11 sublime places to go camping on the Gold Coast

With an average of 300 sunny days a year, camping on the Gold Coast unleashes lucid exploration in a nature lover’s playground.

Campervan, caravan, trailer, cabin or tent. Whatever your weapon of choice, camping on the Gold Coast offers laidback unwinding amid natural splendour. Spanning kitted-out holiday parks perfect for tireless families, far-reaching campsites flanked by natural wonders and hidden hideaways opening to mountainous views, our pick of the best locations guarantees fun-filled adventure right across the Glitter Strip.

1. Binna Burra Campsite

an aerial view of the mountains surrounding Binna Burra Lodge — Escape to the mountains. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Where: Lamington National Park, 1040 Binna Burra Road, Beechmont
Distance from city centre: 1 hour
Price: $

Amenities: Full shower and toilet facilities that are cleaned every day, coin-operated washing machines, fire pits, electric barbeques, microwave and a communal fridge, plus you can grab milk and ice from the on-site Binna Burra Tea House.

Perks: This ECO-certified paradise is the perfect base camp for people of all ages to explore the Lamington National Park within the Gold Coast hinterland. Wake to the sounds of the rainforest, which encompasses this Gold Coast campground, before taking in breathtaking views from the hinterland to New South Wales’ Tweed. The campsite welcomes tent and swags while a handful of powered drive-on sites invite small campervans. Elsewhere onsite, there’s some of the best Gold Coast glamping, too.

2. The Settlement

The Settlement Camp, Gold Coast — Experience outback living at the Settlement Camp.

Where: Carricks Road, Springbrook National Park
Distance from city centre: 1 hour
Price: $

Amenities: Toilets (but be warned, they don’t flush), a cooking shelter, electric barbeques, and picnic tables. There are no showers or rubbish bins, with campers encouraged to take their rubbish home, or to the Carricks Road community waste and recycling centre. You’ll also need a camping permit , and you’ll need to pay a camping fee , which is $7.25 per night.

Perks: This popular spot offers the only accommodation in Springbrook National Park, hence why it’s often booked out weeks in advance. There are 11 sites for tents, camper trailers and campervans, while caravans are not allowed. Spend your days exploring one of the many hiking trails in the area and evenings getting acquainted with the local glow worm population that put on a show for visitors each night. Avoid the sites closest to the entry if you can because they’re sloped, but no matter where you set up, much-needed shade is readily secured.

3. Ocean Beach Tourist Park

Where: 22 Hythe St, Miami
Distance from city centre: 15 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Showers and flushable toilets, parents’ bathroom, camp kitchen, accessible bathrooms, coin-operated laundry, kiosk, barbecues and a dump point.

Perks: Location, location, location. Ocean Beach Tourist Park sits on prime real estate in one of the Gold Coast’s most booming locales, within a few minutes’ drive from both Burleigh Heads and Broadbeach while offering its own gorgeous stretch of sand and surf. In terms of holiday park excess, this place is fairly stripped-back (no kids’ club and swimming pool, unfortunately) but its proximity to a patrolled beach makes it a hit all year round. Tents, trailers, campers and caravans are all welcome and you can choose from powered and unpowered sites.

4. Broadwater Tourist Park

kids playing in the pool at Broadwater Tourist Park, Gold Coast — Broadwater Tourist Park has two swimming pools with a shallow area for toddlers to safely play and swim.

Where: 169 Marine Parade, Southport
Distance from city centre: 10 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Showers and flushable toilets, accessible bathrooms, barbeques, a boat ramp, bouncing pillow, dump point, Foxtel in the recreation room, kiosk, laundry, playground, two swimming pools, tennis court, gas exchange and a camp kitchen.

Perks: Broadwater Tourist Park offers those laid-back camping vibes the Gold Coast is famous for, all while providing endless entertainment options via Surfers Paradise which is just five kilometres away. There are self-contained air-conditioned cabins, as well as camping and caravan facilities on site, all located off the protected shores of the Gold Coast Broadwater. A stack of water sports is also on hand, plus there are waterfront paths to wander. The Rockpools at Broadwater Parklands is an awesome day out for the little ones, too — a splash park within walking distance from the campsite that’s dotted with fountains, a cascading water feature (even the big kids struggle to leave it), shallow wading area and grass made for picnic rugs and snoozing.

