7 great national parks in South Australia to take your caravan

Car­a­van hol­i­days are an Aussie favourite. Not only do you get to spend time con­nect­ing with nature, they’re also a low cost alter­na­tive to hotels and motels, and you get to take some of your crea­ture com­forts from home with you. 

With your car­a­van in tow, your hol­i­day begins as soon as you arrive at your des­ti­na­tion. You don’t have to spend hours set­ting up a tent, so before long you’ll be sit­ting back in your favourite camp chair enjoy­ing a cup­pa or your favourite cold beverage.

Next time you’re think­ing about a hol­i­day on wheels, con­sid­er stay­ing in one of the 29 nation­al parks in South Aus­tralia that have camp­sites per­fect for car­a­vans. Here are 7 of our favourites for your next adventure:

1. Stringy­bark camp­ground at Deep Creek Nation­al Park

Locat­ed only 100 kilo­me­tres south of Ade­laide in the beau­ti­ful Deep Creek Nation­al Park, this well-equipped camp­ground is nes­tled among a native stringy­bark for­est and offers plen­ty of shade and pro­tec­tion from the ele­ments. It’s a great base to explore the park from, with plen­ty of birdlife to spot and walk­ing trails to explore. 

The camp­ground has 12 sites suit­able for car­a­vans. Facil­i­ties include flush­ing toi­lets, hot show­ers and pic­nic tables. There are fire pits avail­able too, so do your home­work first and make sure it’s not fire dan­ger sea­son, and if the tim­ing’s right bring some fire­wood and a bag of marshmallows.

Before you go: For infor­ma­tion about the dimen­sions of each site and to make book­ing, vis­it the Stringy­bark camp­ground web­page. If you’re look­ing for ideas on what to see and do, check out our guide to spend­ing a day in the park.

2. Mam­bray Creek camp­ground, Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park

Locat­ed 45km north of Port Pire, this large camp­ground at Mount Remark­able has plen­ty of camp­sites suit­able for car­a­vans. You’ll also find acces­si­ble toi­lets, show­ers, rain water tanks and pic­nic tables and fire pits there too.

Many of the camp­sites have shade and wind pro­tec­tion from the majes­tic red gums that line Mam­bray Creek. While you’re there, take advan­tage of the many walk­ing trails that can be accessed direct­ly from the campground.

Before you go: To check out what camp­sites are avail­able and to book your next get­away, vis­it the Mam­bray Creek camp­ground webpage.

Top tip: There’s so much to explore in this great park. To help you make the most of your vis­it, local park rangers Brett Coglan and Niamh Dou­glas have put togeth­er this itin­er­ary for a day in the park.

3. Yang­ie Bay Camp­ground, Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Park

Locat­ed on the shores of tran­quil Yang­ie Bay Sanc­tu­ary Zone in Cof­fin Bay, this camp­ground is a great base for explor­ing Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Park, the Cof­fin Bay town­ship and south­ern Eyre Peninsula.

All 19 camp­sites at this camp­ground are suit­able for car­a­vans with a flat road base, and many of them are dri­ve-through sites, mak­ing manoeu­vra­bil­i­ty a breeze! Camp­ground facil­i­ties include toi­lets, pic­nic shel­ters and com­mu­nal fire places.

Con­trary to pop­u­lar belief, there’s plen­ty of Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Park that can be explored in a two-wheel dri­ve vehi­cle. This includes Point Avoid, Gold­en Island Look­out, Almonta Beach and Yang­ie Bay Camp­ground. But if you want to head north of Yang­ie Bay Camp­ground to explore more of the excep­tion­al pris­tine wilder­ness that this parks offers, you will require a four-wheel drive.

Before you go: To check out the avail­able camp­sites and to book your next Eyre Penin­su­la hol­i­day, vis­it the Yang­ie Bay camp­ground web­page.

