Channel Islands National Park · California
Overview The Prisoners Harbor Campground is located near the shoreline, and with a maximum capacity of 24 people, it offers a quieter experience than the larger campground at Scorpion. The campground is a short hike from the pier and is sheltered from harsh ocean winds. As you explore this area, please respect the property boundary and help protect and preserve these delicate resources for future generations.
Sites at Santa Cruz Island Prisoners Harbor are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 7 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Tent only |
| Location | Ventura, CA |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Santa Cruz Island Prisoners Harbor around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Santa Rosa Island Backcountry Beach Camping | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Santa Cruz Island Scorpion | Cancellation alerts available |
| Santa Barbara Island | Cancellation alerts available |
| San Miguel Island | Cancellation alerts available |
| Anacapa Island | Cancellation alerts available |
| Santa Rosa Island | Cancellation alerts available |
| Santa Cruz Island Del Norte Backcountry | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Santa Cruz Island Prisoners Harbor; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.