5. Woonoongoora Walkers’ Camp

Where: Numinbah Conservation Area, Springbrook
Distance from city centre: 45 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Hybrid toilet system and nothing else. You’ll also need a camping permit , and you’ll need to pay a camping fee , which is $7.25 per night.

Perks: Have tent, keen to crash? The Woonoongoora Walkers’ Camp is a walk-in camping site on the Gold Coast that invites hikers tackling the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk (a 54-kilometre stretch that links Lamington and Springbrook National Parks) to stay the night. Just 10 sites are up for grabs, with a maximum of 24 campers on-site per night, and it’s just plain old grass to settle into — no concrete. The payoff is sensational views over the cliffs of the Lamington Plateau, a breathtaking corner of the Gold Coast hinterland.

6. Bigriggen Camping and Caravan Park

the Bigriggen Camping and Caravan Park, Gold Coast — Book your own camper trailer or 4WD caravan and stay in the middle of nature.

Where: 196 Bigriggan Road, Scenic Rim
Distance from city centre: 1.5 hours
Price: $

Amenities: Coin-operated hot showers, flushable toilets, dump point, tank water, open fire pits (BYO firewood) and ice for a fee.

Perks: If your perfect camping on the Gold Coast dream entails simply existing in nature with the background hum of wildlife, you’ll love Bigriggen Camping and Caravan Park . Located in the Scenic Rim, between the Gold Coast and Brisbane, the grounds invite visitors to choose their own spot across 60 acres.

30 powered sites are on hand in addition to the tent space, and all will ensure you wake to views of the Logan River before exploring the serene river-hugging surrounds at your leisure.

7. Spring Gully Stays

camping in the Scenic Rim, Spring Gully Stays — Set up camp within the lush Scenic Rim. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Where: 334 Sarabah Road, Sarabah
Distance from city centre: 50 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Toilets, showers and a barbeque area.

Perks: Another hidden secret of the Scenic Rim, Spring Gully Stays accommodates campervans, trailers, tents, and motorhomes, plus there’s a collection of safari tents — perfect for those who fatigue at the thought of setting up shop from scratch. Activities include fishing in the creek, dipping into a freshwater swimming hole, wildlife spotting and spacious grassy lazing.

8. Tamborine Mountain Glades

the Tamborine Mountain Glades retreat, Gold Coast — Invigorate your deep connection to nature at the Tamborine Mountain Glades retreat.

Where: Tamborine Mountain Rd and Cedar Creek Falls Rd, Tamborine Mountain
Distance from city centre: 50 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Six private ensuites (unveiled in early 2025) with open-air rain showers and toilets, a traditional amenities block, camp kitchen with electric grill barbeques and a microwave, dining area, and laundry facilities.

Perks: Tamborine Mountain Glades sits on the same site as the Thunderbird Park adventure attraction, where zip-lining, horse riding, a sky-high Tree Top Challenge, mini excavator park and more beckon. The camping grounds are close enough for you to stroll to it all, making it a no-brainer for families looking to fill the morning before unwinding amid beautiful sub-tropical rainforest. The excellent shops and eateries of Tamborine Mountain are also within a short drive, while Cedar Creek Falls is ready to be explored three minutes around the corner. In even more exciting news, the forthcoming SOL Elements, a Japanese-inspired bathhouse that’s set to open in the second half of 2025, will be housed within walking distance from the campgrounds, on the other side of the property. Both powered and unpowered sites invite tents, caravans and everything in between.

9. BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park

cabin exterior at BIG4 Gold Coast Holiday Park — The family-friendly cabins are well-equipped.

Where: 66-86 Siganto Drive, Helensvale
Distance from city centre: 20 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Where to begin? There’s a water park, waterslide, outdoor pool with shaded cabanas, table tennis, barbecues, kids’ club, basketball court, hireable go-karts, car track for remote control cars, bocce, amenities block, licensed restaurant and more. December 2024 also saw the addition of dog kennels and dog grooming facilities — so they’ve really covered it all.

