Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park · California
Main family campground along the Big Sur River.
Get an alert when Pfeiffer Campground opens on your dates.
Source: parks.ca.gov
70% of the openings our scanner caught on Pfeiffer Campground were gone within 10 minutes.
As of September 2026, Pfeiffer Campground in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, California requires a permit issued via reservation. Pfeiffer Campground is one of the most competitive permits in the United States, rating 9/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Cancelled Pfeiffer Campground permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens. The permit season for Pfeiffer Campground runs year-round.
Find this permit on the managing agency's booking system and set up an account with your payment info ready.
Permits release on a rolling basis. Check the release time for your dates.
Log in a few minutes early. Have your dates, group size, and payment ready to go.
If your dates are sold out, people cancel all the time. Set up PermitSnag alerts to catch openings instantly.
More on Pfeiffer Campground: Live availability activityWhen Pfeiffer Campground permits open upDo I need a Pfeiffer Big Sur Campground permit?
Pfeiffer Campground permit fee: $50 per night standard site, $60 premium riverfront, $10 second vehicle; $10 per vehicle day use.
Closest loop to the entrance kiosk, Nature Center and trailheads
Middle loop along the Big Sur River
Downstream loop, furthest from the entrance
60-foot waterfall reached on the 2-mile Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls round trip
Left fork past the falls junction, another 300 feet of climbing for the valley view
Ridge with ocean views, 3 miles round trip and 750 feet of gain from the campground
0.5-mile paved round trip; going beyond the pavement is hazardous
189 sites strung along the Big Sur River under redwoods. It is the largest campground on the Big Sur coast, and it fills six months out.
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park's main campground has 189 RV and tent sites on or near the Big Sur River, under redwoods in the middle of the Big Sur valley. No site has hookups, but fresh water, hot showers and toilets are spread through the campground, and every site has a parking area, fire pit and picnic table. Each site takes a maximum of six people and two vehicles.
Booking is the hard part. Reservations run through ReserveCalifornia and the park says sites fill six months in advance, the full rolling window. You cannot reserve inside the 48 hours before arrival, so late plans mean showing up in person: the park releases day-of sites only through the entrance kiosk, and tells you to check after 3 p.m. on the day you want to camp.
Rates are $50 for a standard site and $60 for a premium riverfront site, plus $10 for a second vehicle. Day use is $10 per vehicle and firewood is $12 a bundle at the entrance kiosk. Showers are token-operated at $1 for five minutes.
The campground runs three loops along the river, and which one you draw changes the trip. South Camp holds sites 1-78 at the downstream end. Weyland Camp covers 79-130 in the middle. Main Camp has 131-188 nearest the entrance, the Nature Center and the trailheads. From camp, the Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls trail is a 2-mile round trip that climbs 200 feet to a fork: right to a 60-foot waterfall, left another 300 feet to the Valley View overlook. Buzzard's Roost is the harder option at 3 miles round trip and 750 feet of gain, crossing the river and climbing through redwoods to a ridge with ocean views. Around June 15 the park installs two seasonal footbridges over the Big Sur River; they come out around October 31, which changes what is walkable from your site.
Highway 1 has almost nowhere to legally sleep. Pfeiffer Big Sur is the biggest reservable campground on the coast, sits at the center of the Big Sur valley, and is the difference between a Big Sur trip and a long drive. That is why every site is gone the day the six-month window opens.
You wake up under second-growth redwoods with the Big Sur River twenty feet away and fog in the canopy that usually burns off by midday. It is not wilderness. There are hot showers, a lodge, and a softball field, and that is exactly the point. It is a basecamp inside the most crowded stretch of coastline in California.
Best for: Anyone who wants to sleep in Big Sur without a backcountry permit. You drive to the site, there are hot showers, and the trailheads start in camp.
Recommended experience: None. The only real skill is booking at the right hour.
Not recommended for: RV travelers who need hookups: no site has them. Also anyone who cannot commit six months out or show up in person after 3 p.m. for a day-of site.
