. That's why I think the lower sites, that get more sun, might have longer fly exposure. The river is gorgeous and during my Monday-Thursday stay, the human traffic was reasonably light. When I left on Friday though, 4 big trucks with whooping teens and early 20s guys pulled into the primitive sires and cracked beers at 7:30am. So yeah, weekends look to be filled with obnoxious partiers. Bring Crocs or water socks to cross the river from the day use parking lot and head upstream on the sandy trail to a nice, deep and still pool only a short way up. I didn't go any further than that spot because I was hauling a bulky chair, but the further up you go, the less people. When I took the dog for an early morning walk on the Gorge trail, I saw several pools down below that looked reasonably accessible. If you're not great with heights, don't look over the edge of the trail. My stomach lurched a few times. But the awesome thing about the gorge trail it that it's pretty wide, has a sort of guard rail or dirt and rock on the drop off side, and offers shade for parts of the hike. Even saw a doe and two fawns before Maggie lost her mind and strained to chase them. All in all, a wonderful place to camp. The camp hosts rotate daily, and all were pleasant and non intrusive. Already booked site 37 for August and can't wait!

    View of the Gorge

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    6 years ago

    Went on a 112 degree day and once you hit the water in the gorge, the hike is worth it! Super beautiful place to visit

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    Arroyo Seco Campground Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Arroyo Seco Campground

    Is it open on Saturday, can we do bbq?

    Bbq and fires are allowed just call to make sure there are no fire restrictions if there are it's propane only

    Is there phone reception?

    No there is no reception irregardless of cell provider.

    Are the black flies bad right now? We are going Tuesday and Wednesday night this week without a reservation. Does that sound doable?

    The black flies are as good as the white flys but I think you'll see more brown ones than anything. You do not need a reservation. Anywhere that you stay on the campground , there will be flys. I hope this answers your question. 🤗

    Is it possible to camp outside of the modern or primitive camp grounds, perhaps hike to a good spot?

    Yes, you can pay a $10 parking fee per day and hike out to camp. You must have a permit for fires. You should also leave emergency information in your pay envelope.

    Is it possible to paddleboard here?

    Noooo, especially this time of year when the river is very low. Even when it is high, like when I went in the 3rd week of June, there isn't much room in the pools to paddle board.

    On a busy weekend like memorial day is entrance gaurentte?

    Unless you have a camping reservation there's no guarantee of entering. People who want to use the day use area or gorge will start lining up as early as 7AM. The day use doesn't opens until 8AM. If you are looking for a "walk in" camping space be… Read more

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    Review Highlights - Arroyo Seco Campground

    Anyhow, water temperature is inconsistent, so make sure to test it before letting your children shower.

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    Pinnacles Campground - Visitor center

    Pinnacles Campground

    3.7(128 reviews)
    22.5 mi

    We really enjoyed our stay at Pinnacles! We rented a tent cabin for the night and although it was…read morehuge, it was literally freezing. We had to buy a heater because the first night we woke up frosted. The facilities are clean and include bathrooms showers and places to wash your dishes. Lots of wildlife and friendly rangers. The day hikes were really fun, the caves were a unique experience. Highly recommend for newbies like us!

    Beautiful campground! We reserved online. Trailer spot #84…read more It was roomy. No shade but it was February so no big deal. There were little tent cabins you could rent sprinkled throughout the grounds and tent spaces were plentiful, empty this time of year mostly. The camp store has everything you might have forgotten, even ice cream;) There are hot showers. 2 in the ladies rest rooms and I assume the men's and a shower trailer that house 3 showers and a handicap shower too. There is also a swimming pool! I understand it gets HOT here in the summer so I bet that makes many campers very happy. Wildlife everywhere!! Beauty everywhere!! You can walk to the pinnacles trails from here but we drove the 2 miles or so to the very small and usually full parking lot where the trails begin. In the busy season I understand they have shuttles. We had a beautiful trip! We bought the annual pass to the pinnacles so we will back for sure.

