Wheeler Gorge Campground
Ojai (Los Padres NF) · near Ojai · Los Angeles / SoCal
Camping
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Elevation
- 1900
- Campsites
- ~68-80 (family + double/group)
- Season
- Year-round (creek runs winter/spring, dries in summer)
- Fee
- ~$35 single / ~$60 double
Permits and booking
- Reservation required
- Yes
- How to reserve
- Recreation.gov (most sites reservable, a few first-come cash-only) - moderate; weekends fill. NO potable water and no dump - bring your own water.
What is here
- Setting
- forest
- Amenities
- Streamside oak-and-sycamore sites · Vault/flush toilets · Gateway to the Sespe Wilderness & SR-33 · Seasonal visitor center
- Best for
- The only real forested creek-canyon campground near Ojai
- Features
- Shady streamside canyon on SR-33 · Gateway to the Sespe Wilderness · SR-33 climbing & backcountry access · A cool contrast to coastal camps
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Camping detail
- Camp type
- developed
- Intl tip
- Go in spring when Matilija Creek is flowing - by midsummer it's dry and hot. There's NO potable water, so bring all your own. It's the launch point for the Sespe Wilderness and SR-33 backcountry.
The guide
Wheeler Gorge is the only real forested creek-canyon campground near Ojai - shady oak-and-sycamore sites along Matilija Creek o…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Wheeler Gorge Campground — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.5232, -119.2745