Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground is the park’s main drive-in campground for tents and RVs, with 189 sites in connected loops along and near the Big Sur River. Coast redwoods and the river corridor make it a good choice if you want to sleep in the forest and spend time on the park trails. It’s a river campground, not a beach base: there’s no ocean access inside the state park. The separate Group Camp across Highway 1 is a different destination.

Each site has parking for at least one car, a fire ring and a picnic table. There are no RV hookups. Fresh water, toilets and hot showers are spread through the campground; showers are token-operated and for registered campers. The dump station has potable water for filling an RV tank. Sites are limited to six people and two vehicles, and there’s no overflow parking.

The river and redwood setting are the draw, with park walks close to the camping loops. Campers describe both quiet stays beneath the trees and busy periods around the river; a few mention daytime foot traffic and noise near particular sites. If you’re sensitive to activity, ask about site placement when you reserve rather than assuming every loop feels secluded.

John and Florence Pfeiffer settled beside the Big Sur River in 1884. Their home and farm grew into Pfeiffer Ranch Resort in 1908, after Florence began taking in travelers for meals and lodging. John sold 700 acres to the state in 1933, and the park was named for the couple. The family account also records an extraordinary honey harvest: John’s bees produced sixteen tons in one year.

The campground has 189 sites, but reservations often fill well ahead, even in winter; walk-up availability is uncertain. The state lists food service and a camp store for the park. Big Sur Lodge has a café and grocery store elsewhere in the park, so treat those as a separate stop rather than supplies at your site.