Cape Range campgrounds, one by one

The ones on the sealed road

Most of the park's camping sits along the western beach road, between the park entrance and the Yardie Creek crossing. That is the stretch a two-wheel-drive reaches without difficulty, and it is where the choice actually exists.

Osprey Bay is the one with the small-boat launch area nearby, and the one people book first. It has the swimming, the snorkelling and the kayaking on the doorstep, and it is the campground closest to the middle of the reef rather than the edge of it.

Tulki Beach sits near the mouth of a dry creek system and is the closest campground to Turquoise Bay. If the plan is a drift snorkel before breakfast, this is the site that makes it possible without a drive.

Kurrajong is built between sand dunes, and every site is within 150 metres of the beach. That figure is the whole appeal: no site is a long walk from the water.

Neds is small and tucked behind dunes beside a long, narrow beach that is partly protected from strong winds. Most sites have shade, which is not true of every campground on this coast.

North Mandu is small, behind dunes, with partial wind protection. Bungarra is the smallest of the group, described as secluded, with five sites.

Mesa is different from the rest: a beachside campground with some shade that can take large motorhomes and fifth-wheeler caravans.

Yardie Creek sits at the southern end of the park, next to the gorge. It is the last campground before the road surface changes, and the one to book if the gorge walk is the point of the trip.

The surface changes past that point, and from there, 4WD hire is the category rather than a campervan.

The two past the crossing

South of the Yardie Creek crossing there are two more, and both carry the same condition: four-wheel drive only.

One K is about a kilometre south of the crossing. Boat Harbour is about three kilometres south. Both are small. Neither is reachable in a two-wheel-drive campervan, and there is no road on the cape where that changes.

That is the decision the campground list forces. If the two past the crossing are not on the plan, a two-wheel-drive campervan reaches every other site on the list except the one reserved for groups.

That leaves the vehicle to sort before the flight, and campervan hire in Exmouth is the depot page for the town you fly into.

The one nobody can book

North Kurrajong is listed with the rest and is not available to the public: it is reserved for outdoor education providers and commercial tour groups.

There is also Sal Salis, a privately operated eco-tent retreat inside the park boundary. It is not a campground, it is not bookable through the parks system, and entry is for guests only.

What bookable actually means

Bookable means the site is reserved in advance through the parks service, not found on arrival. Three consequences follow.

The first is timing. The campgrounds closest to Turquoise Bay and Osprey Bay fill first, and school holidays fill everything. A cape trip planned around a specific campground needs the booking made before the flights, not after.

The second is the fee. Cape Range National Park charges standard park entry fees on top of the camping fee: $17 per vehicle for a standard vehicle of twelve occupants or fewer, checked 7 November 2026. A valid park pass covers the entry fee but not the campsite.

The third is the alerts page. Campgrounds in the Ningaloo Coast area have been closed for repair after weather damage, and a closure can take a whole campground out of the season rather than out of a night.

What the sites do not have

These are national park campgrounds on a remote coast, and the facilities are basic by design. There is no power, no shop and no water supply at the sites. Whatever the vehicle carries is what the trip has.

That is the argument for collecting in Exmouth rather than arriving empty: the town is the last place to fill water, buy food and check the alerts before the park gate.

One more thing is worth checking before you commit to a site: the wind. Several of these campgrounds are behind dunes for a reason, and the ones with partial protection are named that way because the exposure is real.

If the cape is full

The park is not the only option, and it is not always the best one. Campgrounds outside the park boundary, along the coast south towards Coral Bay, take some of the overflow, and the towns have caravan parks with power and water.