Girraween National Park is on the boundary of Jukambal, Bundgalung and Kamilleroi Country. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians who met and continue to meet in this area and their connection to Country. I pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
Girraween National Park in Queensland’s Granite Belt is a fabulous place to spend a few days or a long weekend. The huge granite boulders are just so different from much of the rest of Queensland.
Located almost at the border to New South Wales, the scenery and hiking opportunities at Girraween are superb. It’s a great camping destination for a long weekend.
We haven’t gone over long weekends so it’s been reasonably quiet for us (not empty but also not party town). But expect things to be busy and noisy during the school holidays and long weekends.
Girraween is a popular place.
Camping at Girraween means you’re really close to many of the hiking trails in the national park. If you want to explore the northern and southern trails in the park, you won’t have to get in your car at all.
They’re all right there, waiting just outside your tent.
CAMPING AT GIRRAWEEN NATIONAL PARK
During the pandemic, the camping areas at Girraween National Park had a major facelift, including additional camping areas and some brand new amenities blocks. There are now large sites for caravans and camper trailers as well as smaller sites for tent-based camping.
Like at all camping areas in Queensland’s national parks, you need to pre-book your site.
You can’t book specific campsites at any of the camping areas. You can only choose the camping area, your actual site is on a first come/first serve basis.
If you fondly remember the hot showers at Girraween, I’ve got bad news for you. They’ve been removed.
You can still have a shower at Castle Rock but you’ll need to bring your own shower system and heat up the water yourself. The shower cubicles still exist but there are no taps or shower heads, just a hook for hanging your own shower.
NEW AREAS FOR CAMPING AT GIRRAWEEN
From previously two camping areas, you now have the choice of three spots for camping at Girraween. Two of these are completely new.
The old Castle Rock camping area remains, albeit with a different layout of the camping bays. It is still more of an open space but with lots of trees.
The brand new Terrawambella camping area is completely exposed and only suitable for caravans and camper trailers. The (also very new) Kambuwal camping area has a mix of smaller caravan, trailer and tent sites with some offering more shade than others.
All three camping areas are now connected and entered through the same entrance, i.e. they are all on the southern side of the road. To get to Castle Rock, you first drive past Terrawambella and then Kambuwal.
The old Black Rock camping area is now defunct and the entrance is blocked off. You can still walk through it and make out the previous (lovely bushy) campsites. The road is washed out though and things are getting wild in there.
CASTLE ROCK CAMPING AREA
The layout of the Castle Rock camping area has been completely redesigned with some of the older grassy areas remaining for tent-based camping. Some of the larger grassy areas are now marked bays for caravans or camper trailers.
Since there are lots of campsites at Castle Rock, it can feel rather busy here depending on bookings.
TENT-BASED CAMPSITES
Castle Rock has a couple of large grassy areas for tent-based camping as well as a few tent platforms along the edges of the campground. In-between are large, gravel-based sites that are suitable for camper trailers, campervans or caravans.
There are a fair few shady spots at Castle Rock, especially in the middle grass section, but you’ll be sharing the site with others as these areas are just open sites.
The sites with platforms for tents seem to be pretty close together (I’m not a fan, I like my own space). Others are quite slopey so all in all, I didn’t love the setup for tent-based camping at Castle Rock.
That said, if you’re in a bigger group, you’ll probably want to camp at Castle Rock. The larger grassy areas in the middle will be more suitable than anything at the other two camping areas.
CAMPSITES FOR PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY (PWD)
The other new feature at Castle Rock is two campsites specifically for persons with a disability (PWD). There’s nothing particulary special about these sites other than that they are large and flat, and set up right next to an accessible toilet block (which seemed to get a fair bit of use by everyone).
I didn’t see anyone actually camping in these specific sites while we were there but I do appreciate the effort by QPWS to make the outdoors more accessible for people with a disability.
I haven’t seen these sorts of sites at any other national park in Australia yet (not saying they don’t exist, just haven’t come across any yet).