4. Pon­dalowie Bay Car­a­van and Trail­ers Camp­ground, Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park

Locat­ed a three-hour dri­ve from Ade­laide on the south­ern tip of Yorke Penin­su­la, Pon­dalowie Bay in Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park is the per­fect loca­tion for a beach get­away. The beau­ti­ful beach and bay is only a short walk away from the two camp­grounds. Surf­ing, fish­ing, boat­ing, swim­ming and snorkelling are all pop­u­lar activ­i­ties to keep you busy.

The Car­a­van and Trail­ers Camp­ground has nine sites suit­able for large car­a­vans and 16 sites suit­able for small­er car­a­vans. All sites are flat with a packed grav­el base, and facil­i­ties include toi­lets, fire pits and a pub­lic phone.

The camp­ground is a great, cen­tral­ly locat­ed base to explore the park from. Check out our one-day itin­er­ary to get the most out of your visit.

Before you go: Check out the avail­able camp­sites and to book your next beach hol­i­day by vis­it­ing the Pon­dalowie Bay Car­a­vans and Trail­ers Camp­ground web­page.

5. Col­li­gans and Black Box Camp­grounds, Lyrup Flats sec­tion, Mur­ray Riv­er Nation­al Park

There’s noth­ing like camp­ing on the banks of the mighty Riv­er Mur­ray. The misty morn­ings and bright sun­ny days make for a great car­a­van­ning hol­i­day. Sit back in your favourite chair with a cup­pa in one hand and a fish­ing rod in the oth­er and relax as you watch the abun­dant birdlife and the pass­ing house­boats while you wait for a fish to bite. 

The Lyrup flats sec­tion of the Mur­ray Riv­er Nation­al Park has sev­en camp­sites suit­able for car­a­vans in the Col­li­gans and Black Box Camp­grounds. Most of the car­a­van sites have access to the riv­er. You will need to come pre­pared though as there aren’t any facil­i­ties in these camp­ing areas oth­er than a toi­let that is about 1km away from the campsites.

Before you go:Check con­di­tions and clo­sures dur­ing high water events. Explore and book your camp­sites by vis­it­ing the Lyrup Flats web­page and check out Ranger Shara’s sug­gest­ed one day itin­er­ary for the park.

6. Pink Gum Camp­ground, Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park

Locat­ed just south of Ade­laide, Pink Gum Camp­ground in Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park is a short walk away from the spec­tac­u­lar Onka­paringa Riv­er Gorge. There’s a num­ber of walk­ing and moun­tain-bike trails that will help you explore the finest remain­ing pock­ets of rem­nant veg­e­ta­tion in the south­ern Ade­laide region. The camp­ground is also close to the winer­ies of the McLaren Vale wine region.

The camp­sites at Pink Gum Camp­ground are flat with a com­pact­ed grav­el sur­face, and three of them are suit­able for car­a­vans. Facil­i­ties at this camp­ground include acces­si­ble toi­lets, wash­ing-up facil­i­ties and fire pits.

Before you go: Vis­it the Pink Gum Camp­ground web­page to check out the camp­sites and check out our handy guide to camp­ing in Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park.

7. Long Point Camp­ground, Coorong Nation­al Park

This small camp­ground in Coorong Nation­al Park offers almost 360-degree views of the Coorong Lagoon – a Ram­sar wet­land of inter­na­tion­al impor­tance. Pop­u­lar activ­i­ties include bird-watch­ing, boat­ing, kayak­ing, fish­ing, walk­ing and four-wheel driving.

There are three sites suit­able for car­a­vans, two of them have a lev­el grav­el sur­face. Facil­i­ties include toi­lets, rain­wa­ter tank, pic­nic tables, jet­ty and boat ramp.

Before you go: Vis­it the Long Point Camp­ground web­page to check out the sites.

Top tip: Want to make the most of your vis­it to this icon­ic park? Check out our one-day itin­er­ary to help plan your visit.

Need more crea­ture com­forts than a car­a­van can offer? Check out which nation­al parks have accom­mo­da­tion for you to hire.

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in Sep­tem­ber 2018.