About Wheeler Gorge
Number of accommodations: 63
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Open year round
This campground is open year round, providing flexibility for your stay.
Campground Amenities
Views and Setting
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Rates, Sites & Availability
63 Sites Available
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Site Details
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63 Sites Available
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Reviews (865)
What Guests Are Saying
Wheeler Gorge Campground is a beautiful and well-maintained location, perfect for families and individuals seeking a peaceful getaway close to nature. The sites are spacious, clean, and many offer access to the lovely Matilija Creek, providing a serene atmosphere for relaxation and exploration. While there is no running water and some areas have poison oak, the campground hosts are friendly and helpful, making it a highly recommended destination for camping enthusiasts.
What Guests Are Saying
Wheeler Gorge Campground is a beautiful and well-maintained location, perfect for families and individuals seeking a peaceful getaway close to nature. The sites are spacious, clean, and many offer access to the lovely Matilija Creek, providing a serene atmosphere for relaxation and exploration. While there is no running water and some areas have poison oak, the campground hosts are friendly and helpful, making it a highly recommended destination for camping enthusiasts.
Review Summary
Sarah T
VerifiedJuly 15, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 058, Loop: WHEE
The campground overall was excellent; well-maintained pit toilets, wonderful creek, our preschooler had a wonderful time! Site 58 was decent, but not amazing (hence 4 stars instead of 5).
Pros: close to the stream (loved falling asleep to the sound of water and frogs), nicely sized trees for hammocks (could have hung two), good shade in the morning, nearby bathroom and dumpster, close to *some* creek access via the creek vehicle crossing.
Cons: not very private, immediate creek access was verrrrrrrry steep (was tricky for adults to get down there-- kids needed assistance), very sunny in the afternoon, grate over the fire was bent enough that we didn't bother trying it.
We will definitely be coming back to Wheeler Gorge again (already have two more trips planned!), but would not stay in 58 again unless other, better sites were not available. Just don't know which sites that would be yet!
Salvatore M
VerifiedJune 22, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 035, Loop: WHEE
One of my favorite campsites ever.
Salvatore M
VerifiedJune 22, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 035, Loop: WHEE
One of my favorite campsites ever.
Jennifer S
VerifiedJune 3, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 031, Loop: WHEE
Site 31 - group site, room for 3 large tents and a smaller one. Decent shade. No poison oak within the site. Great location next to bathrooms (clean, no odor) and across the road from the creek which was beautiful and flowing! Great swimming hole and adventure spot for the kids. Very friendly hosts. Only downside was the massive number of ear wigs. Have never seen so many and they loved getting into our paper products (like boxes and paper towels). Definitely not a deterrent. We hope to be back!
Jennifer S
VerifiedJune 3, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 031, Loop: WHEE
Site 31 - group site, room for 3 large tents and a smaller one. Decent shade. No poison oak within the site. Great location next to bathrooms (clean, no odor) and across the road from the creek which was beautiful and flowing! Great swimming hole and adventure spot for the kids. Very friendly hosts. Only downside was the massive number of ear wigs. Have never seen so many and they loved getting into our paper products (like boxes and paper towels). Definitely not a deterrent. We hope to be back!
Doug P
VerifiedMay 30, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 028, Loop: WHEE
We spent 4 nights at Wheeler Gore and we loved every single minute there. The campground is surrounded by water flowing creeks. California been having alot of rain and snow this year which is 2024 so the creeks had plenty of water. We camped on a weekdays so there were no one there except for our family. The campground were clean and very we run. We met the camp host Alex and Wanda and they were very nice and helpful. We will definitely come back because there were still many trails we haven't been able to try. I gave it an A- for campground and A for hiking and things to do around Ojai.
Doug P
VerifiedMay 30, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 028, Loop: WHEE
We spent 4 nights at Wheeler Gore and we loved every single minute there. The campground is surrounded by water flowing creeks. California been having alot of rain and snow this year which is 2024 so the creeks had plenty of water. We camped on a weekdays so there were no one there except for our family. The campground were clean and very we run. We met the camp host Alex and Wanda and they were very nice and helpful. We will definitely come back because there were still many trails we haven't been able to try. I gave it an A- for campground and A for hiking and things to do around Ojai.
Natalie A
VerifiedMay 29, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 051, Loop: WHEE
We arrived on Mon. 5/27, Memorial Day, to an empty (and lovely) campground. We booked site 51 online. It sucks. Don't book it. Its location on the map is deceiving. It's right next to the road and the access to the creek is just a steep drop off. We went to the camp host to see what sites were available for us to switch to. Couldn't find them, waited for 20 minutes at the front, no one ever showed. We made multiple loops of the campground looking at sites and stopped back at the camp host each time, even knocking on their trailer. Never saw them or were able to talk to them about switching sites. In total we were attempting to find them for over an hour before we decided to proceed in choosing a different site. There were envelopes at the front for putting cash in and choosing your site and a sign that said drop it in the box and the camp hosts will come to the site to check you in. So we chose a new site that had a post with no reservation for the dates we were staying, wrote a note on the envelope with our reservation number, original site we booked, and all other info. We continued to our new site, set up, never saw the camp hosts despite driving back to the front later to try to find them again. They never came by. At 3pm the next day, someone shows up saying they booked the site we were at online. We say okay, that sucks because there was zero signage saying that the site was reserved for that date. My partner drove back to the front to try to talk to the camp hosts about what sites were available for us to move to. While he was gone, I continued packing up our stuff and the camp hosts pulled up to our site and proceeded to yell at and berate me for being at the wrong site without talking to them first. In front of my scared five old. So they failed to update campsite posts or be available for campers to talk to. What's silly is any one who drove up without a reservation could have been in the same situation we were in bc they failed to do their jobs. Avoid.
