Forest Service bans camping on Nacimiento-Fergusson, mulls other overuse issues.

The U.S. Forest Service announced Aug. 11 that dispersed camping along the sides of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road will be banned until Aug. 10, 2018, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or six months in jail. 

Camping along the windy narrow road has long been a concern for locals and Forest Service officials, but there has been added concern in recent months due to the Mud Creek slide, which closed Highway 1 in southern portion of Big Sur, about 10 miles north of the Monterey-San Luis Obispo County line. 

As a result, Nacimiento-Fergusson is the only way to access Big Sur by vehicle south of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge, which closed over the winter due to land shifting under its support columns, and set to reopen in September. The normally remote road has seen an uptick in traffic as a result, increasing the danger to both motorists and those camping on the sides of the road. 

Camping will be prohibited in a three-mile buffer from the road's center line, and the Forest Service order reaffirms that campfires in the Los Padres National Forest are illegal outside of designated campgrounds. 

Forest Service spokesman Andrew Madsen says the agency can only issue a ban for a year's time, but that the ban could potentially be extended next August. The only way to permanently ban camping along the road would be to include it in the next update of the Los Padres' forest plan, which dictates how the forest will be managed. 

The Forest Service is also considering how to manage the traffic on Sycamore Canyon Road once Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge reopens—Sycamore Canyon is the only access to the popular Pfeiffer Beach, which the Forest Service is responsible for managing—but Madsen says key details still need to be worked out. 

One potential move the agency is looking at, Madsen says, is banning all foot traffic on the road, as hundreds of people often park on Highway 1 and walk the two miles down the narrow Sycamore Canyon Road to the beach. 

On the issue of public bathroom access along Highway 1, Madsen adds the Forest Service is trying to dispel the belief by some locals and tourists that it costs money to use the bathrooms at the privately managed day-use areas at Mill Creek and Willow Creek.

Madsen says if visitors make it clear they only want to use the bathroom, there is no charge to temporarily park in the area.