Lake Cachuma camping: the campground's sites, cabins and yurts

Lake Cachuma camping quick facts

Where

Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, 1 Lakeview Drive off Highway 154. The mailing address says Santa Barbara, but the gate is in the Santa Ynez Valley: 11.7 mi (20 min) from Solvang Park, 8.6 mi (14 min) from Santa Ynez, 12 mi (18 min) from Los Olivos

Basic site

$35 a night April to September, $30 October to March; fire ring and picnic table

Lake-view (premium) site

$45 a night, year-round

Hookups

Over 100 full-hookup sites (water, power, sewer): $55 summer, $50 winter. Over 30 partial (water, power): $50 summer, $45 winter. 50-amp only at sites 11, 34, 59, 62, 64, 81, 89 and 150 to 157

Cabins

8 cabins sleeping 2 to 6, with kitchenettes and full bathrooms: $175 Sunday to Thursday, $200 Friday, Saturday and holidays

Yurts

7 yurts: small $75 to $90, medium $85 to $100, large $100 to $120 a night by season. No bathroom inside

Group areas

10 areas for 32 to 120 people, $230 to $865 a night; 2-night minimum on weekends, 3 on holiday weekends

Reservation fee

Non-refundable: $10 per site, $20 per yurt or cabin. Book up to 6 months ahead online or at 805-568-2460

Per site

Max 8 people, 2 vehicles (second vehicle $15) and 4 tents

Pets

$3 per pet a night, max 2, rabies proof required; $20 a night in the cabins that allow dogs. Off-leash dog park in the campground

Check-in / out

3pm / 11am. Quiet hours 10pm to 7am. Stay limit 14 nights in 30 days

Showers

Coin-operated: $1 for 3 minutes of hot water

Front gate

805-686-5055 (call ahead to pick up cabin or yurt keys after 4pm)

Lake Cachuma campground: map, showers and booking

Map. The county's Cachuma Lake Recreation Area brochure prints the full campground map, with every loop, the marina, pools, playgrounds and the nature center. For live site numbers, use the map view on the county reservation site, where you can book up to 6 months ahead, or call 805-568-2460, option 3.

Showers and the store. The county lists hot showers and restrooms near the sites, and a general store with groceries, camping gear, gas and propane. Each site has a picnic table.

With kids. There are children's playgrounds in the campground and about four miles of trails, and the Neal Taylor Nature Center is open Thursday to Sunday. Children 11 and younger wear a life vest on the lake. For everything to do by day, see our Lake Cachuma guide.

Which Lake Cachuma campsite should you book?

Pick by what you sleep in. The county's camping page says the park has "several hundred basic and lake-view sites", each marked by a fire ring and one picnic table with "flowing boundaries", plus hot showers, restrooms and water nearby.

• Tent, no frills: a basic site, $35 a night from April through September and $30 from October through March. The cheapest night in the park.
• Tent with the view: a premium lake-view site, $45 year-round.
• RV or trailer: a full-hookup site (water, power and sewer, $55 in summer, $50 in winter) or a partial-hookup site (water and power, $50 and $45). There is a dump station on site. The county's line: "If you can park it, you can camp it", so RVs may also use basic sites.
• No tent at all: a cabin or a yurt (below).

Two rules catch people out. Tent-only campers can't set up in the RV section, sites 1 to 106. And the full-hookup sites, 1 to 121, have no fire pits, and you can't bring your own grill there either. Tents are allowed in some perimeter hookup sites: 1 to 6, 8, the even numbers 12 to 34 and 62 to 72, the odd numbers 81 to 121, and all of 125 to 159.

Is the Lake Cachuma RV campground open?

Check before you book. Noozhawk reported on July 29, 2026 that the RV campground, closed since December 2023 for a $14.1 million renovation, was expected to reopen by early fall 2026, while the rest of the park stayed open. The county reservation map shows which hookup sites you can actually book; if a loop is greyed out, it isn't open yet.

How much are the cabins at Lake Cachuma?

Cabins, the only way to camp at Cachuma with your own bathroom, run $175 a night Sunday to Thursday and $200 on Friday, Saturday and holidays, plus a $20 reservation fee. Every one of the eight has electricity, a full bathroom, a kitchenette, a living room, a private porch, a picnic table and a fire pit. Bring bedding, pillows, towels and food.

Cabins are non-smoking, barbecues stay off the porches, and up to two leashed dogs can stay in the cabins that allow them, at $20 per dog a night. Keys come from the front gate at 3pm and go back by 11am; an unreturned key costs $25.

Yurts: the middle option

Seven yurts in three sizes, with bunk beds and pads, a heater, a light and an outlet. Small yurts run $75 to $90 a night, medium $85 to $100 and large $100 to $120, by season, plus the $20 reservation fee. Our Lake Cachuma guide has the yurt-by-yurt table, including which ones face the sunrise over the marina and which get tent space and shore access.

Group camping at Lake Cachuma

Bring the whole crew: ten group areas take 32 to 120 people, and weekends need a 2-night booking, holiday weekends 3. Every area has tables for the whole group, a big adjustable barbecue, a fire ring and a water spigot; only Lanford Memorial, Apache Pines, Apache Sunrise and El Dorado Vista have electricity.

