Two of the most visited spots in the Madrid mountains are rationed by car park rather than by ticket, and the two quotas work in opposite ways.
At La Pedriza the limit is 75 private vehicles and it is handed out first come, first served. At Las Dehesas in Cercedilla the limit is 240 vehicles and every one of them has to be booked and paid for in advance. The La Camorza barrier sits in Manzanares el Real, opens in set windows and shuts the moment the quota is gone, and a free shuttle runs from the town at weekends and on public holidays.
How does car access to La Pedriza work? Private vehicle access to La Pedriza is capped at 75 vehicles in the car park at the La Camorza barrier, in Manzanares el Real. The barrier opens in set windows and only while the quota has not been reached. A free shuttle runs from the town at weekends and on public holidays.
Two quotas, two philosophies
| Site | Vehicle cap | How a place is obtained |
|---|---|---|
| Las Dehesas, Cercedilla | 240 vehicles | Booked in advance, fee payable |
| La Pedriza | 75 private vehicles | First come, first served, within the window |
The cap the Comunidad sets at Las Dehesas is more than three times the one at La Pedriza, and yet it is the harder of the two to get. Booking in advance turns the visit into a decision made days earlier; arriving early turns it into a decision made at dawn.
Anyone planning a mountain day therefore needs to know which of the two regimes applies before leaving home, because nothing about them is interchangeable.
The barrier has opening windows as well as a counter
Access for private vehicles and coaches is restricted, as the Comunidad de Madrid publishes, and the instrument is physical: a barrier at La Camorza with a car park holding 75 places.
From 1 June to 30 September the barrier has four opening windows, and the evening ones are the longer pair:
- Weekends and public holidays, 18:30 to 22:30 — four hours
- Monday to Friday, 18:30 to 22:30 — four hours
- Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 10:30 — three hours
- Weekends and public holidays, 7:00 to 9:30 — two and a half hours
Outside those windows the barrier stays shut, and inside them it opens only while the quota has not been filled.
The practical effect is twofold. Arriving mid-morning in summer achieves nothing even if spaces remain, and arriving inside the window guarantees nothing either if 75 cars are already through.
The free shuttle is the route with no counter attached
There is a free shuttle bus that the Comunidad publishes, linking the centre of Manzanares el Real with the La Pedriza barrier and with Canto Cochino, running at weekends and on public holidays.
It is the only way up that does not compete with the 75-vehicle count, because it occupies none of those spaces. For a weekend plan it converts a parking problem into a timetable problem.
Getting there from Madrid without a car means bus 724 from the Plaza de Castilla interchange to Manzanares el Real, with route 720 connecting Colmenar Viejo. From the town to the visitor centre is about 15 minutes on foot. The fare zones crossed on that trip are explained in how the Madrid transport zones work and the public transport guide.
Regional park, not national park
La Pedriza belongs to the Parque Regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares, declared by Ley 1/1985 of 23 January, and not to the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park.
They are two distinct protection figures with their own rules and management, even though they share the same mountains and sit side by side on any map. La Pedriza’s access regime belongs to the regional park, which is why its quota resembles no other in the area.
All four access mechanisms the region uses are set side by side in how Madrid rations its countryside. The Comunidad runs other spaces with entry control on similar grounds, such as the Montejo beech forest, where places are allocated by draw rather than by arrival, as covered in how to book the beech forest walk. At the region’s five monitored bathing spots what is regulated is the season rather than the parking, as set out in where you can legally swim.
The quota and the visitor centre are different systems: La Pedriza’s three information points keep three timetables and one opens for 90 minutes a day, whether the road is full or not.
Canto Cochino is La Pedriza’s picnic area, with tables and paths, and it carries the same rule as the rest: no fire on any day of the year.
In the same municipality the village’s other draw cannot be visited at all, because the Mendoza castle has been closed to the public since January 2025, over a pending operating permit.
Frequently asked questions about reaching La Pedriza
Can you drive up to La Pedriza?
Only until the quota fills. The car park at the La Camorza barrier takes a maximum of 75 private vehicles, and once that figure is reached the barrier stays shut until the next opening window of the day.
How do you reach La Pedriza without a car?
By bus. Route 724 leaves the Plaza de Castilla interchange for Manzanares el Real, and the visitor centre is about 15 minutes on foot from the town. A free shuttle also runs at weekends and on public holidays.
Is La Pedriza in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park?
No. La Pedriza belongs to the Parque Regional de la Cuenca Alta del Manzanares, declared by Ley 1/1985 of 23 January. It is a separate protection figure from the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, with its own rules.
Do you need to book parking at Las Dehesas in Cercedilla?
Yes. The Las Dehesas recreation area takes a maximum of 240 vehicles and requires a space to be booked in advance plus payment of the corresponding fee, unlike La Pedriza, which works first come first served.
Seventy-five cars, two opening windows and a free shuttle that is the only way in without a counter.