Perks: It’s the closest caravan and camping spot to the southern cluster of Gold Coast theme parks (that’s Movie World and Wet’n’Wild), making it heavily booked out by families, aka, serious new-friend-making territory, all year round. The powered sites are set on expansive grasslands large enough to accommodate caravans, large rigs, motorhomes, and tents, plus there are creek-facing unpowered sites.

10. Nightfall

an aerial view of Nighfall camping grounds on the Gold Coast — A luxe glamping retreat at Nightfall in Lamington National Park. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland)

Where: 3009 Christmas Creek Road, Lamington National Park
Distance from city centre: 1 hr 40 min
Price: $$$

Amenities: It’s glamping on steroids so expect twin bathtubs, a rotating fireplace, rain showers, timber floors, plush bedding, chef-prepared organic meals, hammocks, spa treatments, yoga sessions and more.

Perks: While many love a good old-fashioned campout amid the elements, some prefer going a little extra. Enter Nightfall , a camping experience on the Gold Coast perfected for couples looking to indulge while reconnecting to nature. In the ultimate overnight under the stars, the glamping experience is capped at just eight guests, set beside the crystal-clear tumbling headwaters of Christmas Creek and Queensland’s ancient Lamington National Park rainforest.

11. Tweed Holiday Parks Fingal Head

Where: 9 Prince Street, Fingal Head
Distance from city centre: 40 minutes
Price: $

Amenities: Direct beach access, barbeques, a children’s playground, laundry, toilets, showers, and Wi-Fi.

Perks: While it technically sits just outside the Queensland border in NSW, Tweed Holiday Parks Fingal Head is a popular choice for Gold Coast holidaymakers who skip back and forth across the ditch to make the most of their escape. Perhaps it’s the plain old proximity to perfect white sand and ocean waves, too.

You’re a stone’s throw from stunning Fingal Head beach and Cook Island (a great snorkelling spot), and just around the headland from Fingal Head Lighthouse. If you’re in the mood for retail therapy or non-barbecued food, Tweed Heads’ main shops are also just a 10-minute drive away.

Feeling fancy? Discover the best luxury accommodation on the Gold Coast

Exploring the world’s largest sand island starts with the perfect K’gari homebase.

The morning light is still soft, but it’s already a perfect sunny day. We left our K’gari homebase at Kingfisher Bay Resort with our guide, Peter Meyer, at 9 am to make the most of our time to explore all that the world’s largest sand island holds. The size of K’gari is hard to grasp until you arrive here. This is no sandbar. Stretching 120 kilometres, unique lakes, mangrove systems, rainforest, 75 Miles of beach, historic shipwrecks, small townships and even one of Queensland’s best bakeries are all hidden within its bounds.

But first, one of the island’s most iconic sights: the pure silica sand and crystal clear waters of Lake McKenzie.

Laying eyes on it for the first time, I’m finally able to confirm that the photos don’t lie. The sand is pure white, without the merest hint of yellow. The water fades from a light halo of aqua around the edges to a deeper, royal blue, the deeper it gets (not that it’s particularly deep, six metres at most). The surface remains surprisingly undisturbed, like a mirror.

Arriving with our guide before 10 am means that no one else is around when we get here. Which means we have the pleasure of breaking the smooth surface with our own ripples as we enter. As a self-confessed wimp with chilly water temperatures, my fears are quickly assuaged. Even in the morning, the water stays around 23 degrees – perfect for lazing about all day. But we have more sights to see.

Exploring K’gari

ariel of in lake mckenzie on k'gari fraser island — Relax in the warm waters of Lake McKenzie. (Image: Ayeisha Sheldon)

This was the Personalised 4WD tour offered by Kingfisher Bay Resort, and my absolute top pick of experiences. Over the course of the day, we had the freedom to create our own bespoke itinerary (plus a provided picnic lunch along the way), with an expert guide who had plenty of stories and local expertise to give context to what we were looking at. From the history of the SS Maheno shipwreck, which survived the First World War only to be washed ashore by a cyclone in 1935, to a detailed description of how an island made of sand could sustain such diverse flora.

