Camping South West WA; 15 sensational spots
The South West of WA has a magic about it that you won’t experience anywhere else in the country. It’s the ultimate place to head year round with weather that’s usually a little bit cooler than Perth, and more attractions than you could explore in months.
In this post, we check out 15 incredible camp sites in the South West of WA, and I’m sure there are plenty more!
In fact if you want to be kept busy for a while, here’s Perth Camping; 60 of the best sites nearby.
Belvidere
If you are looking for somewhere close to camp to Bunbury, Belvidere is a fantastic option. Wedged in between the Leschenault Inlet and Belvidere Beach, the camp ground is a short drive for 4WD access on the sand, and has some great wildlife to keep you company.
The mosquito’s can be bad here when its warmer, so take repellent and appropriate clothing, but its a magic place to camp in winter, or when the salmon run is happening.
Kick back on the beach with a rod in your hand, and when you’ve had enough retreat back to camp to sit around a nice warm camp fire with friends and family.
You can find more about this great site here – Belvidere Campground.
- Distance and time from Perth: 155km south, and 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Cost to camp: $11 an adult per night, $7 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: First in, best dressed
- Amenities: Fire pits, Toilets
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season
- Pet Friendly: No
Conto’s
The Margaret River region is the heart of the South West, and is hugely popular for a massive list of reasons. Whether you are into food, surfing, adventure, 4WD tracks, wine, luxury escapes, day spa’s or just a stunning location for a weekend away you can’t go wrong.
Conto’s is located in the middle of the Boranup Forest, not far from Mammoth and Giants Cave. This is one of the largest DBCA camp sites, with 7 individual loops. It’s a short drive to the coast, which can be extremely wild.
- Distance and time from Perth: 298km and 3 hours and 15 minutes.
- Cost to camp: $15 an adult per night, $9 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: Online booking at the DBCA website prior to arrival
- Amenities: Camp kitchens, toilets, fire pits
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season
- Pet Friendly: No
Olive Hill Farm
We were super excited to stumble across Olive Hill Farm. Located 13 minutes drive from Margaret River itself, this place is a low cost site amongst the Olive Trees, with a walk that will take you to one of the most beautiful rivers around.
Despite camping relatively close to others, the sites are very private, and the owners are great people. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, and would be back in a heartbeat. To find out more, check out Olive Hill Farm.
- Distance and time from Perth: 270km and 3 hours
- Cost to camp: $20 per night, per site for two adults. Kids are $3, and extra adults are $10
- Booking requirements: Online on the Olive Hill website prior to arriving
- Amenities: Nil. You must bring your own toilet. You can use the dump point for $5, or fill water for $1 per 25L
- Fires permitted: In the communal fire pit only, in season
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Jarrahdene
One of the newer DBCA sites is Jarrahdene, which is a short drive from Conto’s Camp ground and Hamelin Bay. This is amongst the amazing forest, and is one of the most peaceful and scenic camp grounds you can stay at in the South West.
It’s a short drive to Margaret River, Hamelin Bay and even not too far down to Augusta. There’s some absolutely incredible 4WD Tracks Margaret River close by, and we highly recommend checking a few out!
If you want more information on this amazing camp ground, check out Jarrahdene.
- Distance and time from Perth: 303km, and 3 hours 20 minutes
- Cost to camp: $15 an adult per night, $9 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: Yes, online prior to arrival at the DBCA website
- Amenities: Camp kitchens with BBQs, benches and tables, great condition toilets, a rubbish bin on the way in and a dump point
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season only
- Pet Friendly: No
Glenbrook
Another amazing property just a couple of minutes south of Margaret River is Glenbrook, run by a bloke by the name of Jason.
It’s a wildlife reserve, and you camp in a big open paddock with trees scattered around the place. It’s the perfect family environment with games of cricket regularly taking place in the afternoon, and plenty of bush to explore for the kids.
If you are looking for a place to head with a big group of friends or family, this is a really good option. You can find out more here; Glenbrook Camping.
- Distance and time from Perth: 280km and 3 hours
- Cost to camp: $15 per adult, or $25 for two adults.
