Los Padres National Forest › Ojai Ranger District › California › Ventura County › Ojai › Wheeler Gorge Campground

Wheeler Gorge Campground, CA - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map

Wheeler Gorge Campground is located in the Ojai Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest (40 min north of San Buenaventura, CA) with an elevation of 1,810 feet. There are a total of 66 campsites. The campground is open all year. Sites can accommodate RVs between 15 and 45 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Fees range from $35.00 to $70.00. Some amenities include swimming. Activities include biking, fishing, hiking trails.
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Wheeler GorgeWheeler Gorge
$35

Wheeler Gorge

204 reviews
Total sites: 66
Available Today: 45 FF*
Available this Weekend: 3 FF*
Booking Window: 6 months

1,810 ft
90°F
63°F

no signal
Tents allowedRV's allowedTrailers allowedAccessible sitesHiking trailsBiking trailsFishing
*First-come/First-served (FF) sites have no availability guarantee.
Mo
96°
69°
Tu
93°
63°
We
92°
66°
Th
91°
65°
Fr
93°
65°
Sa
89°
59°
Su
83°
57°

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (204)

4.2 out of 5

5 star
64%
4 star
15%
3 star
8%
2 star
7%
1 star
6%
@OsamuN26593DEA · Camped on Jun 6, 2025 at Campsite #69
This great location with scenic views, access to the water, decent amenities, and convenient proximity to Ojai is plagued with loud and obnoxious group campers who do not obey the quiet time rule.
@MirnaA1CCDA5E2 · Camped on Jun 3, 2025 at Campsite #70
The sites were beautiful. Well kept and very nice people that handled the campground very helpful. Had such a great time, definitely want to go back again soon.
@JohnD1553494 · Camped on May 30, 2025 at Campsite #7
Very nice area next to a river. However the BBQ was slanted 30 degrees and firepit was not in great shape either. The campsite and local trail is in need of maintenance. PS the spickets do not have running water anymore.
@opulenceaB0DFD · Camped on May 29, 2025 at Campsite #55
I love this campground and have come here for the past 5 years. I chose this campground to be the location of my birthday camping trip. Unfortunately, while camping here another camper entered our campsite without our consent, and made discriminatory remarks towards me and my friends related to our race. The camp hosts were incredibly unprofessional. They lacked basic training and took actions that further inflammed the situation, leading me and my friends to feel unsafe, and ultimately having to leave the campground early.A trip that was supposed to be joyful was ultimately traumatizing. The level of bigotry and lack of basic safety and de-escalation training is concerning. If you are a person of color please be careful if you choose to camp here.
@LukasMA940ED43 · Camped on May 26, 2025 at Campsite #58
Awesome location, an overall nice experience.On some spots it's a little bit hard to put tent pegs in the ground without a proper hammer.
@PamelaB5154250 · Camped on May 16, 2025 at Campsite #58
This campground is very clean and well kept. The area is full of gorgeous walks and waterfalls. The stream that runs though the campground is tranquil. Be warned the campground is always full with only a few walk up sites.
@StevenS1501716 · Camped on May 2, 2025 at Campsite #59
Wheeler Gorge is a really lovely place to camp. There is plenty of shade for all sites and you can hear the sounds of nature away from cars (except for your fellow campers). The only downside is that the bathrooms can be a bit overpowering if you are anywhere near them, and there is NO potable water available at all. At least the bathrooms are clean and it's only a half hour into town for water (or bring a filter and grab it from the stream). Beware of ticks, mosquitos, and poison ivy/oak.As a bonus, you can buy firewood directly from the camp host, extra cars are an option at $10 per night, and the Los Padres visitor center is wonderful when it's open (weekends only until 3pm).
@RoseA7369849E2 · Camped on May 2, 2025 at Campsite #55
Although Wheelers Gorge does not have phone coverage or running water, it is one of my favorite places to camp. It allows you to disconnect from the hustle of life! I go once a year for three days and always have a great time! Take plenty of drinking and cleaning water, and you'll be fine. Also, if there is an emergency, the campground caretakers will assist you!
@CrishaO8BC6C68 · Camped on Apr 28, 2025 at Campsite #35