If it’s your first time to K’gari, the Beauty Spots Tour is another great option. Departing daily from Kingfisher Bay Resort (you’ll start to notice a trend, as many of the tours do start and end here), an air-conditioned, 4WD bus takes guests to the island’s most iconic locations, including the best places to swim, like Lake McKenzie and Eli Creek. The latter offers a gentle current, perfect for riding with a blow-up tyre out towards the ocean.

The next day, for a look at a completely different side of K’gari, I joined one of Kingfisher Bay Resort’s Immersive Ranger-guided tours to kayak through the mangroves of Dundonga Creek. This long, snake-like stretch of creek winds its way inland from the ocean outlet we entered by, at times too narrow for three kayaks to be side-by-side. Small insects buzz from leaf to leaf, while birds call overhead. Occasional bubbles indicate we’ve passed some fish that call this place home.

kayak tour through the mangroves at k'gari island — Learn about the island’s mangroves from your Ranger. (Image: Reuben Nutt/ TEQ)

If kayaking isn’t for you – or if, like me, you simply want more – other ranger-led experiences include nature walks and a dedicated Junior Eco Ranger Program for kids ages five to 12 (these run every weekend, and daily over the peak December holidays). Just ask for a timetable of upcoming tours when you check in.

While during whale season, Hervey Bay Whale Watch & Charters operates tours from the hotel’s jetty to get up close to the famous Humpback Highway of Hervey Bay, from 7 November to 31 May, attention turns to the Aqua Oasis Cruise . Departing from the resort every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for resort guests, adventure along the island’s remote western coast, pointing out wildlife like dolphins, turtles, flying fish and eagles along the way.

The cruise drops anchor so guests can jump into the water using the boat’s equipment – from SUP boards to inflatable slides and jumping platforms. Then refuel with a provided lunch, of course.

Unwind at sunset

two people drinking cocktails at sunset bar, kingfisher bay resort — Unwind at the Sunset Bar. (Image: Sean Scott)

As much as days on K’gari can be filled with adventure, to me, the afternoons and evenings there are for unwinding. Sunsets on K’gari are absolutely unbelievable, with Kingfisher Bay on the west side being the best spot to catch the colours.

The Sunset Bar , located at the start of the resort’s jetty and overlooking the beach, is the ultimate location for sundowners. Let chill beats wash over you as you sip on cool wines, beers and cocktails in a relaxed, friendly vibe. Personally, a cheese board was also absolutely called for. As the sun sinks, the sand, sea and horizon turn a vibrant shade of orange, with the jetty casting a dramatic shadow across the water.

When the show is over, head back to the hotel for dinner at the Asian-fusion Dune restaurant, or the pub-style Sand + Wood. But if your appetite is still whetted for more lights and colours, the evening isn’t over yet.

Settle into the Illumina stage for Return to Sky, an immersive light and sound show leading viewers on a captivating journey through K’gari’s stories and landscapes.

Indulge and disconnect

woman setting up massage room at kingfisher bay resort Island Day Spa — Find bliss at Island Day Spa. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Of course, there is a type of traveller who knows that balance is important, day or night. While Kingfisher Bay Resort offers more than one pool for guests to spend all day lounging by (they’ll even serve you food and drinks while you do it), you’ll find me at the Island Day Spa.

The masseuses could match the magic hands of any big city spa, and I felt the warm welcome as I walked into the light, breezy reception. Choose from a range of botanical facials, beauty treatments and soothing massages using traditional techniques (obviously, I couldn’t go past a relaxing massage). All products used contain organic, native botanical ingredients with nutrient-rich plant extracts to soothe skin and mind. To really indulge, try out one of the packages, couples treatment or even a pre-wedding day offering.

Getting there

kingfisher bay resort 4wd tour driving passed ss maheno on k'gari island — The world of K’gari awaits. (Image: Jessica Miocevich)

Getting to K’gari is shockingly easy. Find daily flights into Hervey Bay from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Kingfisher Bay Resort offers a shuttle bus between the airport, their headquarters in Hervey Bay and the ferry to take you to K’gari.