Parsons Landing — Hotel in Santa Catalina Island

We had a terrible experience here, which was a real heartbreak. We booked our campsite at Parson’s Landing a year in advance after reading about it in Sunset magazine: due to the remoteness and the fact that you couldn’t get to the campground except by boat or by backpacking in 8 miles, we were expecting just a few other campers (there are only 12 sites) and some isolation and privacy to take in the gorgeous ocean views.||||After backpacking in the 8 miles from Two Harbors via the West-End road (highly recommended if you do decide to try for Parson’s Landing: the road is flat and very sparsely traveled, and has great ocean views), we got to the campsite and it had been completely taken over by Boy Scouts. Completely. Some parents near us told us there were 200 Boy Scouts there, along with a bunch of parents and troop leaders. They had a huge pile of dutch ovens in the common area and it didn’t seem like their first time at the rodeo taking over Parson’s Landing campground. ||||We are both teachers and we love kids, however, this was a completely inappropriate use of a campground meant for individual groups. The limit for each site was 8, so there should have been no more more than 88 people there, yet the Boy Scouts had doubled capacity. The beach isn’t that big, and it was absolutely crawling with kids screaming and running around, with gear absolutely everywhere (including the site we had reserved). They were all communicating with each other and sharing cooking equipment, so this wasn’t a bunch of troops who just happened to be there the same day. We found out by talking to the two moms that the scouts had booked every other site in the campground. ||||It was very frustrating that Boy Scouts had taken over a public campground and turned it into an extension of their huge camp at Emerald Bay, and it was equally frustrating that campsite capacity was not being enforced by rangers. Especially since it was so hard to get here, it sucked that the reality was so different from what we were expecting. ||||We decided not to stay and had to take a shore boat from Emerald Bay back to Two Harbors (a $91 expense). The staff at the Two Harbors Visitor Center were somewhat helpful. Jill was amazing: she talked to me on the phone multiple times and walked over to the Harbor Department to get us a boat when they weren’t answering their phone. Morgan, the manager, was less helpful: while she did refund us our Parson’s Landing reservation, she was generally unsympathetic and cold. We had booked this a year in advance. It was my birthday the next day. The Boy Scouts had run amok. She didn’t really care, and it showed in her customer service. ||||IF the Boy Scouts aren’t there, this campground looks absolutely stunningly beautiful. I wish we had been able to enjoy it. I wish I had known Boy Scouts used the campground so I could have asked when I got off the ferry if they had booked all the other campsites, because then we would have turned around and gone somewhere else in Southern California.||||PLEASE make sure to ask about Boy Scouts so you don’t have the...

I had a great trip out to Parson's Landing in August, 2015. A few important things to note: if you take the Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT) to get to the campsite please be prepared for a tough hike. We had read before the trip that the hike was moderately strenuous. I would describe the hike as very strenuous. It involves a series of steep inclines for the first six miles and a slippery, rocky decline for the last mile or so. This was very challenging for our group. Although the group I was with was in good shape and not new to difficult hikes, this was definitely a tough one. It would have been tough even without our 35-50lb backpacks on :)||There is an alternative path to the site that we didn't know about until we hiked out. The Coastal Road (that was what the other campers call it, not sure the official name) was much flatter and hugged the ridges of the mountains on the ocean side. It was a beautiful trail and we finished it three hours faster than the TCT. There was a little incline/decline at the start/finish.||You can also kayak out to the campsite which looked like it would be a lot of fun to try.||The campsite has a fire pit and picnic table at each campsite. There is not any shade since there aren't really any trees on the island. The weather in August was pretty nice, high 70s, low 80s in the day and comfortable mid-60s at night.||There are chemical toilets (with toilet paper) and trash/recycle bins. There are only 8 spots and it felt very quiet and peaceful. We had one of the center, smaller campsites and still felt like we had decent privacy.||If you like, you can arrange to have water and firewood delivered to lockers near the toilets. Since there is no drinking water available this is pretty much a necessity. ||This is, hands down, the most beautiful campsite I have visited. Just be prepared for a challenging hike or use the other access points (Coastal Trail, Kayaks) to get to...

We hiked the interior trail to get here so the beach breeze was awesome to feel on a hot day. We prepaid in two harbors visitor center to have firewood , water and a starter log which we could not find and was in the way back of a bottom locker. We were so tired from the hike and it was dark and we missed it.||The lockers are located between the portapotties. You will have a key with a number. They may put your items in an empty locker above or below if it doesn't fit all the wood and water so look around.||We walked down a sloping path to the beach to find camp site number with its own "fox box" to store food in so the critters don't get it.||The beach is a bit rocky so i recommend actual water shoes and not flip flops (which would probably work better anywhere on the island).||We underestimated the interior part of this hike. It is steep and challenging and the descent has a lot of loose rock. Walking sticks/trekking poles helped!||It is a beautiful location and we loved hearing the lightly crashing waves. Waves can keep me awake(i know), and this was the perfect amount.||The hike out around the coast and bays was more...