Need room for 200? Live Oak Camp, the county's former cowboy camp off Highway 154, rents whole for $1,600 a night (2-night minimum, $1,500 deposit, $200 reservation fee). Call 805-686-5051 to claim all 40 acres for your crew.

Campfires, dogs and the rules that matter

• Fires: only in the fire rings, pits or ranger-approved containers, never on the ground, and with locally sourced firewood. Check Los Padres fire restrictions in fire season too.
• Dogs: $3 per pet a night, two at most, leashed, with rabies proof. There's an off-leash dog park in the campground. Don't wash dogs in the showers.
• Head count: 8 people, 2 vehicles and 4 tents per site, strictly enforced. Go over and you buy a second site, or leave.
• Arriving early: you can check in before 3pm only if your site was empty the night before, and big rigs may have nowhere to wait in the day-use lot.
• Quiet hours: 10pm to 7am, generators off.
• Swimming: never. Cachuma is a drinking-water reservoir. There's a swimming pool in the campground instead; see our Lake Cachuma guide.

Make a weekend of it

• On the water: rent a kayak or boat at the marina; the county's naturalist-led lake cruises are out of service until further notice.
• Lunch off the lake: Cold Spring Tavern, an 1868 stagecoach stop, is down Highway 154 toward Santa Barbara.
• Rock art: Chumash Painted Cave is 13.3 mi (25 min) from the Cachuma gate, and its paintings sit behind a metal gate of their own.
• Dinner and a tasting: the township of Santa Ynez is 14 minutes back west; see Santa Ynez restaurants and Santa Ynez wineries.

Side trips: camping just outside the valley

Cachuma full? These are outside the Santa Ynez Valley, so plan on the drive.

• Rancho Oso (side trip, Santa Ynez River canyon above Santa Barbara): a Thousand Trails RV resort at 3750 Paradise Road with 190 sites over 310 acres, covered-wagon and Old West cabins, horseback riding, a pool and a hot tub. No membership needed to book. 16.7 mi (38 min) from the Cachuma gate and 27.9 mi (55 min) from Solvang Park, partly on narrow Paradise Road. thousandtrails.com, 805-964-8985.
• Figueroa Campground (side trip, Los Padres National Forest): 35 first-come sites with no hookups, about 53 minutes up Figueroa Mountain Road from Los Olivos. See our Figueroa Mountain guide for current closures.
• Jalama Beach: the county's oceanfront campground south of Lompoc, booked on the same reservation site. See our Jalama Beach guide.

Good to know

Are dogs allowed at Lake Cachuma campground? Yes. It's $3 per pet a night, two pets at most, leashed, with proof of rabies vaccination. Dogs in the cabins that allow them cost $20 each a night, and there's an off-leash dog park.

Are campfires allowed at Lake Cachuma? Yes, in the fire rings and pits only, with locally sourced firewood. The full-hookup sites, 1 to 121, have no fire pits and don't allow personal grills.

How long can you stay at Lake Cachuma campground? Up to 14 nights within 30 days, then a 14-day break, under the county camping rules.

How many people can stay at one Lake Cachuma campsite? Eight people, two vehicles and four tents. The second vehicle costs $15.

Does Lake Cachuma have hookups for RVs? Yes: over 100 full-hookup sites and over 30 partial-hookup sites, plus a dump station. Only 13 sites have 50-amp service.

Nearby: eat, taste, stay

• Lake Cachuma guide: Boat rentals, the nature center and why you can't swim · Same park
• Cold Spring Tavern: An 1868 stagecoach stop, weekend tri-tip · Down Highway 154
• Chumash Painted Cave: Chumash rock art behind a grate · 25 min from the Cachuma gate
• Things to do in Santa Ynez: Old western township, polo and the Maverick Saloon · 14 min west
• Santa Ynez hotels: Polo bungalows to a rooftop pool, if camping falls through

Quick answers

How much does it cost to camp at Lake Cachuma?

A basic site is $35 a night from April through September and $30 from October through March. Lake-view sites are $45, partial hookups $45 to $50 and full hookups $50 to $55, plus a $10 non-refundable reservation fee (county fee schedule).

How much are the cabins at Lake Cachuma?

$175 a night Sunday to Thursday and $200 on Friday, Saturday and holidays, plus a $20 reservation fee. All eight have a full bathroom and a kitchenette.

Can I camp at Lake Cachuma campground in a tent?

Yes, in the basic and lake-view sites and in some perimeter hookup sites. Tents are not allowed in the RV section, sites 1 to 106, unless the site is on the county's perimeter list.

Does Cachuma Lake campground have showers?

Yes. The county lists hot showers and restrooms near the campsites, and the yurt area has restrooms and showers close by plus a portable toilet.

Is Lake Cachuma open for camping?

Yes. Sites, cabins and yurts are booked through Santa Barbara County Parks up to 6 months ahead. The RV campground was closed for a renewal, so check its status on the county reservation site.