12 TOP Camper Trailer Destinations across Australia

By Unsealed 4X4 14 Min Read

Think lugging a trailer behind you means the really good spots are off limits? Guess again.

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Here is a State-by-State wrap on some of the best camper trailer spots. Of course there are many more than just these 12, but this will whet your appetite and possibly introduce you to some locations that are not so well known. Let’s face it; anywhere you can camp in your camper trailer is going to be better than a day in the office.

 

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  1. Mungo Brush, NSW

I had to include this magic spot; after all it was my very first camping spot when I was a teenager. Mungo Brush is found on the narrow heath-covered sand spit between Myall Lakes and the Pacific Ocean just north of Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest. Avoid the area in school holidays as it’s just too popular, but at off-peak times it is magic. You camp overlooking the mirror-like waters of Myall Lakes. It’s a great base for canoeing or kayaking, swimming and fishing. A short walk leads through the sand dunes to the extensive surf beach or you can even drop tyre pressures and spend the day driving up the surf beach to your very own secluded spot for fishing or sunbaking. A perfect place for an escape with the family.

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Fees: Yes

Facilities: Drop toilets, no showers.

Fires: No, free electric BBQs available.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Easy 2WD access.

Best time to go: March to November (avoid school holidays).

More info: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/mungo-brush-campground

 

  1. Willandra NP, NSW

Willandra National Park is located in central NSW just west of Hillston. It is a delightful shady camping area beside the old and restored former sheep station of Willandra. It is an oasis in what appears to be a treeless plain. The campsite is beside Willandra Creek which provides the unexpected shade trees. Don’t go there if wet weather is about, but at other times it is a great stopover on your way out west, or even just for a couple of days to escape the rat race.

 

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Flush toilets and cold showers.

Fires:
Yes, in season; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Easy if dry;
closed if wet.

Best time to go: May to September.

More info: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/willandra-national-park

 

  1. 1770, QLD

The town of 1770 is found on the Queensland coast between Rockhampton and Bundaberg. It has two good caravan parks – one on the shores of Bustard Bay and one that is a 10-min walk to the pristine surf beach. Eurimbula National Park, just before the town, has two waterside camping opportunities at Middle Beach and Bustard Bay. If you are into boating and fishing these are the picks. A few kilometres south of 1770 is Deepwater National Park with numerous camping opportunities tucked amongst the shade trees just 5-mins walk from the surf beach which you will have all to yourself.

Fees: Yes

Facilities: Flush toilets and showers in the caravan parks; drop toilets only in the National Parks.

Fires: No

Pets: No (yes in the Captain Cook Holiday Park).

Access Rating: Easy (4WD in Eurimbula National Park, 2WD elsewhere).

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Best time to go: April to November.

More info: https://www.discover1770.com.au/town-information/

  1. Diamantina NP, QLD

You couldn’t get further away from the coast at 1770, but Diamantina National Park (which is found north-east of Birdsville in the heart of the Channel Country) is a fabulous but relatively little-known camper trailer destination. You’ll need a fair dinkum off-road trailer to handle the hundreds of kilometres of dusty trails and you will need to be self-sufficient for a few days. But the camping beside Hunter Gorge is worth all the effort. The 90km Warracoota Circuit drive takes you around the Park and the trip up to Janet’s Leap rewards you with impressive views. You’ll also see lots of birdlife on the waterhole right in front of your camper. But don’t go there in wet weather or summer.

 

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Drop toilets only.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Moderate
(closed if wet).

Best time to go: May to September.

More info: https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/diamantina/camping.html

 

  1. Talbotville, VIC

Speak of Victoria and we immediately think High Country… a place that is the 4X4 Mecca of Australia. I could fill a book with descriptions of magic campsites around here. So let’s just drill down to the best one. Talbotville – an abandoned gold mining town north-west of Dargo, best accessible by 4WD only and literally surrounded by endless days of tracks. The town is long gone, leaving a perfect level green grassed camping area beside the most pristine river, the Crooked River. If there was a campsite in heaven, this would be it!

 

Fees: No

Facilities:
Drop toilets only.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Moderate

Best time to go: November to May.

More info: https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/grant-h.a./things-to-do/talbotville-historic-township/talbotville-township-campsites

 

  1. McKillops Bridge, VIC

Now for one that is not so well-known. McKillops Bridge spans the Snowy River just west of Delegate in the far north-east corner of the State. The McKillops Bridge road is long and very narrow and winding; it’s a great drive requiring only 2WD but it can’t be rushed and is best suited to off-road trailers towed by a 4X4. The campsite just past the bridge is small and is on a side slope, but once set up you have access to one of the best 4WD tracks in the area – the Deddick Fire Trail.