CAMPSITES FOR CARAVANS, CAMPERVANS AND CAMPER TRAILERS
There are 15 designated campsites for small camper trailers or caravans as well as three sites for larger vehicles at Castle Rock.
They are clearly marked so if you’re tent campers like us, you’ll need to find an area that’s specifically for tents.
Some are around the outside (less shade) and some smack-bang in the middle (more shade).
AMENITIES
Amazingly, the old (but renovated) amenities block at Castle Rock still has flush toilets and as mentioned, shower cubicles but no actual showers anymore. It’s BYO shower now.
CASTLE ROCK CAMPING AREA AT A GLANCE
PROS: Easily accessible (2WD); clean flush toilets; shower cubicles (BYO hot water and shower bag); untreated water; close to walking tracks; lots of wildlife; offers a variety of sites, incl. some with tent platforms and picnic tables
CONS: First come first serve basis (can't pre-book specific sites); open space area that can feel packed if busy; some semi-shaded areas but very hot during summer; more suited to groups who want little privacy; access to cars can be a bit tricky/further away depending on site (for tent-based sites)
COST: $7.25 pp/pn (2024); pre-bookings required
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING: 2.5/5
KAMBUWAL CAMPING AREA
The new Kambuwal camping area is my preferred area for camping at Girraween.
It’s in a lovely bush setting with granite boulders and trees as a backdrop.
Kambuwal offers clearly defined sites, quite a few of them with picnic tables. It’s a mix of caravan/camper trailer sites (8) and tent-based sites (13), all clearly marked to indicate which is which.
There are a couple of sites that are a bit uninspiring as they’re directly on the road side. Some others are a bit slopey but these also offer the most privacy and lots of shade, which would be great in the warmer months.
You can’t really get your car onto most of the tent sites the way they’re designed unless you have a rooftop tent. Some sites are also elevated so getting your car onto the site wouldn’t work here either.
Luckily, we had enough shade in our site so didn’t feel we needed our awning out. That would have been a bit awkward given that our site was somewhat elevated from the parking space.
There’s also a new toilet block at Kambuwal with separate sinks on one side and a couple of standard powerpoints if you need to charge anything.
KAMBUWAL CAMPING AREA AT A GLANCE
PROS: Easily accessible (2WD); clean flush toilets; untreated water; close to walking tracks; most sites are relatively flat and (semi-)shaded; most tent sites have tent platforms/compacted sand and picnic tables; nice bush backdrop
CONS: First come first serve basis (can't book specific sites); some sites are very close together and offer little privacy
COST: $7.25 pp/pn (2024); pre-bookings required
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING: 3/5
TERRAWAMBELLA CAMPING AREA
Terrawambella is by far the most uninspiring camping areas of the three. That said, it’s built for purpose to offer large spaces to caravans and camper trailer setups.
We haven’t actually camped in this section since we’re tent campers and there are no sites for tents here.
It’s a relatively small camping area with only 11 sites but each site is fairly large (12x9m). There’s also one site that can accommodate two camper trailers, and one group tent site intended mostly for school groups. Check QPWS for all the details.
There’s a toilet block within the camping area so you don’t have to walk far.
TERRAWAMBELLA CAMPING AREA AT A GLANCE
PROS: Easily accessible (2WD); clean toilets; untreated water; close to walking tracks; large individual sites suitable for bigger caravan, camper trailer setups or motorhomes
CONS: Open space (no privacy or shade); all traffic (vehicle + pedestrian) goes past camping area
COST: $7.25 pp/pn (2024); pre-bookings required
As with almost every national park in Queensland, take your rubbish home. No bins are provided.
Happy camping,
MORE INFORMATION
Find more information about camping at Girraween National Park, including weather alerts, directions and how to book online, check out Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service. Here’s a map showing the different camping areas at Girraween.
MORE POSTS ON CAMPING IN QUEENSLAND’S GRANITE BELT
If you want to camp at Bald Rock National Park on the New South Wales side, check out my post on camping at Bald Rock to find out more.
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