Natalie A
VerifiedMay 29, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 051, Loop: WHEE
We arrived on Mon. 5/27, Memorial Day, to an empty (and lovely) campground. We booked site 51 online. It sucks. Don't book it. Its location on the map is deceiving. It's right next to the road and the access to the creek is just a steep drop off. We went to the camp host to see what sites were available for us to switch to. Couldn't find them, waited for 20 minutes at the front, no one ever showed. We made multiple loops of the campground looking at sites and stopped back at the camp host each time, even knocking on their trailer. Never saw them or were able to talk to them about switching sites. In total we were attempting to find them for over an hour before we decided to proceed in choosing a different site. There were envelopes at the front for putting cash in and choosing your site and a sign that said drop it in the box and the camp hosts will come to the site to check you in. So we chose a new site that had a post with no reservation for the dates we were staying, wrote a note on the envelope with our reservation number, original site we booked, and all other info. We continued to our new site, set up, never saw the camp hosts despite driving back to the front later to try to find them again. They never came by. At 3pm the next day, someone shows up saying they booked the site we were at online. We say okay, that sucks because there was zero signage saying that the site was reserved for that date. My partner drove back to the front to try to talk to the camp hosts about what sites were available for us to move to. While he was gone, I continued packing up our stuff and the camp hosts pulled up to our site and proceeded to yell at and berate me for being at the wrong site without talking to them first. In front of my scared five old. So they failed to update campsite posts or be available for campers to talk to. What's silly is any one who drove up without a reservation could have been in the same situation we were in bc they failed to do their jobs. Avoid.
Karina Z
VerifiedMay 20, 2024 β’ Stayed at: 007, Loop: WHEE
We had an amazing camping experience. We stood next to the water it was beautiful! The camp host Juana and Alex were amazing! They were accommodating and super friendly and outgoing! Bathrooms were kept clean. Only thing is I wished they had running water, but other than that itβs a clean great campground.
Location Wheeler Gorge
Address:
1190 E. Ojai Ave.
Ojai, CA, 93023
United States
From Ventura, take Highway 33 north about 14 miles. Turn left, continuing on Highway 33 for another 8 miles to the campground.
From Los Angeles, take I-5 north, then turn west onto Highway 126 for about 28 miles, to Santa Paula. Continue north on Highway 150 for 16 miles. Turn left onto Highway 33 and continue north approximately 8 miles to the campground.
Wheeler Gorge is accessible via Highway 33, which can be reached from Highway 126 or directly from Ventura. The campground is located about 14 miles north of Ventura and about 8 miles north of the intersection of Highway 150 and Highway 33.
Latitude & Longitude: 34.5119 / -119.274
Elevation: 551 feet
Policies & Rules
Arrival & departure
Check in time
10PM
- Contact the office via email or website for FAQs.
- Check-in must be completed before the gate closes.
Cancellation policy
- Reservation fees are non-refundable. For campsites, cabins, lookouts, yurts, group sites, and similar stays, we charge a reservation service fee of $8.
- Standard cancellations usually have a $10 cancellation fee. Customers can generally cancel before the check-in date online.
- Late cancellation rules differ by stay type.
- Individual campsites: cancelling after 12:00am local time the day before arrival usually means a $10 cancellation fee plus forfeiting the first night's fee.
- Cabins, lookouts, and yurts: cancelling less than 14 days before arrival usually means a $10 cancellation fee plus forfeiting the first night's fee.
- One-night reservations: a late cancellation usually forfeits the full amount paid, up to the total original reservation cost.
- Modifications are allowed before the cut-off window, but fees depend on the change. Changing to dates completely outside the original reservation dates may trigger a $10 change fee. Extending or shortening a stay that still includes original dates usually has no change fee, though refunds may depend on timing and facility rules. Switching to the same type of campsite for the same dates usually has no change fee, but price differences are charged or refunded.
- Early departures may or may not be refunded. At certain facilities, partial refunds may be possible if staff can mark the site available for other visitors. No refund is given for a night if the early departure is requested after that day's check-out time.
- Security deposits are separate. Security deposits may be refunded to the original payment method if the facility is left in acceptable condition, as determined by the property.
Utilities
- No water is available; bring your own.
Safety & rules
- Be aware that poison oak may be present.
- It's recommended to use bug spray during warm days.
Site capacity
- Single campsite reservations accommodate 6 people and 1 vehicle.
- Single sites can accommodate up to 8 people and 2 vehicles with additional fees.
- Double sites accommodate 12 people and 2 vehicles with additional fees for extra guests and vehicles.
Local regulations
- Visit the link for more information about Los Padres National Forest.
Fires & fuel
- Buy firewood locally and burn it on-site to protect forests.
Nearby Campgrounds
Nearby destinations
Last updated: June 4, 2026