 

Fees: No

Facilities:
Drop toilets only.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Moderate

Best time to go: November to May (all year round is
OK, but the 4WD tracks are closed during winter).

More info: https://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/snowy-river-national-park/things-to-do/mackillop-bridge

 

 

  1. Owen Springs Nature Reserve, NT

Found an hour’s drive south of Alice Springs off the Stuart Hwy, this Reserve is quickly becoming the must-do place for the camper trailer adventurer. Easily accessible, the campsite at Redbank Waterhole is only 10 minutes off the highway. But venture further into the Reserve and there are some fabulous camping opportunities under the large river gums beside the usually dry creek at Lawrence Gorge. If you have had enough of the tourist crowds in the Red Centre, this is the place for a couple of days’ respite.

 

Fees: No

Facilities: None

Fires:
Yes; plenty of wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Easy

Best time to go: May to September.

More info: https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/200045/owen-springs-reserve-fact-sheet-and-map.pdf

 

  1. Davenport Ranges, NT

The Davenport Ranges may exude remoteness, but the area also has one of the best camper trailer accessible camping sites in the country at the permanent and large Old Police Station Waterhole. Davenport Ranges is about 100km south of Tennant Creek and then 80km east on a good (by Outback road standards) unsealed road. The last few kilometres into the Old Police Station Waterhole may require high-range 4WD. There are walks to the Old Police Station ruins, yabbies in the waterhole to catch and the tough Frew River 4X4 track nearby to keep you entertained.

 

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Drop toilet.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Moderate

Best time to go: May to September.

More info: https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/200058/iytwelepenty-davenport-ranges-national-park-fact-sheet-and-map.pdf

  1. Gawler Ranges NP, SA

The best thing about the Gawler Ranges National Park is that not many people have heard of it. It is found two hours’ drive west of Port Augusta or just north of Wudinna on the Eyre Highway. It appears as a rather barren landscape with low hills, like a much older Flinders Ranges landscape. But it has little gems tucked away in its quiet valleys – with large, level and often grassed campsites meaning you don’t need to camp on top of anyone. Unusual organ pipe rock formations and the nearby Lake Gairdner mean you can easily spend a few days camped here sharing the serenity with the many emus, ’roos and wedge-tail eagles that are common to the region.

 

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Drop toilets at some camps.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Easy

Best time to go: May to September.

More info: https://www.parks.sa.gov.au/find-a-park/Browse_by_region/Eyre_Peninsula/gawler-ranges-national-park

  1. Rawnsley Park, SA

This has to be one of my favourite camping areas anywhere in Oz. Rawnsley Park is a working sheep station in the southern Flinders Ranges just north of Hawker. It has a formal camping area near the toilets/showers/laundry/TV room, or the informal bush camping a further kay down the track (this is the pick of the campsites). Conveniently located in the Flinders you have a smorgasbord of activities to do, from several fantastic off-road tracks to walking and climbing to the top of Rawnsley Bluff or through Wilpena Pound to joy flights over the incredible ABC Range. If you go here you will need at least a week of recreation leave.

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Yes, everything.

Fires:
Yes; wood can be purchased on-site.

Pets: Yes

Access Rating: Easy

Best time to go: March to October.

More info: https://www.rawnsleypark.com.au

  1. Karijini NP, WA

I am asked all the time what is my favourite location in Australia and I consistently say Karijini National Park. It’s not difficult driving, just a long way away from the east coast; but the scenery is the best I have seen. Deep gorges with clear running rivers, incredibly red rocky cliffs hundreds of feet high, the cobalt-blue sky, the yellow spinifex amongst that red rock and the splashes of ghostly white gums with their twisted trunks all combine to make this place an optic overload. You need to be fit to see the best of it, as the stunning scenery along the walks into the gorges will be your reward for the pain you’ll feel in the legs for the next few days. Dales Gorge campsite is the place to park the trailer.

 

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Flush toilets.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Easy

Best time to go: May to September.

More info: https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/karijini

  1. Bay of Fires, TAS

Trying to identify one best camper trailer site in Tasmania is a little hard as there are so many great places to visit. But on a recent three-day walk down the coast of the Bay of Fires in north-east Tassie I must admit I was envious of the people I saw camped behind those beautiful beaches with their red lichen covered headlands. The pick of these spots for me was in the Mt William National Park just south of Stumpys Bay at Top Camp and part-way down the coast at Deep Creek campsite just north of Ansons Bay. Both are right on the water and just 2-mins walk to the pristine beaches and their amazing red rocks.

Fees: Yes

Facilities:
Drop toilets.

Fires: Yes; bring your own wood.

Pets: No

Access Rating: Easy

Best time to go: November to April.

More info: https://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=6390


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