Where last-minute Easter campsites are available in South Australia’s national parks

Autumn is a great time for camp­ing as the cool­er tem­per­a­tures mean you can com­fort­ably hike dur­ing the day and snug­gle up in your camp­site at night. 

The 2021 East­er long week­end (Fri­day 2 April to Mon­day 5 April) is a fam­i­ly favourite for gath­er­ing togeth­er and enjoy­ing nature. Camp­sites in South Australia’s nation­al parks can be booked up to 12 months in advance and this means that many book out ear­ly in hol­i­day times. 

Sites in pop­u­lar parks includ­ing Cof­fin Bay Nation­al Park, Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park, Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park and Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park are booked out. 

If you’re look­ing for a last minute book­ing, get ready for an adven­ture – there are lots of hid­den camp­ing spots in less­er-known parks that are fur­ther away from Ade­laide, and in sites that are acces­si­ble only by hik­ing, cycling, canoe­ing or boat­ing in. 

You’ll need to book online before you go and if you’re after beach camp­ing or seclud­ed spots you’re in luck. Here’s a list of places where you can still book in: 

Eyre Penin­su­la

Acra­man Creek Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Acra­man Creek – be quick, these sites are sell­ing fast

Fowlers Bay Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Mex­i­can Hat Flat Campground
• Mex­i­can Hat Head­land Campground
• Scotts Beach Campground

Gawler Ranges Nation­al Park

• Kolay Hut Campground
• Mat­tera Campground
• Scrub­by Peak Campground
• Yandin­ga Camp­ground – be quick, these sites are sell­ing fast 

Lin­coln Nation­al Park

• Wise­mans Shack Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it
• Wood­cut­ters Beach Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it 

Nullar­bor Nation­al Park, Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area and Region­al Reserve

• Koon­al­da

Wit­tel­bee Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Wit­tel­bee Campground

Yellabin­na Region­al Reserve

• Mt Finke Campground

Yum­bar­ra Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Googs Lake Camp­ground – be quick, these sites are fill­ing fast

Fleurieu Penin­su­la

Deep Creek Nation­al Park

• Eagle Water­hole Camp­ground – you’ll need to hike in

Tolderol Game Reserve

• Tolderol Camp­ground

Flinders Ranges & Outback

Innam­inc­ka Region­al Reserve

• Cullya­mur­ra Waterhole
• Police­mans Campground

Kati Than­da-Lake Eyre Nation­al Park

• Hal­li­gan Bay Point Campground

Malkum­ba-Coongie Lakes Nation­al Park

• Malkum­ba-Coongie Lakes Campground

Vulkathun­ha-Gam­mon Ranges Nation­al Park

• Grindells Hut Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it
• Italowie Gap Campground
• Main­wa­ter Well Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it
• Wee­t­oot­la Gorge Camp­ground, Wiri­ti Urdla

Witji­ra Nation­al Park

• 3 O’clock Creek Campground
• Dal­housie Springs Campground

Note: It’s a manda­to­ry require­ment to pur­chase a Desert Parks Pass if you are trav­el­ling east of Dal­housie Springs in Witji­ra Nation­al Park. 

Kan­ga­roo Island

Cape Gantheaume Con­ser­va­tion Park and Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area

• D’Estrees Bay Camp­ground – be quick, these sites are fill­ing fast

Flinders Chase Nation­al Park and Ravine Des Casoars Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area

• Harvey’s Return Campground
• West Bay Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it

Note: fer­ry book­ings to Kan­ga­roo Island can sell out around hol­i­day times, so Kan­ga­roo Island parks might only be an option if you’re a local, if you’ve already booked your fer­ry, or if you’re hap­py to fly to the island. 

Mur­ray River

Bool Lagoon Game Reserve and Hacks Lagoon Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Bool Lagoon Campground

Dang­gali Con­ser­va­tion Park and Wilder­ness Pro­tec­tion Area

• Dang­gali Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it

Karte Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Karte Camp­ground

Ngarkat Con­ser­va­tion Park

• Box Flat Campground
• Bucks Camp Campground
• Comet Bore Campground
• Coxs Wind­mill Campground
• Dog­gers Hut Camp­ground – be quick, these sites are sell­ing fast
• Per­ten­di Hut Campground
• Pine Hut Soak Campground
• The Gums Campground
• The Pines Camp­ground – you’ll need a 4WD to access it
• The Pines Camp­ground (4WD)

South East

Coorong Nation­al Park

• Boat­ing Based Camp­ing (Coorong Lagoon) – you’ll need a boat to access it
• Loop Road, Car­a­van Sites
• Non-vehi­cle Based Camp­ing – you’ll need to hike, cycle, kayak or canoe in
• Ocean Beach Camping
• Tea Tree Cross­ing Campground

Avail­abil­i­ty at these camp­grounds for the East­er long week­end is cor­rect as of Mon­day 29 March, 2021. 

Top tip: Camp­sites can be booked 12 months in advance, so if you’ve missed out this year you can always get hop­ping to book ahead for next Easter.

New to camp­ing? You might be inter­est­ed in read­ing these blogs:tips for begin­ners,camp­ing dos and don’ts,essen­tials to packandeasy camp­fire recipes.

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in March 2018 and has been updat­ed with cur­rent camp­site availability.

(Main image cour­tesy of @austravelia, Instagram)