U.S. Forest Service · Los Padres National Forest · California

Bottchers Gap Campround

Bottchers Gap Campground is closed indefinitely due to the Palo Colorado Road Closure. This campground has been closed since July 2016. Contact the Monterey Ranger District office for more information at (831) 385-5434 ext. 0.

Closed for the seasonBooking not publishedTents only

More like this: first-come in California · tent only in California

Bottchers Gap Campround
Photo from the area. Silversyrpher (very busy at the moment) from Scotland, UK (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
2fires
active
Timber · 11 mi away · 25,350 acres
1 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Amenities & rules

EquipmentTents

Individual sites vary. Confirm on Recreation.gov or with the managing office.

Season & status

StatusClosed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date.
ForestLos Padres National Forest

Los Padres National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Bottchers Gap Campround50°60°70°January: 9.48 inches of precipitationFebruary: 8.59 inches of precipitationMarch: 6.72 inches of precipitationApril: 2.94 inches of precipitationMay: 1.15 inches of precipitationJune: 0.20 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.06 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.05 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.13 inches of precipitationOctober: 1.88 inches of precipitationNovember: 4.16 inches of precipitationDecember: 9.18 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 51.4°F averageFebruary: 51.9°F averageMarch: 53.7°F averageApril: 55.4°F averageMay: 58.0°F averageJune: 61.1°F averageJuly: 63.0°F averageAugust: 63.8°F averageSeptember: 63.5°F averageOctober: 61.0°F averageNovember: 55.3°F averageDecember: 50.9°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Big Sur Stn, 8 miles from the campground at 200 feet, station USC00040790 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 45 inches a year.

Getting there

Coordinates36.3537° N, 121.8131° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Wildfire
    Timber

    11 mi from the campground · 25,350 acres · 97% contained

  • Prescribed
    Stone Canyon Vtp Rx

    36 mi from the campground

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Dump stationDump station ↗6 mi
Outdoor gearThe Treadmill ↗13.8 mi
RV sales & serviceCamping World ↗52.4 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Explore

Video

CampgroundViews.com - Bottchers Gap Campground Big Sur California CA

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • under 0.1 mi
    Skinner Ridge ↗
    6.6 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 0.7 mi
    Little Sur Camp
    0.8 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 1.5 mi
    Turner Creek
    1.7 mi trail · hiking, horse
  • 1.8 mi
    Little Sur ↗
    5.4 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 1.9 mi
    Jackson Camp
    1.3 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 2.4 mi
    Comings Camp
    0.4 mi trail · hiking, horse

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

Ventana Wilderness begins about 6.9 miles away, and it is the closest of these.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Guidebooks for California

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

Is Bottchers Gap Campround open right now?

Closed for the season as of Oct 26, 2026.

Source: Forest Service status

Can I bring an RV to Bottchers Gap Campround?

Bottchers Gap Campround is listed for tents only.

Source: Forest Service

What if Bottchers Gap Campround is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are White Oaks Campground (13.5 mi), China Camp (14.3 mi), and Arroyo Seco Group Campground (20.1 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby