Free Camping

Submitted: Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 11:14
ThreadID: 149257 Views:1365 Replies:10 FollowUps:10
Hi Folks,
Just wanting to gauge the ease to free-camp these days? Obviously this is near impossible in densely populated areas but when more remote, are people still finding it easy to pull up for a night without paying exorbitant fees for a patch of dirt?
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Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 14:32

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 14:32
There are many camp sites operated usually by shire councils that offer low cost short stays. Some of these are in showgrounds or in disused railway station grounds. Some have toilet facilities others have no facilities and require that you are self contained.
Locating these sites can be achieved by using such websites as Camps Australia and similar publications, either online or printed books.
We use these sites frequently not so much to avoid costs but for the informal benefit they offer.
Try Googling “free camps Australia” for more information.
Cheers
Allan

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Follow Up By: Member - Happy Explorer - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 15:35

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 15:35
Hi JA1
I agree with everything Allan said above.
We enjoy bush camping away from the rabble and these are often free or low cost. Show grounds and council free camps are also great and regularly available although in our case not strictly bush camping.
We pulled into the railway yard at Nobby near Toowoomba a couple weeks ago and there was no one there so I enquired from a local if we could till camp there. Later two others turned up so not crowded and I must say it is a top spot with toilets and a store and pub across the street.
Find them and enjoy.
Roy G.
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024 at 21:24

Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024 at 21:24
.
Motherhen, haven’t heard from you for ages. How are you going?
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Reply By: Batt's - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 16:52

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 16:52
Yes but these days to get a spot in some places people are arriving very early making it harder for those who want to get some km under their belt and pull up before or around dusk for eg. My answer may be wrong I was thinking about when travelling.
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 19:58

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 19:58
.
I have noticed that along the major highways at defined rest stops but it has not been a problem in country towns at show grounds or railway stations.
A number of pubs also allow parking out the back for free or the price of a schooner.
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Allan

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Follow Up By: Member - Happy Explorer - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 20:41

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 20:41
You may be right Bratt's.
These days I am generally happy with covering 400 or 500 km in a day and this is easy to bowl over before lunch anyway.
As a general discussion in reply to JA1, I would still say it is not a problem that I have encountered. It is rare that I have moved on from any planned stop because it was crowded out. Along the New England Highway for example there are numerous good free camps on or not far from the highway that are always available.
The recent trip when we stayed at Nobby mentioned above, we stayed at Wallabadah for one night which was peaceful with plenty of space and two nights at Bingara (not on the New England Highway). At Bingara we had waters edge camping on the Gwydir R. which was bliss. While there were plenty of campers there they were generally spaced 50m to 100m apart so were largely out of view of the next camper.
A number of times we have found ourselves the only campers in designated free camps. This is probably not likely to happen along the coast or near costal rivers but things can get quiet back in the higher country.
I could go on for hours however to answers the OP's question, we feel that free/low cost camping is alive and well. Fair to say though, we tend to not do the standard grey nomad thing if possible so that might work to our advantage more that I realise.
Cheers
Roy G.
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Follow Up By: Member - rocco2010 - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 20:56

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 20:56
Yes Roy

Not that familiar with the Eastern States but in WA if you on the way to somewhere, as I usually am, and just want an overnighter it's not hard to find a spot . Often with a toilet on the highways.


A lot will be marked on ExplorOz. David and Michelle check out all the truck bays!

If you looking for a week-long stay somewhere with a view ... chances are there will be others there before you.

Cheers

Rocco

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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 07:21

Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 07:21
Hi Guys,

You need to be aware that “Truck Bays” are not always open to caravaners and campers. They are provided for long haul truck drivers that legally need to stop and take rest breaks. Camping in one of these may mean that a “truckie” has to then continue past his legally required rest stop.

