Santa Cruz Island Del Norte Backcountry Campground

Views are great but why have a campground 3.2 miles away from the pier with 800' of elevation??? And no water access! Would make far more sense having it closer to the pier

This is a very nice backcountry campsite with limited wind cover/shade, a pit toilet, and no water. Each site features a metal box for stashing your pack and any food away from the foxes and ravens. If you have your pick, I would suggest reserving campsite #004, it is the most protected of the four available sites. The toilet was recently renovated in early/mid 2021 and is very clean. My partner and I visited Prisoner's Harbor, the Pelican Bay trail, and then backpacked up to Del Norte in one day. The wind can be strong coming over the hills so be prepared. You will want a way to protect your stove. Additionally, this wind can kick up a lot of dust at night, so be sure to firmly tie down your tent and rain cover to keep things grounded and the dirt spray minimal. Without water, this site can become rugged quickly. However, you will have access to an entire area of the island rarely traveled by most visitors. You will have gorgeous sunset views over the Channel. Enjoy this campsite, it is one of the amazing gems of this park. Recommendation: reserve a campsite here on Day 1 of your trip and backpack to Scorpion Cove to camp for night 2. The trek across the island is incredible, and it's best to start here and then refill your water when you reach Scorpion.

Second time. Backpacked Prisoners Harbor to Scorpion Anchorage. 1 night, 15 mi.

Sites 1 and 2 have good ocean views. 3 and 4 are shaded under a tree just be cautious of the spiders on the branches. I enjoyed sites 3 and 4 during the day to beat the heat, then 1 and 2 to enjoy the sunset when it got cooler. Standard flat spot that can fit a 2 person tent, but able to get around 3 tents to fit comfortably around each site. No site really supports a hammock setup for camping. A lot more bugs at this campsite as well. Picnic table and standard sized fox boxes at each campsite. I noticed people left water partially used water cannisters in the fox boxes, use at your own risk if they're there. Able to get 4g signal on verizon. Bathroom has a door, toilet paper available, and hand sanitizer dispenser. Markers getting to the campground are well marked. When on the fire road make sure you're following the markers there's one fork that takes you off the fireroad around 2 miles that can be missed.

We hiked smugglers cove, yellow banks and potato harbor, scorpion ridge. Yellow banks was a difficult long hike, make sure to bring twice the water that you think you need. Next time we will not go during the summer when there are large groups of volunteers and boy scouts. They were very loud and messy. Otherwise, great trip, excellent snorkeling. We stayed 4 days 3 nites.