Jarrahdene; brilliant bush camping in the south west

The south west of WA has some of the most stunning country Australia has to offer. From pristine Karri and Jarrah forests through to world class beaches, local produce, caves and stunning rivers there’s something for everyone, and now you can camp to your hearts content!

The DPAW (Department of Parks and Wildlife) have just completed their newest camp ground, called Jarrahdene, and its spectacular. The camp sites smack bang in the middle of a brilliant forest, and has a lot going for it.

This camp ground is included in 30 unbelievable WA Camping options, and is one of many great Margaret River Camping options.

If you need alternatives, check out Olive Hill Farm, or Camping South West WA.

Enjoying Jarrahdene, Margaret River
Relaxing at Jarrahdene, Margaret River

Where is Jarrahdene?

You’ll find Jarrahdene Campground just off Caves Road, roughly half way between Margaret River and Hamelin Bay. It’s off Jarrahdene road, and is set back far enough from Caves road that you can’t hear even the faintest vehicle activity.

From Jarrahdene, its 23km to Margaret River, 26km to Prevelly, 36km to Gracetown, 68km to Dunsborough, 72km to Busselton, 16km to Hamelin Bay and 26km to Augusta. It’s right in the middle of everything you’d want to explore in the south west, making it the perfect base for a weekend, or even longer if you please!

What are the sites like?

A massive, massive credit goes out to the DPAW for their design and building of the camp sites at Jarrahdene. There are 36 sites, plus a big group site (for tours/school activities I assume!). All of these are gravel, and there are fantastic descriptions of their suitability on the DPAW website.

Camp sites at Jarrahdene Map
Jarrahdene campsite map

Some are suitable for everything including big caravans, whilst others are good only for smaller tents. Each site has its own fireplace (which can only be used in fire season!) and table/chairs.

They are well spread apart, with most sites averaging 15 – 20 metres of bush between each one. You can see and hear your neighbours, but its a lot better than many caravan parks!

Bush camping at Margaret River
Tucked away nicely in the bush
Jarrahdene Caravans
Sites suitable for all styles of camping
Camping at Jarrahdene
Some smaller sites for tents and swags
Camping in a Caravan
Another perfect Caravan camp site

Toilets and Camp Kitchens

The amenities at Jarrahdene are about as good as they get for low cost camping. There are plenty of unisex toilet blocks around the place, all using the newer Ozzy bush loo’s, which are great for the environment, and don’t smell. They are all brand new, and finished to an extremely high level of quality.

There are a number of camp kitchens around the place too, with stainless steel benches, gas BBQ’s, and plenty of room to spread out.

There is a dump point, and rubbish bins at the entrance to Jarrahdene.

The DPAW have done an awesome job with the toilets and camp kitchens; it really looks professional and built well. In terms of bookable, bush camping in Margaret River, this is about as good as it gets

Toilets at Jarrahdene
Brand new unisex toilets
Toilets at Jarrahdene
Clean, no smell and well maintained
Camp kitchens at Margaret River
Perfect camp kitchens set up and ready to go
Camp kitchens at Jarrahdene
Gas BBQ’s and lots of prep space
Cooking on the BBQ at Jarrahdene
Making use of the BBQ’s with a fresh crayfish and some mushrooms/onions!
Rubbish bins at Jarrahdene
Rubbish bins on the way in
Dump point at Jarrahdene
A new dump point, set up for use

How much does Jarrahdene cost?

You’ll pay $11 per adult per night, $7 per concession and $3 per child in between 5 and 16. Considering most DPAW sites are $10 these days its pretty reasonable.

Camping out of Margaret River
$11 bucks a night is well worth it

Booking Jarrahdene

All bookings of camp sites at Jarrahdene are done online, at the DPAW website. 

Online booking is working well so far, and is being rolled out across many DPAW sites. It’s not perfect, and things don’t always go to plan; we arrived at 9:30PM to find someone had set up camp in one of our sites.

If you aren’t familiar with the booking system, check this out – National Park booking in WA.

We kindly asked them to move along, but obviously the message is being missed by some!

Can I bring my dog?

Like most DPAW sites, dogs are not permitted. You’ll have to leave it home with a dogsitter, or book it in at a kennel.

What can you do in the area?

I love the south west. There is something for everyone, and you’ll never run out of things to do. If you are into food (who isn’t?!), you’ll love the amazing selections of natural produce including world class wineries, fudge and chocolate factories, cheese factories, bakeries, coffee and more.

For the nature lovers, there’s more wildlife, incredible forests and brilliant beaches than you’ll ever get sick of seeing, along with stunning natural caves, rocky coastline like no other and picture perfect scenes everywhere you look.

Beyond that, there’s amazing 4WD tracks Margaret River, great fishing and diving, world class surfing and plenty of history to see.

North Point day trip
Explore the stunning beaches
Caves at Margaret River
Explore the caves at Margaret River
Jarrahdene 4WD Tracks
Exploring the 4WD tracks around Jarrahdene
Margaret River Chocolate Factory
The Margaret River Chocolate Factory
Karri forests in Margaret River
Enjoying the beautiful Karri forests
Blackwood river lunch
Stopped for lunch along the Blackwood River
Enjoying Jarrahdene Campgrounds
Soak up the surrounds

Book a trip to the South West!

Who’s stayed at Jarrahdene before? What did you think of it? If you haven’t been to the south west for a while, book a trip away; you’ll love it. If you know someone who might love this camp site, share the love!

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11 Comments

  1. No Caretaker as it’s off season Aaron, the Ranger did,nt see their generators obviously. Well I just hope they don,t expect people to put up with their noise and generators like we had to, and they were totally rude. Cherie Glasson

  2. Hi Cherie,

    There you go – I just checked the DPAW website and it appears you are correct. Was there a caretaker there when you stayed? They should be telling people to turn them off

    Aaron

  3. To Aaron Schubert, well you have the wrong information, and there are signs in every camp kitchen saying no generators. Cherie
    Glasson

  4. Hey Cherie,

    As far as I know, they are allowed. It’s unfortunate for those who don’t use them, but that’s life.

    Aaron

  5. We are camping in Jarradene National Park, we have experienced generators being on for 5 hours, and plus very noisy people, 3 couples from the Busselton caravan Club. I would of thought generators would not be allowed for the ambeonce of other campers. Hope this can be sorted out for the enjoyment of other campers in the future. Cherie Glass on 12-2-19

  6. Hey Nina,

    It is absolutely fantastic, and in an awesome area too. Really, really pleased with it. You’ll love it!

    Aaron

  7. This looks great, we usually stay at Contos or Boranup campsites but will try Jarrahdene next time. DPAW does a fantastic job of constructing and maintaining these sites.

  8. Taff “Taff” Davies says:

    Good news, Cheers