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Reply By: Richard M29 - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 20:59

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 20:59
We free camp anywhere their is a track off the road, so long as it mostly doesn't go to a property. That's all we mostly do, other than farm stay's which are usually pretty cheap. We have dog's so they dictate where we have to stay, and yes you can pretty much do it everywhere.
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Reply By: Garry L - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 21:18

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 21:18
If you are travelling thru Canberra there's a good free camp with beautiful green grass just opposite this white building !
AnswerID: 646896

Follow Up By: Kenell - Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 08:14

Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 08:14
If you choose to camp here there is a high risk that you will be accosted by hand shaking drongos. They're harmless enough but they can be annoying.

Kenell
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Follow Up By: Batt's - Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 22:18

Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 22:18
If your lucky and get there at the right time the locals might be cooking up a meal in their tent they'll probably be happy to share if you buy a T - shirt or something.
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Reply By: IvanTheTerrible - Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 21:55

Thursday, Dec 05, 2024 at 21:55
Not all free camps marked on certain apps are legal camps. We had several removed from Wikicamps because they were on private land only to have someone put them back up.
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Reply By: Member - McLaren3030 - Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 07:31

Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 07:31
Hi JA1,

We mostly camp Off Grid, and have not had any real problems finding somewhere to pull off the road for the night. We generally start looking for a suitable spot from around 3:30 to 4:00 pm. Gravel pits, and communication towers which are normally set off the road are good places to camp, they generally have flat areas around them.

As I stated in another reply, Truck Rest Stops are not really placed there for caravaners and campers. They are provided for “truckies” so that they have somewhere for them to stop and take take their legally required rest breaks. We never use a truck parking stop.

As others have mentioned, a lot of country pubs offer free or cheap camping spots, often just for the price of having a meal at the pub. A good reference book as well as those already mentioned is the HEMA Road & 4WD Atlas, not cheap, but well worth the money. I use it along with Exploroz Traveller and Google Maps to help plan our trips.

Macca.
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Reply By: North 200 - Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 11:33

Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 11:33
National Parks are run by grubs, most of our old camping sites have been closed down.

Nowadays we just disappear down any tracks into the scrub we can find.
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Reply By: Member - peter g28 - Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 19:21

Friday, Dec 06, 2024 at 19:21
There were plenty of good free camps around many parts in Far North NSW we use to visit for days at a time but with the advent influenzers and their "look at me" social media postings, these places have either been closed by the local councils because of the mess campers leave behind or have become so crowded it's not with staying.
Speaking to several people pretty familiar within the "Recreational Industry", they mentioned figures of about 60,000 people on the road on a daily basis in their mobile setup.
This figure over the last couple of years has increased due to affordable housing issues and on first hand basis I have come across people who permanently live in their vans because they can not afford a house / unit.
They live in the general district but move around every couple of days to placate the local council rangers from being fined by overstaying their welcome.
So for us, we generally stay at Showgrounds or Station stays if we want to do camp in "civilisation" on some occasions, the prices are pretty reasonable and you still get some decent space to set up.
That being said, when we find a decent "off grid " camping location that we want to come back too, I just "note" it in the Traveller app under my "Off Grid" folder..
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Reply By: ExplorOz - David & Michelle - Saturday, Dec 07, 2024 at 01:37

Saturday, Dec 07, 2024 at 01:37
Absolutely you can! Theres no shortage of free/low cost camps but the issue is being able to get in/availability - the number of RVs touring is astounding so you need to get smart if you want to improve your chances of finding the good camps that arent packed out.

First, youll find many listed in the ExplorOz Traveller app and you can see precise details on the map of the location.

We seem to have no trouble finding spots on the day we arrive. We have been touring fulltime around Australia for the past 12 months and we have a bit of a system that works for us. Each state is different but the same principles to easily finding availability at free or low cost camps apply:

1. Avoid the coast
2. Avoid being within a 2 hour radius of a city from Fri - Sunday or long weekends or school holidays
3. Avoid being in a region during its peak season
4. Check site availability on National Park websites to get a gauge of popularity and look for less popular locations. We rarely book sight unseen and then if we like it and have no service we setup Starlink and book it on arrival.
5. Avoid camps with bitumen access
6. Seek State Forests and 4wd tracks
7. Avoid the locations people promote/recommend
8. Plan your route using EOTopo maps and steer clear of main roads, become familiar with the colour of shaded map areas indicating state forest and explore alternate routes through those areas.

Obviously if you dont tow a big van its so much easier to use the above principles.

Personally, we never stay in towns and rarely know where we’re headed in the next 2 hours and have no problems. You will always find a camp in state forests and whilst National Parks need online booking they are only $7.25pp/night in Qld, and $6.30 - $24 pn in NSW plus some have no nightly fee but just have a $6 booking fee and theres tons of them. Hardly exhorbitant!!

In 2022-2023 we did a lot of remote WA in both the north and south but also the whole central Australia (and again did central WA/NT this year. Those regions offer tons of free bush camps along the dirt highways and minor tracks but most of the coastal camps and high profile locations need booking well in advance eg Kimberley, Karijini, Ningaloo, Dirk Hartog, Esperance beaches BUT there are hundreds of awesome free camps in the Wheatbelt esp at great spots like the many granite rocks.

We’ve just spent Aug - Dec in Qld and northern NSW initially chasing waterfalls in the wet tropics then exploring the Great Dividing Range taking as much unsealed routes as we could and we have mostly been camping in National Parks that offer decent hikes. Theres hardly been anyone around and these are indeed low cost camps. Earlier this year we did 3 monthsTAS almost completely free and unplanned, and all free in Vic and usually no one at the sites we’ve chosen or only 2-3.

We will be in Tas again in Jan & Feb, then March in Vic, prob April in SA and feel confident in finding free or low cost camps as we roam.

Heres a photo of a recent free camp we stumbled upon a few nights ago in the Barrington Tops region (state forest).


And heres another not far out of Armidale.





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Follow Up By: ExplorOz - David & Michelle - Sunday, Dec 08, 2024 at 09:26

Sunday, Dec 08, 2024 at 09:26
I should clarify that many of the showgrounds, and Rv stops and station stays now charge MORE than what we consider “low cost” and a LOT more than National Parks. Take for example $35 at many showgrounds, and also council or water corp operated dams - vs $7.25per adult ($14.50) per couple at a Qld NP. Also most of the Hipcamp listed private properties are charging far too much - $50pn is not unusual ($25pp) and often you dont get power and water for that so they are at the price of a Discovery Park!

Also, look carefully at the real cost of NSW NP camping whilst SOME do indeed require a park entry fee charge on top of camping fees we have not yet been to any of these as many of the remote/less popular spots are free.
David (DM) & Michelle (MM)
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Follow Up By: Member - Cuppa - Tuesday, Dec 17, 2024 at 16:02

Tuesday, Dec 17, 2024 at 16:02
Very pleased (& a bit relieved) although not overly surprised at what you've posted David & Michelle.

Sounds like things are still pretty much as we've always found them, but having been 'off the road' since June '23, and reading various internet sources it would be easy to get the impression that the opportunities for free camping have dwindled enormously, & possibly they have for the hordes who follow the well beaten track. However for slow travellers like us, with a preference for bush & off the beaten track it still sounds just fine.

I have regularly read recommendations for Hipcamps, which have sounded appealing, but I agree they charge far too much & were it not for your prior warning I would have been shocked to roll up at some showgrounds only to be asked for more than $10pp/pn.
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Reply By: Michael H9 - Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024 at 07:06

Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024 at 07:06
In NSW, State Forests are good. There's no booking fees and no charge, plus the toilets are usually pretty good. Wiki camps has been excellent for me. You have to steer clear of populated areas. You can stop in a roadside rest area if you don't setup a camp, basically pull up and go to sleep. They exist to stop you driving while tired.
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