    Photos
    Pinnacles Campground - Camp 49C

    Camp 49C

    Pinnacles Campground - Inside 28

    Inside 28

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    Family of raccoons went up the tree

    Moss Landing KOA Express - Check In, General Store, Bathroom and Shower

    Moss Landing KOA Express

    4.0(107 reviews)
    42.6 mi

    I am a big fan of KOA and have stayed at all of the three levels that I thought they had up till…read morenow. This one is a small KOA - the manager tells me it's the first KOAExpress. The other levels, journey, destination and resort are increasingly fancy, but generally have some kind of market, a cafe or restaurant, pools, jacuzzis and the like - more so at the higher levels. Well, this one was a fraction of the size of most of those. it was very well kept, nice level paved sites, excellent bathrooms - two full bathrooms, where you get your own toilet, sink and shower and door It's essentially located right in the harbor, there's a gate that will get you to the docks. Including all the whale watching boats . A bunch of sea lions were my neighbors on a rock on the other side of the fence. There are a couple of restaurants within walking distance as well, so that makes up for not having one on site

    I really love KOA campgrounds. This one is a hidden little spot between Monterey and Santa Cruz,…read moreless than a 1/2 hour drive to each. Really nice staff, very clean and safe. The spots are very close to each other, but this is a small campground, maybe 50 spots. The KOA person guided us into our spot, made it easy because if it was just me and the wife... well you know! Moss landing is an old fishing town, very small, abut very historical and interesting to walk around. The ocean beach is walking distance from the campground. I will return to this place, very safe and very secluded. Nice clean laundry room, landscaping is beautiful, location is in a very secluded area in the farming community. Very tight spots, you are really close to your neighbor. But that's OK, this is a place you stay at, and go out during the day to see the sites around the area. There is no stores or restaurants in the area. Only one deli (which is really good but only open to 3pm). So you will need to have food and supply with you.

    Photos
    Moss Landing KOA Express - Sunset

    Sunset

    Moss Landing KOA Express - Moss landing KOA

    Moss landing KOA

    Moss Landing KOA Express - Makes you wonder why humans can't do this

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    Makes you wonder why humans can't do this

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

    4.4(403 reviews)
    17.1 mi

    Another great Ca.state park. A short drive from Carmel down the Hwy 1. Plenty of parking. A nice…read morevariety of walking trails. Some short flat trails. We saw a lot of campers heading out on the trails for some overnight camping. Nice to see some hard to find California native flowers. FYI no cell service. Download your maps, or bring a paper map

    We stayed two nights at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and while the scenery is absolutely stunning…read more(as expected for Big Sur), the experience was seriously impacted by poor enforcement and lack of oversight from staff. Right off the bat, our check-in experience was frustrating. We had reserved and paid for an ADA campsite, only to arrive and find someone else already occupying it. Apparently, there is no system in place to verify IDs against reservations, which seems like a huge oversight--especially for ADA-designated spots. After spending time sorting that out, things settled temporarily. Our first night at the Weyland campground quickly went downhill once "quiet hours" (10pm-6am) began. Instead of quiet, the majority of the campground was loud, playing music, and talking well into the night--until nearly 4am. There was zero enforcement of quiet hours, and no visible presence from a camp host or ranger to address it. It honestly felt more like a free-for-all than a state park campground. Hoping for a better experience, we moved to the South campground for our second night. Unfortunately, things got worse. The bathroom across from Site 45 was in unacceptable condition. The ADA shower stall took three of my paid shower tokens without working, and to make matters even worse, there was literal human feces on the floor. Not just dirty--completely unsanitary and clearly not being maintained. We attempted multiple times to contact the camp host about both the bathroom situation and earlier noise issues, knocking several times with no response. It was incredibly frustrating to have no support or accountability when problems came up. It's really disappointing because this park is naturally beautiful and has so much potential. But the lack of basic management--no ID checks for reservations, no quiet hour enforcement, and poorly maintained facilities--completely takes away from the experience. It honestly feels like the park is being let down by the very people responsible for running it. Would love to return someday, but until there are major improvements in oversight and maintenance, it's hard to justify coming back.