Wheeler Gorge is a great place to get away. The campground is right next to Highway 33. Campsites include a picnic table, campfire ring with grill, and some come with a separate bbq grill. Not much in terms of amenities - firewood for sale ($10), vault toilets with tp, and no running water. Camp hosts are friendly and keep the place clean - these are the cleanest vault toilets Ive ever encountered; they do however, leaf-blow campsites Campsite 35 is a gem - large, shaded, mostly flat, and right next to the creek. Although you have no adjacent neighbors, you will be able to see and hear your neighbors across the creek and the highway beyond. The restroom and garbage is a bit of a walk uphill, nothing too bad though. Overall great experience!
@DawsonSAC30980 · Camped on Apr 18, 2025 at Campsite #7
This is a lovely campground with a sweet little river running through it. Easy to find and nice and peaceful. Highly recommend!
@RachelC2171796 · Camped on Apr 11, 2025 at Campsite #9
sites can be really small, especially double siteswould change reservation site to less than 16 people and 4 cars. Also, really hard to reach people and get info about sites (was reaching out 6 months in advance, but only heard back the week we were arriving, and they were really helpful.). Really hope they can have running water in the future. And bear lockerswe saw bears and thus would be helpful just for storage, bear or no bear
@MollyH2189787 · Camped on Apr 4, 2025 at Campsite #46
This campground is in a lovely spot. Even though it's next to a road, the road is not heavily used, especially at night. It's in a surprisingly deep ravine (no cell signal at all), with lovely trees and a stream. It's dog-friendly, and no ticks, even in April. Some sites are not very private, but many are. Site 46 is incredible, large, on the creek, and just lovely. Even with a mostly full campground, it was quiet and peaceful in the loop. Some of the other areas were much closer and noisier, however. The nearby nature trial is terrific, and there are many longer hikes nearby (but require a drive). Campground staff was awesome. We will definitely come back to this campground!
@MarcusGD067C95 · Camped on Mar 26, 2025 at Campsite #62
Stayed at #62 with my family and two small children. Site was absolutely amazing. Super close to the stream/creek and a 2 minute walk from the waterfall (which is a lot bigger than I thought). Fell asleep listening the stream and the baby frogs at night. %100 staying here again!!!
@WarrenR8978101 · Camped on Mar 26, 2025 at Campsite #16
The campground was clean and the pit toilets were in tip-top condition. I had the luxury of having no one nearby because I was off-season and mid-week. My campsite was next to Bear Creek and I enjoyed it very much. Wonderful experience only 2 hrs away from home.
@JoyceC6941059 · Camped on Mar 21, 2025 at Campsite #14
Will definitely come back, this will be our go to campground. Ranger is very helpful and rounding if you need woods. We had a neighbor thats been partying and noisy on our 1st night. So I went and talked to ranger the next day, he probably warned them because by 9pm you couldnt any noise. Just bring extra water for drinking, but we fetched water from the creek for dishwashing, shower and its fun experience! Will go back..
@JakeFD9E4E09A4 · Camped on Mar 12, 2025 at Campsite #13
Absolutely lovely camping spot for spring and Summer. The campground is easy to find but feels remote enough to escape the city. Site 13 is an absolute gem; spacious with a beautiful shady tree, creek running along side, plus these is some good brush and height advantage to the neighboring sites which give you a little bit of privacy.
@NicoleM3686634 · Camped on Feb 14, 2025 at Campsite #31
My boyfriend and I enjoyed our stay here during President's Day weekend for the first time! There was so much to do and the rangers were very friendly. I will definitely be coming back with my pups sometime soon. :)
@TainaV069EEBEC · Camped on Feb 14, 2025 at Campsite #48
This is a lovely campsite! It was relatively quiet despite the site being close to the highway, and the sound of the running river is very peaceful. We enjoyed the short nature walk that you can access from the campground. The restrooms were very clean, and it was very helpful that firewood is available to purchase onsite.
@TadeA545DBACAF · Camped on Jan 24, 2025 at Campsite #38
Clean restroom, beautiful campground, amazing experience.
@juliarB37D0185 · Camped on Jan 17, 2025 at Campsite #46
This is a truly idyllic campground, gorgeous individual sites. We camped in the winter and the creek was still running fast with last year's rain, try to get a site next to the water if it's the right season. Great hiking nearby, fun for birdwatching, and friendly hosts.
@NathanR2469741 · Camped on Jan 3, 2025 at Campsite #41
This is a gem of a campground!
@TeiT8DC9354ABF · Camped on Dec 25, 2024 at Campsite #61
