The WA national park campgrounds that sell out: Osprey Bay, Lucky Bay, Big Lagoon, Steep Point, Conto, Windjana Gorge and more. What each is like, how it's booked, when it fills, and how to get in when it's full.
How this list was made
This isn't a list of pretty places. It's the list of Western Australian campgrounds that are hard to get into, which is why we monitor them. Facts about sites and facilities come from DBCA's Explore Parks pages and the Park Stay WA catalogue; booking rules from the Park Stay WA terms.
All DBCA campgrounds here share a few rules: bookings essential, one campsite per booking, 14-night maximum if any night is in a WA school holiday (28 otherwise), no dogs, and no campfires (except where noted). The rest of WA books 180 days ahead at midnight; the Ningaloo Coast books monthly. Fees are per person per night, plus a vehicle entry fee in some parks.
Ningaloo Coast (monthly release)
These release at 10am AWST on the first Tuesday of each month, six months out. See the Ningaloo monthly release explained.
Osprey Bay, Cape Range National Park. 46 compacted-gravel sites in two areas beside the Osprey Sanctuary Zone, with 4WD beach access for small boats and kayaks. Pit toilets, picnic shelters, generators in the northern area only. The most contested campground in WA; book it on release morning or catch a cancellation.
Mesa (23 sites), Kurrajong (26), Yardie Creek (10), Neds (9), Tulki Beach (11), North Mandu (5). The rest of the Cape Range coast. Yardie Creek is the furthest south on the sealed road and the gateway to the gorge. Tulki Beach and North Mandu close for the low-demand season from 1 November to 15 March.
14 Mile, Sandy Point, Lagoon, Warroora Coast. The Nyinggulu Coastal Reserves south of Coral Bay: bush camps on the beach with a reef lagoon in front. 14 Mile (46 sites) was damaged by Cyclone Narelle and closes entirely for works from 29 October 2026; set a reopen watch. Sandy Point (14) and Lagoon (20) are open.
South Lefroy Bay, North Lefroy, Winderabandi, Nyinggulara National Park. All closed since Cyclone Narelle, with no reopening date as of September 2026. These were the big ones (South Lefroy had 87 sites); when they reopen the first release will be fierce. A "reopen" watch on each will tell you the moment nights come back.
Shark Bay and Edel Land (180-day rolling)
Big Lagoon, Francois Peron National Park. Low coastal scrub beside a lagoon you can swim, kayak and SUP on (no motorised craft). Seven tent sites on raised grid platforms plus 12 sand sites, a mix of reverse-in and drive-through. High-clearance 4WD access only, tyre pressures down. Fills for school holidays and the June–August dry.
Shelter Bay (16 sites) and Steep Point (8), Edel Land National Park. Steep Point is the westernmost point of mainland Australia; the campground is eight rock-surface sites with pit toilets and nothing else, reached by a serious 4WD track. Famous for land-based game fishing, which is exactly why it books out.
The south coast (180-day rolling)
Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park, Esperance. 56 reverse-in sites on crushed rock behind what's often called the whitest beach in Australia, with kangaroos on the sand. Flush toilets, showers (hot water not guaranteed), camp kitchens with gas BBQs. Specific sites can't be reserved: you book a place and pick from vacant sites on arrival. Adult fee A$20 a night, concession A$15, child A$5, plus a vehicle entry fee (A$17 standard). The one WA campground that's full in summer and in the September wildflower season. Our Lucky Bay and Cape Le Grand guide has the detail.
Le Grand Beach, same park. 14 sites behind the dunes, same facilities, same pick-on-arrival model. The overflow when Lucky Bay is full, and lovely in its own right.
Four Mile, Fitzgerald River National Park, near Hopetoun. 15 sites in one of the most botanically rich parks in the world. Small, so it fills in wildflower season (September–October) and over Easter.
The south-west (180-day rolling)
Conto, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, Margaret River. A very large campground (116 sites in eight areas) 4 km from Conto Beach, beside Boranup Forest and on the Cape to Cape Track. Unusually for WA, you choose your site number when booking, and the areas vary a lot: Chuditch is crushed-rock sites for caravans and camper trailers; others are tent-only pockets in the peppermint. The closest DBCA campground to Perth on this list, and it books out for every long weekend and every school holiday.
The Kimberley (seasonal)
Bandilngan (Windjana Gorge), Bandilngan National Park, off the Gibb River Road. A very large campground (150 sites) with a generator area and a quiet area and no marked sites; you book an area and camp in any vacant space. Flush toilets, showers, communal fire pits (bring your own wood; this is one of the few parks where fires are allowed). Bookings open 180 days ahead for the 1 June to 31 October season only; other dates become bookable when the seasonal opening is confirmed. Fills for the July school holidays.
Jurien Bay (shire-run)
Sandy Cape, Sandy Cape Recreation Park, two hours north of Perth. Run by the Shire of Dandaragan, not DBCA, with its own booking system (112 sites, booked individually). Beach camping with dunes behind, and the closest "real" beach camp to Perth, so it's gone for every school holiday months out.
Commercial parks on the Ningaloo Coast
Peoples Park, Coral Bay and Ningaloo Caravan & Holiday Resort, Exmouth. Powered sites, cabins and the amenities the national park campgrounds don't have. Both book out for the April–September season a long way ahead, and both publish availability openly, so we watch them too.
When they're full
Every campground on this page sells out for its peak dates. Every one of them also gets cancellations: the Park Stay WA cancellation fee is one concession fee per night removed, waived with 5 or 14 days' notice, so there's little reason for anyone to hold a site they won't use. There's no waitlist; a released site reappears on Park Stay WA and the next person to look gets it.
That's what a Aussie Camp Alerts watch is for. Set it on the campground with your dates, and we'll alert you when any of those nights goes from booked out to bookable. Then check on Park Stay WA that the site suits your party and rig. Free plan: one watch, email, 15-minute delay. Summer Pass: up to 10 watches, instant alerts, Telegram and push, A$29 once for 12 months. You book it yourself on Park Stay WA.
Every campground above, with a live calendar, is on the Western Australia hub.
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