Santa Cruz Scorpion

Campground was clean, trails were clean and well maintained. Had a great time kayaking in, around and through the caves. Saw a couple of seals, kit foxes and island blue jays.

Channel Islands NP is stunning! Highly recommend - day trip is cool, camping was even better. Camp site was spacious to neighboring sites, had a large secure storage box for food/gear, and a shared potable water spigot + multiple enclosed camp toilets. We stayed at the Upper Loop site #25 and it was the absolute best! Quiet, the furthest back into the wild you could go with gorgeous views, and two large Eucalyptus trees for shade (and hammocks!). Not quite a mile walk from the water/docking area and a little further than the Lower Loop site but it was an easy dirt path to get there even hauling gear packs. Easy access to trails right off of the campsite area or main trails closer back to the harbor. Beautiful to just wander around and take it all in. The wildlife is awesome - the foxes are absolutely adorable! We were on fox watch the whole time, they would peruse the campsites in the evening. The ravens are a hoot - but be forewarned, they will steal things lol. The area down by the dock is equipped nicely with more bathrooms, changing areas, storage boxes, etc for day trippers but super convenient for just hanging out down there. The water is chilly but beautiful. Awesome kelp forests and marine life with the protected waters. Our whole experience from booking, to ferry ride out/back, the park rangers, sea kayaking (highly recommend this too! Channel Islands Adventure Company rock!), exploring - all incredible and would 100% do again.

The campsite is accommodated with "Fox boxes" and adequate space for tents. Not a lot of available trees if you use hammocks to sleep. Guaranteed to see a cat-sized fox unique to the island.

Beautiful spot great to visit. Lots of natural beauty. We had a lovely shaded camp site. Nice hikes. Ranger that greeted us off the boat was not very friendly and seemed irritated by her job. Wish we could have rented kayaks out there from the kayak place but only guided tours allowed.

This is my favorite campground of all and each time I go I have renewed appreciation. It is remote yet accessible, the amenities are sufficient. And the beach and snorkeling are top notch. Great hiking as well!

One of my all-time favorite campsites! It's warm and protected from the winds because of its location in the valley. Plus, it's close to the start of Smuggler's Cove and Potato Harbor, two must-do hikes! Potato Harbor is PERFECT at sunset!

It is a beautiful island and we had a wonderful trip. The water was crystal clear and the kayaking was amazing. Camping was good with facilities (water, bathroom, picnic tables).

But there's too much development since we were last there years ago. Crowded boat and lots of people. The Adventure Company who rents gear on the island took up so much of the outdoor space on the island - just to make money on national park land?

My best friend and I had the most fantastic trip on Santa Cruz Island! The hike into the site is pretty short, and very flat ground. You might even be bale to bring a wagon to cart your stuff to the site. (We saw many people do this but we weren't confident it was allowed beforehand) The campsites themselves are pretty spacious, but didn't seem to be all evenly sized. We stayed on site 18 and LOVED it! The area with the campsites got pretty windy so I would recommend brining some warmer layers for after sundown. The sites are also pretty shaded although they aren't all conducive to hammocking. The bathroom was a pit toilet and there were lots of flies/bugs in it but even if you're a bit squeamish you can do it! Also the bathrooms at the entry of the island near the ferry are cleaner/much less buggy. The hiking on Santa Cruz was AWESOME! On several of our hikes we didn't run into anyone else, so it felt like you were really secluded and on your own private island. Our favorite hike was to Smuggler's Cove and then to Yellowbanks. We had the beaches essentially to ourselves and it was a very doable moderate hike. I would suggest bringing at least 2 liters of water per person because there is no water on the island except at the campsite and the hikes have no shade (although there is shade at the Smuggler's Cove). I hope this was helpful and you have a fantastic trip!

We had a wonderful one night trip to Santa Cruz. The campground was very nice. I would recommend looking into renting equipment from the company on shore that does both kayaking and snorkeling. If we go back, we will definitely plan on doing a kayak trip.

Santa Cruz Island was a great adventure for my high school aged Girl Scouts. We hiked, did citizen science, and went sea cave kayaking with the Santa Barbara Adventure Company. The campground was great, the naturalist, Ranger/EMT and support staff were supportive and attentive. For the girls the big highlights were the kayaking and seeing huge pods of dolphins and about 12 blue/sei/humpback whales (some right next to the boat) that Island packers stopped on our ferry to let us experience. Life changing adventure for these young women.