California Defenders Big Sur Camp

September 12-14

Join us for the next epic California Defenders 3-day adventure!

Our third meet up is all about the views- camping high in the mountains of Big Sur with breathtaking overlooks of the Pacific Ocean. Picture the golden sunset, melting into the sea… the perfect way to wrap up summer. Bring your family, bring your dogs- everyone is welcome for a weekend of unforgettable memories!

Camp location and need-to-knows:

Big Sur, Prewitt ridge campground

35°58’14.7″N 121°27’06.7″W

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Bhp4xFMAW9C6GWrL6

-free and dispersed

– no campfires allowed, gas stoves allowed with fire permit which is free,

  Fire restriction order https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/lospadres/alerts/fire-restrictions-los-padres-national-forest

  Fire permit https://permit.preventwildfiresca.org/

-lots of mosquitos/bugs so bring repellent

-no bathrooms

-no water

-bring your own food and supplies

-GMRS channel 19 or frequency 462.6500

Expected weather: 

Average weather is 77° / 51°.

I will update as time gets closer for a more accurate weather.

Caravan Meet ups:

Caravans are optional and you can meet up at any point within the time given. Or if you wish, you can meet up at the campground. If you are running late and are within minutes of catching up, please reach out to either of the caravan leaders so we can wait for you.

Norcal (will be led by Keith Lempa 512-524-7729)

755 Cochrane Rd Suite 100, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RwroAmiCGHxykveYA

Meet up at 11am, fuel up and grab something to eat quickly. Depart by 11:30am and we should arrive at main meet up in Jolon by 1pm

SoCal (will be led by Salvador Hernandez 747-257-8545 )

1^st stop

12881 Encinitas Ave, Sylmar, CA 91342

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nWZ7gYUghPeGKRjp6

Arrive by 7:30, gas up if needed, get breakfast, give 30 minutes for others to catch up and leave at 8am.

2^nd stop

2400 Golden Hill Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446

https://maps.app.goo.gl/MiWR2VSSG6WmSyQ49

This would be the longest drive and can take up to 3 hours. The goal is to arrive by 11am, gas up and rest for an hour or so, allowing others to catch up. We will leave no later than 12:20pm to arrive at main meet up in Jolon by 1pm

Main Meet up point:

Meet up by 1pm and depart at 1:30pm

35°58’17.1″N 121°10’32.8″W 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/aDTc9G5ozAYCxKh27

At this point everybody would have met up. We will rest here for about 30 minutes. The goal is to leave by 1:30pm and head to the trail. We will take Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd to South coast trail 20S05.4 and then to Prewitt Ridge 22s04.   

Friday September 12 we will set up camp and relax!

Saturday September 13 we will do some trails and explore (more info on the trails to come)

Sunday September 14 we will pack up early and head out.

Please Rsvp and let us know if you’ll be joining our caravan and at which point.

Trail Info/updates (08/28/2025)

I’ve been able to confirm the trails to the campground are open and even though google maps may display as “private road”, the roads we will access are public. We will access the trail head from Nacimiento-Fergusson rd. During my scouting mission I was only able to run the trail highlighted in yellow as my daughter fell ill and we had to leave quickly. Although I was only able to explore that section, I was able to confirm the rest of the trail marked in the map is open.

The trail head starts at the green marker which is Central Coast trail 20S05. We will follow the trail highlighted in yellow to our campsite at Prewitt Ridge Campground. The trail gets narrow in many spots but there was enough room to let other rigs pass by. The trail looks to have been graded recently and was super easy. I didn’t even air down and the ride was smooth. No deep ruts to be worried about.

The campsite marked with a purple marker is big enough to accommodate our group but if we do need more space, there are more sites nearby. The campsite is very popular due to its views so we need to make sure we arrive on the scheduled time to hopefully secure it before others do.

On Saturday we will hit the trail highlighted in turquoise and run it from north to south. The end of the trail is at the black marker which meets at pch hwy 1. We will drive up pch (highlighted in white), and take Nacimiento-Fergusson road back to the start of the trail at the Green marker and head back to camp. That would be the fastest way back.

The trail is optional so if you don’t feel like doing it, you don’t have to. I’m thinking we should begin the trail run at 11 am which gives us time to have breakfast and hang out for a bit while we wait for anybody that decides to show up Saturday.

Trail map

Prewitt Ridge campsite

Plans can change so please visit back nearing the event date to look for any changes. We will send out notifications of changes if you rsvp.

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