How to book the Wilsons Promontory Southern Circuit hike-in campsites: Sealers Cove, Refuge Cove, Little Waterloo Bay, Oberon Bay, Halfway Hut and Roaring Meg. Per-person permits, two-night limits, the boardwalk closure, and catching a cancellation.
What you're booking
Overnight walks at Wilsons Promontory aren't like booking a campsite with a car park. You book a per-person permit for a named hike-in camping area for a specific night. Everyone in your party needs one, you must have it before you start walking, and you carry it (printed or on your phone) the whole way.
The Southern Circuit camping areas Parks Victoria lists are:
Each area has a maximum of two consecutive nights and a maximum group size of 12. Fees aren't listed on the camping-area pages; you'll see them when you book.
The Lightstation itself is roofed accommodation (the Lightstation cottages), booked separately from the camping permits and released with the other roofed accommodation on day two of each quarterly release.
When permits are released
Hike-in campsites are part of the normal Parks Victoria quarterly release, on day three (after Tidal River on day one and roofed accommodation on day two). See the Parks Victoria booking guide for how the release and lobby work. Stays up to 30 June 2027 are already open; the next release, for stays from 1 July 2027, hasn't been dated yet.
Because these are permits with a daily cap per camping area rather than a count of physical sites, popular nights, especially Christmas week, Easter and the Labour Day and Cup weekends, book out on release day. Shoulder months are usually fine.
The Sealers Cove problem
Read this before you plan a Sealers Cove night. Parks Victoria's page for the Sealers Cove walk says the boardwalk through the swamp forest was badly damaged by storm and flood and must be rebuilt: around two kilometres of boardwalk over sensitive terrain, described as "a major and complex project". While it's closed, the only way to Sealers Cove is the long way round via Telegraph Saddle, which Parks Victoria puts at 25 km one way.
That changes the trip. The classic Telegraph Saddle to Sealers Cove day one is normally about 10 km. Until the boardwalk reopens, a Sealers Cove permit means a very long first day or a different circuit. Parks Victoria points to its Sealers Cove Boardwalk project page for timeframes; check it before you book, and check the park's Change of Conditions page before you walk.
Also closed as of October 2026: Stockyard Campground and its toilet block, and the Big Drift / Stockyard car park during infrastructure works. Entrance delays and traffic management were expected from 31 August to 20 November 2026.
A sensible circuit
The standard Southern Circuit from Telegraph Saddle, with the boardwalk open:
- Telegraph Saddle to Sealers Cove.
- Sealers Cove to Refuge Cove (short) or on to Little Waterloo Bay.
- Little Waterloo Bay to Roaring Meg, with a side trip to the Lightstation or South Point.
- Roaring Meg to Oberon Bay, then back to Tidal River or Telegraph Saddle.
With the boardwalk closed, many walkers do it in reverse or cut Sealers Cove entirely: Oberon Bay and Little Waterloo Bay make a good two-night loop with none of the 25 km detour.
Whatever you do, book each night's camping area to match your actual itinerary. The two-night cap per area is enforced, and your permit is for named areas on named nights.
Booking mechanics
Permits are booked at bookings.parks.vic.gov.au under Wilsons Promontory overnight hiking. You select the camping area, the night, and the number of people. Like other Parks Victoria bookings:
- Refunds: 100% if cancelled 30+ days before the first night, 50% at 8–29 days, nothing inside 8 days.
- Changes: to another date or area, subject to availability, with no refund on a changed booking.
- Bookings can be managed online or by calling 13 1963.
Leave your itinerary with someone at home. There is no mobile coverage on most of the circuit.
What to do when a night is full
Hike-in permits churn more than car camping sites. Groups shrink, someone's knee goes, the forecast turns. Because a booking might be for two people rather than a six-person site, a single cancellation is enough to let a pair in. And because of the 30-day full-refund rule, cancellations bunch up about a month before each busy weekend.
There's no waitlist. A cancelled permit goes straight back on sale.
Aussie Camp Alerts monitors each Southern Circuit camping area separately. A watch covers one area, so for a circuit set one on, say, Refuge Cove for 28 December and another on Little Waterloo Bay for 29 December, and we'll alert you when each night opens. Alerts don't check group size, so confirm there are enough permits for your party. Free plan: one watch, email, 15-minute delay. Summer Pass: up to 10 watches, instant email, Telegram and browser push, A$29 once for 12 months. You book on the Parks Victoria site yourself.
All six camping areas, plus the Lightstation and the Prom cabins and huts, are on the Great Walks hub and the Victoria hub.
Before you walk
- Fuel stoves only. No fires anywhere in the park.
- Carry water treatment; creek water at the camps is untreated.
- No dogs, no drones.
- Telegraph Saddle car park fills early in summer and the road is sometimes shuttle-only on peak days; check the Tidal River and Telegraph Saddle shuttle bus information before you go.
- Tell Parks Victoria (13 1963, info@parks.vic.gov.au) if your plans change, and cancel permits you won't use so someone else can walk.
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