ISA-certified arborists on the Central Coast
The tree service in Cambria, run by the people who live here.
A family-run tree care company on the California coast since 1997. Licensed, insured and ISA-certified, with written estimates before any work begins.
The company
Built on trust, and on this coast.
Cambria Pines Tree Service has cared for the trees on this coast since 1997. The company is licensed, insured and ISA-certified. That is nearly three decades of Monterey pines, coast live oaks and cypress. Coastal properties bring salt air, wind and drought stress. Every job is planned around those conditions. You get a written estimate, a clear scope and a clean finish. The crew is local. The trees it cares for are the same ones it lives under.
— Cambria Pines Tree Service Inc.
Services
What we do, and why it holds up here
Every property is different. The core of good tree care does not change: healthy trees, safe clearances and a clean finish. Our services cover the full life of your trees.
01
Trimming & pruning
Seasonal shaping, canopy thinning and clearance work that keeps trees strong, healthy and clear of roofs and power lines.
02
Tree removal
Safe, controlled removal of hazardous, dead or unwanted trees, even in tight coastal lots.
03
Stump grinding
Grinding stumps below grade so you can replant, landscape or simply reclaim your yard.
04
Emergency response
Wind, rain and saturated ground do not keep business hours. The crew answers the phone at any hour and secures the hazard.
Why neighbours keep our number
Certified work, transparent pricing.
That means a clear, written estimate before work begins. No surprises when the crew packs up. It means licensed, insured service on every job, so your property and the crew are protected from the first cut to the last rake.
It also means work performed to International Society of Arboriculture standards and ANSI A300 pruning practice — the benchmark for correct pruning, safe rigging and honest tree-health advice.
Standards we work to
The difference between cutting trees and caring for them.
Cambria Pines Tree Service follows ISA standards on every job. Pruning practice follows ANSI A300 Part 1. The standard decides how the crew prunes to protect long-term structure, how a removal is rigged over a roof or fence, how risk is assessed before storm season, and how the site is left afterward.
Pruning is done to the branch collar, not to a convenient length. Removals are rigged when there is a roof, a fence or a wire below. Risk is assessed before the first cut, not after the first failure.
That is the standard on every job, large or small — and it is why the same crew can trim a single oak over a driveway and take down a hundred-foot pine beside a house without the neighbours holding their breath.
Field guide · Cambria, California
A tree here is not a tree anywhere else.
Fog most mornings, salt in every wind, and soil thin enough to make a root hold like a hand.
The Monterey pines, coast live oaks and cypress along this shoreline grow under conditions no inland pruning calendar describes. Salt burns the windward growth, fog keeps the bark damp for weeks, and the roots that anchor a tree to a bluff are often wider than the crown above them. Work that ignores that is work that has to be redone.
So the first question on a property here is rarely “how much comes off”. It is which limbs carry the weight, where the wind will push next, and what the tree can lose without losing its balance. That is the conversation that decides the job.
What the wind does
The pine that leans is the pine that was pruned wrong
A Monterey pine puts most of its mass where the light is, which on this coast means leaning out over the road or the roof. Removing the lower limbs to “clean it up” moves the weight further out and leaves the trunk with less to hold against a winter gust. The correct cut is usually higher and smaller than the one that gets asked for.
Every removal on a tight lot is rigged: ropes, a friction device and a ground crew who never stand under the load. On the coast that is not a specialty, it is the ordinary way a tree comes down between two cottages.
The oak that holds the hill
An oak holds the hillside together
An oak does not drop its leaves, so the canopy keeps the weight of every wet winter. Deadwood out of an oak is not cosmetic: it is the part that comes down in a storm, and on a slope above a house that is the whole conversation. Pruning is kept to the dead, the crossing and the hazardous, because an oak that is opened too far sunburns the wood it needs.
In the air
Some of this work only happens on a rope
When a pine is within reach of a roof, a chimney or a power drop, the tree is climbed and the pieces are lowered rather than dropped. The crew rigs above the cut, the ground crew keeps the landing clear, and the timber comes down in sections small enough to control. It is slower than felling. It is also the only version that leaves the house untouched.
Monterey pine
The signature tree of this coast, and the one that fails first in a storm. Windward limbs, deadwood and the lean are what get looked at.
Coast live oak
Evergreen, heavy, and slow to recover from a bad cut. Deadwood and structure, not shape, decide the work.
Redwood & cypress
Damp bark, shallow roots and a canopy that holds water. Pruning windows here are later and narrower than inland.
