About this permit
Environmental Campsite #1 is one of only two hike-in campsites at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Both sit on the west side of Highway 1 south of McWay Cove, a little over a quarter mile from the parking lot in a cypress grove with ocean and coastline views. They are hike-in only, with no vehicle access.
The site has a picnic table, a fire ring and a storage cabinet, with pit toilets nearby. There is no water at the site; the only running water is across Highway 1 near the restrooms, so you carry in everything you drink and cook with. Maximum four people per site. Check-in is 2:00 p.m. and check-out is noon.
The fee is $30 a night, discounted to $28 for seniors 62 and over, half price with a Disabled Discount Pass and free with a Distinguished Veterans Pass. Reservations run through ReserveCalifornia up to six months in advance, and California State Parks says these sites are extremely popular year round and usually fill up six months in advance, which makes a cancellation alert the realistic path in.
The route
Both sites sit on the west side of Highway 1, south of McWay Cove, and there is no vehicle access. You park in the day-use lot with a valid pass and walk. The carry is a little over a quarter mile into a cypress grove with views out over the ocean and up the coastline. The only running water is back across Highway 1 near the restrooms, so plan the water haul as the real work of the trip. Before you plan the rest of the day, know that the Waterfall Overlook Trail to view McWay Falls is closed for a long-term retaining wall repair project expected to continue into 2026, and the Canyon Trail is closed from 2020 Dolan Fire damage and later winter debris flows. What is open is the Ewoldsen Trail (5 miles round trip, west loop only), Partington Cove (1 mile round trip through a tunnel to a historic loading dock overlook), the Tan Bark Trail (3.2 miles one way) and Tin House Road (2.3 miles one way).
Why it matters
Julia Pfeiffer Burns has two environmental campsites and nothing else. Two. That is the entire overnight inventory of the park that holds McWay Falls, which makes this one of the smallest and most contested campgrounds in the California state park system. There is no way to work around it: you either hold one of the two, or you do not sleep here.
The feeling
You carry your gear a little over a quarter mile from the parking lot into a cypress grove, and then the coastline just opens: ocean and headlands with nothing between you and the water. There is a storage cabinet, a fire ring and a table, pit toilets a short walk away, and no water at all. You carry every drop in. At night it is surf and wind and nothing else on Highway 1.
