Santa Cruz Scorpion

We stayed there overnight. It's a very nice campground, cleaned and spacey. We were nervous about the ferry there and back but everything was smoothly and on time. The weather was perfect and staffs were nice and helpful.

We took our son here for his 10th birthday! We spent the night at Scorpion Campground. The facilities were clean and well taken care of. The Island Foxes are crafty. Be sure to lock up your food, even if you're only gone for a moment. One of those foxes grabbed my son's sandwich. Oh well. We also did the hike to Smugglers Cove. Very strenuous hike. Round trip took us about 3 1/2 hours, including a short break at the Cove. I would highly recommend spending time on Santa Cruz Island, even for a day trip.

Nestled in the valley among eucalyptus trees, the serenity of this place is almost magical. Campers are there, they are all just so quiet you barely know others are around. Great hikes and views within easy reach.

My husband and I camped at Santa Cruz Scorpion campground for two nights November 2-4. We had a great time! Loved the hiking trails and our sea cave kayaking adventure. The Island fox was exciting to see as was the island scrub jay. I highly recommend!

The place is great, really clean & quiet. Nice Hikes and different sea activities.
Do consider that firepits are prohibited, but you are allowed to bring a stove.
There's no reception almost nowhere (which is great), except for the beach and some hiking trails

The island was incredible. Watch out for those foxes though, they will poop and pee all over your stuff to show you who owns the place.

Absolutely gorgeous island and campground. I stayed in campsite 14 for 3 nights/4 days and loved every second of it. I went alone and this was the best solo adventure I've been on so far. Four days of hiking, kayaking and camping alone just can't be beat. I hiked to Smugglers Cove and no one else was there! I had the entire cove to myself for 3 hours, it was amazing. I only have one complaint - all the day tourists. If you're a day tourist, please respect the campers and don't come into our campsite. Way too many people wandered into my campsite, right up to my tent even. Others allowed their young children to chase the foxes right into my campsite. One woman stood on the trail while her toddler crawled under my picnic table after a fox, while I was sitting there eating! She just shrugged at me. Then he ran to the campsite next to me and snooped around their tent, even trying to see inside and messing with the items on their picnic table, while chasing this poor fox. The mom then came over and joined him, also snooping around. Please respect that we paid for the campsite, this is our "private space" while we are there and our personal belongings are there. It's incredibly rude, disrespectful and selfish to "trespass" on someone's privacy like that. If you're day tourist, please stick to the trails and leave the campers, and their site and gear, alone. Otherwise I love this island and will most definitely be back.

The drive to privatize access to the outdoor experience for the general public is time consuming and a bit awkward. I did appreciate the phone access and help I received from the park service. Island Packers where also very helpful and professional. The pervasive trend towards trash, including micro trash at the camp spots is a bummer. The kayaking concessionaire had equipment and gear spread out on the beach in the same area that "private" Kayakers were supposed to put there gear. When we first saw the beach after a heavy rain and wind storm it looked like some catastrophe had occurred, but over the next 3 days it was apparent this is the norm. When waiting for the outbound ferry my gear was rifled through out of one of the metal boxes. I realize that there is not much the Park Service can do about the general publics decline of mores but maybe some reminders about trash and personal respect of others gear may help spark some positive response. I did interact with many positive and helpful park staff, volunteers, and park visitors. Thank you for the experience.

Great hiking and the campground was well kept. Water spigot for drinking water was very accessible and pit toilets were very clean. Our stay on the island was amazing and can’t wait to plan a return trip back.

Campsites are great. Shade is nice, water works, pit toilets are nice-ish for pit toilets. In the middle of everything, and just an incredible place. Campground was noticeably less windy than the surrounding area.

Just take down those massive eucalyptus trees and let's get something native that's good for the island ecology!