- Booking requirements: Yes, ring Jason prior to arriving
- Amenities: Hot showers, flushing toilets, camp kitchen with BBQ but no power or water to your sites
- Fires permitted: No
- Pet Friendly: No
Fonty’s Pool
I remember seeing photos of Fonty’s Pool and thinking they had to be fake. Turns out I was completely wrong, and Fonty’s Pool is as beautiful in the flesh as the photos that you see. The pool itself has an incredible history and is an amazing natural phenomenon, but the actual stay is lovely too.
We ended up in an unpowered site in the back corner and had an amazing stay, even with a bit of rain to keep us on our toes.
You can hire fire pits, watch the sheep next door and soak up the views. If you are game, or its warm enough you can swim in the pool, or jump off their diving board. They’ve got a number of tubes to float around in too. You can find out more here – Fonty’s Pool.
- Distance and time from Perth: 302km, 3 hours and 25 minutes
- Cost to camp: Between $30 per night unpowered and off peak to $88 per night for a powered site in peak season)
- Booking requirements: Book online on the Fonty’s Pool website prior to arriving
- Amenities: Full Caravan park setup with a playground, Fonty’s Pool, camp kitchen, toilets and showers etc
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season using their supplied fire pits
- Pet Friendly: Yes, except the peak holiday periods.
Wellington Dam
In my opinion, the Collie region is one of the most underrated areas in Western Australia. There are so many beautiful dams, lakes, rivers and creeks to explore, and Collie has done a great job increasing and marketing the attractions, which is bringing a whole new level of activity to the relatively quiet town.
Wellington Dam is a massive water source not far from Collie, that has a designated and formal camp site by the name of Potters Gorge, and you can free camp basically anywhere else around the dam as long as its done respectfully, and you leave no trace.
I add the last part, as people have done the wrong thing in the past and the easiest form of management is just to shut the area off! Leave your camp sites pristine and it will stay open for years to come.
- Distance and time from Perth: 193km, and 2 hours
- Cost to camp: $15 an adult per night, $9 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: Yes, online on the DBCA before arriving
- Amenities: Camp kitchens, non potable water, fire pits, toilets, boat ramp
- Fires permitted: Yes, in the fire pits in season
- Pet Friendly: No
Barrabup pool
We fell in love with the Nannup area a number of years ago, and have been back many times. It’s a spectacular place to visit any time of year, with winter being a favourite (if you can keep warm!).
We’ve often stayed at the Nannup Caravan Park, but there’s a couple of camp sites out of Nannup that are very popular. Barrabup Pool is one, and its a very picturesque location that’s certainly worthy of a few nights.
- Distance and time from Perth: 272km, and 3 hours
- Cost to camp: $11 an adult per night, $7 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: First in, best dressed
- Amenities: Picnic tables, toilets and fire pits
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season only
- Pet Friendly: No
Lake Kepwari
If you are chasing a new camp site with fantastic views and only just over 2 hours from Perth, Lake Kepwari is it. We’ve stayed a couple of times now, and would go back in a heartbeat.
Lake Kepwari is an old coal mine that has been allowed to fill with water, and then had the river redirected through it.
The result is a beautiful lake that is full of marron, and hugely popular for water skiing, swimming and kicking back. You can find out more about this truly epic camp site at Lake Kepwari.
- Distance and time from Perth: 216km and 2 hours and 20 minutes
- Cost to camp: $11 an adult per night, $7 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: Online at the DBCA website prior to arriving
- Amenities: Toilets, camp kitchens, a boat ramp, fire pits in each site
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season only
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Nannup Caravan Park
We generally avoid a lot of Caravan Parks, but there are some exceptions like Nannup Caravan Park. If you visit in winter when its quieter, you can have a huge portion of the camp ground to yourself, a short walk from the stunning river and a 2 minute walk into town.
Nannup really is a beautiful place, and a weekend is absolutely perfect (although it is a bit more of a drive with young kids for a couple of days!). You can find out more here; Nannup Caravan Park.
- Distance and time from Perth: 266km and 2 hours and 50 minutes
- Cost to camp: $34 – $49 per night for two people depending on peak/off peak and powered/unpowered. Senior discounts also apply.