    Photos
    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Family Camping September 12-14, 2025

    Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Family Camping September 12-14, 2025  THE JOY LUCK CLUB

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    Family Camping September 12-14, 2025 THE JOY LUCK CLUB

    Limekiln State Park

    Limekiln State Park

    4.4(142 reviews)
    15.8 mi

    I fell I love with this beach many years ago. The drive here is INCREDIBLE! I literally have dreams…read moreabout driving under the bridge! You go under to get to this secluded beach off of Hwy 1. I had no idea that you could choose between 3 different campsites until I decided I HAD to be under the moonlight at the beach on 2.22.22 at 2:22 pm. And the views are BREATH TAKING from the beach campsite. They were also freezing, windy, and WET in February! And all of the trails were closed when we visited due to the fire, but it was like a little slice of Heaven to disconnect and spend 2 nights off the grid with great folks. The rangers who serve this place are BEYOND friendly, and they do an awesome job of keeping the bathrooms clean. I believe they were cleaned 3 times a day. And the campsites were so self contained, you really had no idea there were up to 29 sites there. Camping on the beach meant you heard the crash of waves all night long. It was so very peaceful! And while the view looked almost warm, there was NOTHING warm about being there in February. But if you had a camper, and the right gear, the rain and wind would be worth it just to burn that image eternally into your mind! I hope I can snag this location during the warmer months. I'm just in love with everything about LimeKiln.

    Heads up a number of trails are still closed from the fire so it's not possible to access the falls…read moreand other trails as in the past. We had site #6 near the beach. The sites are very close to each other. Our first night before our immediate neighbors arrived was amazing - incredible views of the beach/ocean from the campsite and very peaceful. Restrooms including shower were nearby and cleaned every morning. Next night, we were surrounded by big groups on both sides and it felt like a parking lot tent city and it did not seem like car parking restrictions were enforced. The sites are so close we could hear intense snoring on both sides. Neighboring kids would come and smack/kick at our dogs - they were young but still not cool and I was annoyed their parents stood by and watched. We will try Kirk Creek instead next time to get more space. Pros - we loved the incredible access to the beach. Amenities seemed to work well (until inconsiderate folks started to ignore basic human decency like flushing!). Cons - no access to internet (despite it being available but it is locked), some beach sites are very close together, trails closed.

    Photos
    Limekiln State Park
    Limekiln State Park
    Limekiln State Park - Flocks of birds and otters hang out just offshore

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    Flocks of birds and otters hang out just offshore

    Pinnacles National Park - West Pinnacles National Park

    Pinnacles National Park

    4.5(446 reviews)
    23.6 mi

    This was such a fun park. A little out of the way but way worth the trip!…read more A small fee to enter. It's worth it because it goes to take care of upkeep and in the summer, there's a lot of people so this little bit helps. You will want to have a flashlight on hand to go through the caves here as there are long spots you are in the dark climbing up and down stairs or down or up through boulders. Headlamps are best but a flashlight will work too. I started out day 1 on one side and had so much fun hiking through the park and crawling through the rock caves. I spent a little time talking to the Park Rangers to find the best place for me to hike that wasn't too long. Reaching the top of the mountain and walking back down with the amazing views, all the Turkey Vultures and other birds and wildlife was spectacular. The trails, though not necessarily well marked which way is which were well traveled so you knew you weren't going to get lost going off trail. The second day I hit the other side of the park to do Bear Gulch Caves. Excellent cave! Parking at the foot is limited even about 1/4 mile down next to info shop and restrooms is limited so be patient. You may have to park further down as summer comes. This is the only bathroom but very well maintained. There is water running down through this cave and when you reach the top, there a tight squeeze through the rocks and then an amazing payoff with the reservoir. Great spot to watch the birds, Dragon Flies, walk around some of the reservoir before hiking back out down along the very well traveled path past rock climbers to the parking lot again. I highly recommend this fantastic park not just for the excellent caves but for all the good hiking trails. There is some camping and even a pool further down towards the entrance on one side. The Rangers here are full of knowledge and very friendly and professional. Excellent experience!!