Overall we had good experience; however, there were issues and rooms for improvements with the facilities at the campground.1. Bathroom solar light was nonfunctional. I even tried flipping the switch but it did not work. The doors on the bathroom were also broken with the sign instructing NOT to lock or close the doors all the way due to potential risk of being stuck. They should be repaired immediately. We were only able to use them without much issues because there was only another party within the visinity of the bathroom and my spouse was available to stay outside the door. 2. Fire ring at our site and many others were positioned in the place that made it impractical. Ours in particular was placed in between two boulders which made it impossible to place chairs or tables around it. Since the bottom half of the ring was gone due to rust, we were able to relocated it to more open space. We also saw rings and picknic tables placed in the slope at multiple sites.3. There were multiple sites where there were no flat grounds to set tales or tent. Some sites had no grounds there free of embedded rock on the ground. I believe these site needs significant redesign.4. There were multiple sites which located adjacent to the public road with no barriers or protections from potential vehicles going off the road.5. Complete lack of infrastructure to avoid water in 2 of the locations makes walking around the campground inpractical in the fall, winter and spring.We appreciate the national park and forestry services and your effort to provide opportunities for the recreational use of the country's natural resources. Thank you.
@EstebanW25C668 · Camped on Nov 28, 2024 at Campsite #66
Don't book campsite number 66 not worth the price nor making the trip there. We were squished between two larger campsites, it's a tiny tiny area you get, not worth the price and the trip when other sites a much much bigger. The land is all on an incline and we had such a hard time sleeping even with double sleeping pads, we were so sore the next day and kept sliding down. There was dog feces all over the right side of the site, so the host isn't cleaning or taking care of the spots. The adjacent campers and us were quite annoyed at the loud booming club music all day long, up until 9:59pm and sundown was before 6pm. Even if quiet hours start at 10, not sure what quiet hour was supposed to be, but it was outright rude to blast the music all day long until 10pm. It was so loud and booming, and it was coming all the way from across the river, next to the camp host's RVs, which makes me think the camp hosts (young looking) was partying with them or didn't say anything until 10pm. The only time we saw the camp host was to sell us fire wood. Seems like it's overall not maintained well like other campsites. Not coming back. But if you must, avoid site 66 at all costs. Good luck
@EstherRu3E8FD0 · Camped on Nov 22, 2024 at Campsite #4
We stayed at sites 4/5 and we all had a great time. It's very peaceful and has lots of trees. A short walk away is the stream, which moved smoothly as it overflowed on the road and cascaded on the side of it, making waterfalls. Our boys, ages 9, 5 and 2, loved playing there even in the rain. Some water got into our tent but we brought a really large plastic sheet that we put on top of the rainfly. That also helped keep the inside a little warm at night. We walked around and noticed the single sites were on the small side so it was good that we booked a double because we had a 10-man tent. Our site had some rocks and boulders around, mostly near the fire ring and BBQ grill. Our sons would climb on them and play. There is no running water at camp. The restrooms are pit toilets that are well-maintained and always stocked with toilet paper. No sink or anywhere you can wash your hands/dishes. We knew that beforehand so we brought a big jug with water. When we were running low, my husband made trips to the stream and filled Kirkland water bottles with water. He boiled it at the campfire before putting it in the big jug. So we had the fire burning all day and well into the night. It was nice having very warm water for washing our hands and pans. The camp host sells firewood. Our site was very close to highway 33 but it didn't really bother us that you could hear cars occasionally passing by at night and early morning. We also didn't notice any poison oak in our site nor in the areas we walked but we mostly stayed on paved roads. We would go back here, maybe in the beginning of summer.
@NickB3851959 · Camped on Nov 15, 2024 at Campsite #8
Amazing camp hosts, very clean, but also a beautiful natural campground. Recommend staying away from the highway, can get a bit noisy on weekends.Camp side 008

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