Coronation Beach; Geraldton Coastal Camping
If you are looking for Geraldton camping options, Coronation Beach is a hugely popular camp site not far north, where you can fall asleep to the waves rolling in, and wake up about 50 metres away from the beach.
Despite falling in love with Freshwater Point, the Bee’s were just too bad to hang around, so we decided to head north and find something else, before booking into Horrocks. Coronation Beach was the obvious choice; its just out of Geraldton, had plenty of spots likely to be free and its right on the beach, with some limited protection from the wind.
We’d stayed at Coronation Beach once before, on our way home to Perth after 3 months in a soft floor camper trailer. It was our last night camping, but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Where is Coronation Beach?
You’ll find Coronation Beach roughly 20 minutes north of Geraldton, about 8km off the main highway up and down a number of hills on a bitumen road. Its bitumen all the way to the camp ground, where it turns to gravel and is still driveable by even 2WD vehicles.
What camping does it suit?
You’d be able to camp at Coronation beach with any setup, including larger RV’s and buses. Sure, some sites wouldn’t suit it, but there would be no issues getting any type of camping setup in.
What amenities are there?
Coronation Beach has a couple of stainless steel BBQ’s (which are there mainly for day use I believe), along with a number of shelters, drop toilets and showers that require you to supply your own water. I’m not actually sure how they work as I never looked inside, but it has the basic amenities to be comfortable.
There’s also a lunch van there, and a caretaker, and you can always duck back into Geraldton to get what you need if needed. There’s a dump point across from the caretaker, and plenty of bins around to put your rubbish in.
There’s also a new wooden ship playground, which looks pretty neat and our kids had a ball playing on.
Coronation camping cost
Camping is $15 per adult, and kids under 16 are free. Pensioners get it for $10 per person. For normal adults, its not exactly cheap, but its reasonable for the location.
When its 42 degrees, you really need to camp nearby the water, and it was a good option over spending another day with the bees at Freshwater Bay!
Launching a boat at Coronation Beach
There’s two ‘boat ramps’ at Coronation Beach, which consist of a vehicle pathway to the water. The sand going down to the beach is quite steep though, and you will get stuck if your tyres are not well deflated.
Prepare your boat or jet ski before you get near the water, so it’s a quick launch, or you’ll end up like a bloke we watched who had waves all over the back of his patrol. We did see a number of smaller boats being successfully launched here though, so it must be a popular place to head out from.
Wind and kite surfing at Coronation Beach
One of the most popular reasons for visiting Coronation Beach is to wind surf, or kite surf, or foil board. We saw a number of people giving it a go, and it looked like a pretty decent place to learn and practice.
You can hire the equipment and receive lessons at the beach from a couple of places, which is pretty convenient.
It can be busy
In peak season, its not always possible to get a site here, as its extremely popular. We really enjoy staying here, and its a perfect place to stop overnight on your way north of south, being close to the main highway and in a great location.
Have you stayed at Coronation Beach? What did you think of it?