- Booking requirements: Standard Caravan Park – ring, book online or arrive and hope for the best!
- Amenities: Full Caravan Park amenities; camp kitchen, fire pits, toilets, showers, washing machines and dryers and powered sites with water as booked
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Fernbrook Farm Stay
Our most recent stay was just outside of Pemberton, at a Hipcamp property that is brilliantly set up, and a magic place to stay at. I’d love to come back in winter when the hills are bright green, and sit around a nice camp fire.
You can’t go wrong with the Pemberton area, and Fernbrook Farm Stay is low cost, easy to access, relatively private and in our eyes on of the best setups we’ve seen for allowing people to camp on private property.
- Distance and time from Perth: 312km and 3 hours and 30 minutes
- Cost to camp: $20 per site per night
- Booking requirements: Book online via Hipcamp
- Amenities: Fire pits and a swing set. No toilets, showers or anything else
- Fires permitted: In season, in the fire pits
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Warren River Camp Ground
Continuing around the Pemberton area lies The Warren, one of the quietest and most peaceful camp sites we’ve ever stayed at. This is located on the Heartbreak Trail just out of Pemberton, and is just beyond Drafty’s Camp.
It only has a small number of sites that aren’t overly large, but this results in a super peaceful place to camp right by the Warren River. The forest here is some of the most scenic you’ll ever see, and a couple of days here will have you feeling like a new person!
- Distance and time from Perth: 335km and 3 hours and 45 minutes
- Cost to camp: $11 per adult, $7 per concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16
- Booking requirements: First in, best dressed
- Amenities: Toilets, fire pits, picnic tables
- Fires permitted: In season and in the fire pits
- Pet Friendly: No
Wedge Tailed Eagle Retreat
There’s something about camping on private property that just doesn’t compare to your regular camp sites. We stumbled across Wedge Tailed Eagle Retreat many years ago, run by a super friendly lady, backing onto the beautiful Blackwood River.
Whilst its more popular these days, the property is well and truly large enough to be a significant distance away from other campers, and you’d struggle to hear them.
You can hop the fence and enjoy the amazing Blackwood river, or kick back around a fire with the timber provided.
This is another amazing place to head with a big group of people, especially with young kids as there’s so much to explore.
- Distance and time from Perth: 265km and 3 hours
- Cost to camp: $15 per adult per night, and kids over 6 are $5 per night
- Booking requirements: Ring Sylvia, or book via Facebook
- Amenities: Flushing toilets and hot showers at the homestead
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season, basically anywhere
- Pet Friendly: Yes, on a leash
Boat Harbour Camp
In between Denmark and Peaceful Bay lies a camp ground that is absolutely perfect for a few nights away. It’s set back a short drive from Boat Harbour Beach, and you have access to powered and unpowered sites.
The karri trees make for a stunning back drop, and there’s plenty of tourist attractions nearby to keep you occupied. We thoroughly enjoyed Boat Harbour Camp, and its just recently had new ownership, so it will be interesting to see how it develops.
- Distance and time from Perth: 448km and 5 hours and 15 minutes
- Cost to camp: $15 to $20 per adult, $5 – $10 per child and power is $7 – $10 per night depending on peak/off peak
- Booking requirements: Book online, ring through or arrive and hope for the best
- Amenities: Standard caravan park amenities
- Fires permitted: Yes, in season
- Pet Friendly: Yes, but on a leash
Queerearrup Lake
Last but not least is a huge lake, which only just squeezes into the ‘South West’ of WA.
We stumbled across Queerearrup Lake completely by accident, when looking for somewhere to pull up overnight on our way back from the amazing Fitzgerald River National Park.
- Distance and time from Perth: 254km and 3 hours
- Cost to camp: Completely free
- Booking requirements: First in, best dressed (but there’s heaps of room)
- Amenities: Toilets, picnic tables
- Fires permitted: No; its been permanently banned after some shocking bush fires
- Pet Friendly: Yes
We love the south west of WA, and a lot of people who do the big lap comment on how beautiful it is. You could spend months comfortably exploring all the nooks and crannies, and over the years we’ve had the privilege of doing exactly that.
How many of these sites have you stayed at?
