How to book Sandy Cape campground near Jurien Bay: Shire release periods, the 9-night limit, availability tips and how to catch a cancellation on SpacetoCo.
About Sandy Cape
Sandy Cape Recreation Park is a coastal bushland campground and nature reserve run by the Shire of Dandaragan, about 12 kilometres north of Jurien Bay on WA's Turquoise Coast. It's popular with campers and day visitors for its sheltered white beaches, which are good for swimming, snorkelling and fishing, and for sandboarding on the dunes.
It's a long-time favourite for Perth families wanting a beach camp within a few hours of the city, and the Shire's caretakers look after the park. Jurien Bay is the nearest town for supplies.
The campsites
The main campground has 112 unpowered sites, each listed individually on SpacetoCo. Sites vary a lot in size: each listing says which setups it suits (from swag or rooftop tent only through to large caravans, motorhomes and coaster buses) and how many vehicles and people it takes. Read the listing before you book, because a site that suits a camper trailer may not fit your van.
According to the Shire's SpacetoCo listings:
- Long-drop toilets, including an accessible toilet
- Cold showers
- Non-potable water only, so bring your own drinking water
- Barbecue facilities, picnic tables and a day-use area
- Bins and wastewater dump points at the information bay at the reserve entry
- Dogs allowed, on a lead at all times
- Generators between 8am and 8pm only, and quiet time from 10pm
- Campfires allowed from 1 April to 31 October (not over the Easter long weekend), in an enclosure only, and never when the Lesueur District fire danger rating is High or above or during a Total Fire Ban. Bring your own wood
There are also bookable 4WD-only camping areas along the coast north and south of the main campground. They're for high-clearance 4x4s with fully self-contained setups, including a chemical toilet, and you must carry out all rubbish and waste.
How booking works
Sandy Cape isn't on Park Stay. Since December 2024, bookings have been required to camp anywhere in the reserve, and they're made through the Shire of Dandaragan's page on SpacetoCo. You need a free SpacetoCo account (one per person, 18 or over), and you pay in full when booking. You also need to enter vehicle registration details. Bookings can't be transferred to someone else.
Under the Shire's booking terms:
- Release period. The Shire releases sites between two and six months ahead, varying by season. Christmas and Easter holidays open only two to three months ahead. The Shire announces release dates on its website and social media.
- Maximum stay. Nine consecutive nights in any 30-day period, unless approved in writing.
- Times. Check-in from 11am, check-out by 10am.
- One booking, one site. Extra vehicles or people beyond a site's limits need a second site.
When it sells out
Christmas, Easter, WA school holidays and long weekends are the crunch periods. Because the Shire opens peak holidays only two to three months out, those release days get busy. Summer weekends also go quickly.
How to get a cancellation
The Shire's terms give a 100% refund, less any booking fees and charges, if you cancel with two or more days' notice before check-in. You can cancel or edit through your SpacetoCo account. That two-day cut-off is the key moment: people tend to drop sites just before it to get their money back.
The Shire also treats a failure to arrive, without letting them know or editing the booking, as a no-show. Your whole booking may then be cancelled and released back for others to book, and a $100 fee may apply. So sites can reappear even after the arrival date.
Since SpacetoCo lists each of the 112 sites separately, checking them all by hand is a slog. Watch Sandy Cape on Aussie Camp Alerts and we'll email you when a site opens up for your dates.
Getting there
Sandy Cape is reached by a well signposted, sealed road suitable for 2WDs, about 12 kilometres north of Jurien Bay off Sandy Cape Road. The 4WD-only coastal camping areas need a high-clearance 4x4, and track conditions change often. Lower your tyre pressures before driving on beaches and tracks, stick to existing tracks, and remember unlicensed off-road vehicles are banned throughout the reserve.
Nearby alternatives
Other WA coastal campgrounds we watch:
- Conto: a large national park camp near Margaret River, south of Perth
- Big Lagoon: further north, in Francois Peron National Park at Shark Bay
- Shelter Bay: a remote Shark Bay camp in Edel Land National Park