Trailhead information
Closest loop to the entrance kiosk, Nature Center and the Valley View / Pfeiffer Falls trailhead.
Parking is permitted only in designated lots and at campsites; two vehicles maximum per site.
Entrance is on Highway 1 in the Big Sur valley; day use is $10 per vehicle.
Big Sur Lodge inside the park has a cafe, gift shop and grocery store.
Trailhead information
Middle loop along the Big Sur River.
Trailhead information
Downstream loop, furthest from the entrance kiosk.
Fall is the sweet spot: the fog thins, the crowds drop after Labor Day, and daytime temperatures stay in the 70s and 80s. Winter is the quietest and cheapest-feeling time to be here, with daytime highs from the low 50s to the mid 70s, but it is also when Highway 1 is most likely to close. Summer books out the instant the six-month window opens.
Green valley, strong river flow, and the seasonal footbridges not yet installed.
Crowd level · high
Morning fog that usually burns off by midday; overnight lows in the 50s-70s and daytime highs in the 70s-80s.
Crowd level · extreme
The clearest stretch of the year, with warm days and thinning fog.
Crowd level · high
Overnight lows in the 30s-50s and daytime highs from the low 50s to the mid 70s, with heavy rain periods.
Crowd level · moderate
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
Backcountry Tips
Today
79°
56°
Wed
76°
57°
Thu
75°
55°
Fri
91°
69°
Sat
91°
73°
Sun
93°
72°
Mon
96°
75°
First light in the redwood canopy along the river, when the fog is still holding and shafts cut through the trees.
Late afternoon from the Valley View overlook, when the low sun rakes across the valley toward the ocean.
Walk the Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls loop before 8 a.m. It is the park's most popular trail and the day-use lots fill later. Buzzard's Roost sheds almost everyone at the first climb.
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Pfeiffer Campground.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Pfeiffer Campground · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
Some links may be affiliate links. Purchases support PermitSnag at no extra cost to you.
Six months. Reservations go through ReserveCalifornia and the park says sites fill six months in advance, which is the full rolling window.
Only in person. Campsites cannot be reserved inside the 48 hours before arrival. To get a day-of site you must be physically present at the park's entrance kiosk, and the park says to check after 3 p.m. on the day you want to camp.
$50 per night for a standard site and $60 for a premium riverfront site, plus $10 per night for a second vehicle. Day use is $10 per vehicle and firewood is $12 a bundle at the entrance kiosk.
No hookups are provided at any site. Fresh water, hot showers and toilets are located throughout the campground; showers are token-operated at $1 for five minutes.
Six people and two vehicles. The peak-season stay limit is 7 consecutive nights, with a 30-day limit per calendar year.
The park lists a maximum trailer length of 27 feet and a maximum camper or motorhome length of 32 feet.
Valley View and Pfeiffer Falls is 2 miles round trip: 200 feet up to a fork, then a 60-foot waterfall on the right or another 300 feet to the Valley View overlook on the left. Buzzard's Roost is 3 miles round trip with 750 feet of gain. The Big Sur River Gorge is a 0.5-mile paved round trip, and Mt. Manuel is 8 miles round trip and strenuous.
No active conditions reported
Sign in to report trail conditions.
Walk-in and ride-in sites in the same park at $5 per person, limited to two consecutive nights.
Far cheaper and far easier to get, but you cannot drive to it and you are capped at two nights.
Two walk-in, tents-only group sites at $150 per night, mid-June through mid-October, for 9 to 35 people.
Only works for a real group, and only in the summer season.
Walk-in trail camp at Andrew Molera State Park, 4 miles north on Highway 1.
A short walk in with no showers and no river-side redwoods, but far less competition.
Small campground in a redwood canyon further south on the Big Sur coast.
Much smaller and quieter, but its availability depends on Highway 1 conditions.
Build your full itinerary start to finish
Add your dates and get a day-by-day plan: what needs a permit, what gear to bring, and one link to share with your whole group to coordinate every step.
No permit needed to start
Google lets you pick the sites it highlights for you. Add PermitSnag and our permit pages get marked as one of yours in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Takes less than a minute.