    For the first time, we were able to hike at Pinnacles National Park--specifically the Bear Gulch…read morearea--and it was truly an amazing experience, definitely one for the books! We absolutely loved the variety this hike offers. The caves were such a fun and unique highlight, and the reservoir added a peaceful, scenic touch to the whole trail. The views of the rock walls and dramatic formations were stunning from start to finish. It felt like a perfect mix of adventure and nature. What made it even more special is that we did it together with our 3-year-old, and he absolutely loved it too! It's such a memorable family-friendly experience, though of course some parts require a bit of extra attention with little ones. One thing to keep in mind--parking can be quite challenging. During our visit on April 2, it was very hard to find a spot. We ended up parking quite far and had to walk about a mile just to reach the entrance to the Sycamore Trail. Next time, we'll definitely plan to arrive as early as possible to avoid that hassle. Overall, it was an unforgettable hike, and we're already looking forward to coming back and exploring more trails in the area!

    Photos
    Pinnacles National Park - West Pinnacles National Park

    West Pinnacles National Park

    Pinnacles National Park - West Pinnacles National Park

    West Pinnacles National Park

    Pinnacles National Park - West Pinnacles National Park

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    West Pinnacles National Park

    Kirk Creek Campground

    Kirk Creek Campground

    4.3(193 reviews)
    17.0 mi

    Site 29! Had a great stay here. Stayed April 7th and 8th. First day and night were clear and we…read morewere able to see so many stars at night. As far as the campsite it self, i was a little scared that it would be too sloped, but it wasnt bad at all. We used a tent and set it up on the left side and kept the table/bench in the middle. We still had awesome views of the water. Everything was so green it looked like it was a filtered photograph. You could see the vault bathroom from our site but we couldn't smell it. The smell was very prominent though around the area where the host was staying. Bring a bucket, diapers (to soak up the pee), and thick plastic bags if you dont want to use their vault bathrooms. We didnt encounter any raccoons personally, but did see their prints all over our cooler (locked) and table in the mornings. We saw a groundhog and it spent an hour digging up a hole. Firewood was $15 a bundle. we have verizon for our cell service and had no signal at all. It actually went out about 20 miles before arriving to the campground. We were able to use the satellite option on our phones to send out a couple of text messages. Wish we lived closer cause the drive from Orange County was long. Enjoy the photos

    Kirk Creek Campground offers one of the most breathtaking coastal views you'll find anywhere in…read moreCalifornia. Waking up right on the cliffs above the ocean is incredible and truly makes the trip worth it. There's no cell service, though newer iPhones with satellite messaging can still send and receive texts if needed. Just be prepared: the campground is very rustic. There's no water, no power, and only basic latrines. At $45 per night, it feels a bit steep considering the lack of amenities, but that's the Recreation.gov rate- and the scenery does soften the sting. If you're driving in, know that Nacimiento-Fergusson Road is not recommended for large vehicles, trailers, or anything that struggles with braking downhill. For larger rigs, Highway 1 is definitely the safer and better option. The surrounding area is amazing, with tons of hikes, beaches, and spots to explore. You can even find local jade along the beaches and in riverbeds, which is a fun bonus. The campground hosts are enthusiastic, friendly, and genuinely helpful- one of the highlights of staying here. The only major downside is the raccoon situation. They go absolutely wild at night- climbing on tables, chairs, coolers, even cars and trailers. They will try to open anything they can, so make sure everything is secured or locked up. It would be great to see the park system address this, because they're definitely a persistent (and bold) nuisance. Overall, Kirk Creek is stunning, quiet, and unforgettable- as long as you're ready for a rustic experience and some energetic nighttime visitors.

    Photos
    Kirk Creek Campground - Bubbles site 29

    Bubbles site 29

    Kirk Creek Campground - Fam photo from site 29

    Fam photo from site 29

    Kirk Creek Campground - Site 29 views

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    Arroyo Seco Campground - campgrounds - Updated May 2026

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