The coast we cover
From the pines above the village to the ridge at San Simeon.
Cambria is the centre of the work, and the calls come from up the coast and down it: Lodge Hill and Happy Hill, the lanes off Main Street, San Simeon, Harmony, Cayucos, Morro Bay and the ranches inland toward Templeton. Same species, same salt, same wind.
- Cambria
- San Simeon
- Harmony
- Cayucos
- Morro Bay
- Los Osos
- Templeton
On the job
A few seconds on the ropes
Filmed by the crew on a removal above the village. No music, no edit — just the part of the day most people never see.
From our crews
The work, as it happens.
Chippers in the drive, a climber forty feet up a pine, the truck loaded before lunch. These are the photos the crews send in when a job wraps up — the ones that never make it onto a brochure.
When to call
Signs your trees need attention
Not sure whether to call? Walk the property and look for these.
- Dead or hanging limbs overhead — especially near a roof, deck, driveway or walkway.
- Leaning or heaving soil at the base of a trunk, which can signal root failure.
- Cracks or cavities in major limbs or the trunk itself.
- Dense, crossed or rubbing branches that invite disease and wind damage.
- Storm damage after coastal weather — even small breaks can hide larger splits.
If any of these look familiar, an inspection now costs far less than an emergency later.
The calendar
When to schedule the work
Coastal conditions set the calendar. Late summer and early autumn are the safest window for structural pruning and removals on Monterey pines and coast live oaks — before winter storms load the canopy. Spring is the time to mulch and to look for pitch canker, sudden oak death and the fungal problems that fog invites.
After any storm, when wind has brought a limb onto a roof or blocked a road, the 24/7 emergency response handles the hazard day or night. Not sure when your trees need attention? Call (805) 927-4414. We will tell you honestly what can wait and what cannot.
Questions
Questions we hear most often
How much does tree work cost here?
Most removals fall between $900 and $4,500. Trimming, stump grinding and emergency work are priced in writing after a free walk-through.
Do you serve areas outside Cambria?
Yes. Crews run throughout San Luis Obispo County. That includes Cayucos, Morro Bay, Los Osos, San Simeon, Harmony, Atascadero and San Luis Obispo.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Cambria Pines Tree Service is a licensed, insured local company. Crews work to International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) standards and ANSI A300 pruning practice.
How fast can you respond to a storm emergency?
The crew answers 24 hours a day. Call (805) 927-4414. Hazards to people, homes, vehicles and access routes come first.
Google & Yelp reviews
What our customers say
4.9 from 36 reviews
★★★★★
13 on Google (4.7 of 5) · 23 on Yelp (5.0 of 5)
We love our rustic forest of a backyard and we'd been putting off tree service because we didn't want to manicure nature. But Spanish moss was overtaking our oaks and pines and, while beautiful, we didn't want our trees to die. Brayan (and everyone at Cambria Pines Tree Service) deeply respects the trees and the wildlife that call them home. From estimate to haul away, Brayan and team worked diligently, were kind, reliable, and simply great at what they do. If you're looking to steward the land on your property properly, call these guys. You won't be disappointed.
Excellent job from the estimate to finish. The crew worked very efficiently and safely trimming trees. The trees look so much healthier and are cleared of overgrowth to withstand the winds and rain in the future. The photos show how well they cleaned up. I highly recommend them, they know how to do the job right! Good communication and friendly.
Superb service! Called them up and they came out to check the tree I wanted removed and the trees I needed trimmed. Good price and they worked me into their schedule and were out here a few days later. Removed a large tree between two houses with no damage to either house, removed a smaller tree for free. To get their stump grinder behind the house, they pulled off the wheels to get it through a gate. All the holes where the trees/tree stumps were removed were filled in and look just like the surrounding area now. They trimmed the trees in front of my house to get them away from a…
I have been using Cambria Pines Tree Service for many years. They are always on time, trim and cut down trees, etc. and clean up everything at the end without damaging any of my other plants , trees or my home. I am very satisfied with Cambria Pines.
I have used this tree service for over 25 years, every Year my trees receive the trim just like I like it. My yard looks always well kept and beautiful! Thanks!
Find us
Cambria, on the coast road
Cambria Pines Tree Service Inc
2307 Yorkshire St, Cambria, CA 93428, USA
Mon–Fri 8AM–5PM · 24/7 emergency response
One tree, looked at properly.
Send a photo, the address and a line about what worries you. Estimates are free, and the answer will be about the tree in front of you, not a package.