Camping on a budget in South Australia’s National Parks

Get­ting away to spend time with your fam­i­ly or friends in nature doesn’t have to cost a for­tune. So grab your ther­mals, a warm sleep­ing bag and tent and head into one of our nation­al parks for a week­end camp­ing… for under $100!

Here are our top spots to spend a week­end under $100.

Deep Creek Nation­al Park 

Just a short dis­tance from Ade­laide, Deep Creek Nation­al Park is per­fect for a day trip or week­end getaway.

A haven for native wildlife and nat­ur­al beau­ty, campers can encounter kan­ga­roos, echid­nas, and plen­ty of bird species. From June to Octo­ber, you may also catch a glimpse of migrat­ing whales along the coast.

With 5 camp­grounds scat­tered through­out, 4 acces­si­ble by 2WD vehi­cles, Deep Creek Nation­al Park offers the per­fect city escape for those seek­ing adven­ture and relaxation.

Total cost

2 nights camp­ing: $50 ($25 camp­ing per night). Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 100km

Top tip: Fill your week­end with adven­ture by try­ing one of these 10 things to see and do at Deep Creek Nation­al Park

Dhil­ba Guu­ran­­da-Innes Nation­al Park 

Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park offers the per­fect loca­tion for a week­end camp­ing, fish­ing or surf­ing and boasts some of the best coastal views in South Aus­tralia. With the hot weath­er behind us, bush­walk­ers can enjoy explor­ing the park on foot, with trails to suit dif­fer­ent expe­ri­ence lev­els, from 30-minute fam­i­ly strolls to four-hour treks.

Vis­i­tors can enjoy learn­ing about the tumul­tuous mar­itime his­to­ry of the area by vis­it­ing one of the light­hous­es, the ship­wreck of the Ethel and his­toric Inneston, an aban­doned town­ship sur­round­ed by bush. 

Total cost

2 nights camp­ing: $50 ($25 camp­ing per night). Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 284km

Top tip: While explor­ing this stun­ning park, we rec­om­mend tak­ing a pic­nic to the West Cape pic­nic area, where the spec­tac­u­lar coast­line views will take your breath away. You might also like to try qui­et­ly look­ing for rare tam­mar wal­la­bies, which were re-intro­­duced to the park after becom­ing extinct in South Australia. 

Par­ra Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park 

Would you like to spend the week­end immersed in nature? Par­ra Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park is the one for you. This Barossa gem is ide­al for walk­ing, pic­nick­ing, and observ­ing native ani­mal life. The park is also home to the Barossa Gold­fields, where you can dis­cov­er the ruins and the his­to­ry of a once thriv­ing min­ing operation.

Don’t for­get to pack your binoc­u­lars as there are over 100 species of birds liv­ing in the park, includ­ing some cheeky emus you’ll see patrolling the pic­nic grounds. You can see kan­ga­roos graz­ing at dawn and dusk, and on a warm day beard­ed drag­ons and sleepy lizards bask in the sun­shine. If you’re in luck you might also spot a short-beaked echid­na, a shy crea­ture whose dig­gings can be found through­out the park.

Total cost

2 nights camp­ing: $50 ($25 camp­ing per night). Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 38.9km

Top tip: Check out this arti­cle with ideas for the per­fect week­end itin­er­ary for this close-to-Ade­laide gem.

Coorong Nation­al Park

Want to try a new adven­ture? Not sure where or how to begin? Coorong Nation­al Park is an immense­ly pop­u­lar park as it offers every­thing you could pos­si­bly want for a camp­ing week­end. Vis­i­tors come for bird watch­ing, boat­ing, kayak­ing, fish­ing, camp­ing, walk­ing, four-wheel dri­ving and Euro­pean and Ngar­rind­jeri cul­tur­al history.

The seren­i­ty, the sheer diver­si­ty, and the prox­im­i­ty to Ade­laide make it the per­fect spot to try camp­ing. The Coorong is also a wet­land of inter­na­tion­al impor­tance, sup­port­ing many sig­nif­i­cant and endan­gered flo­ra and fauna.

Total cost

2 nights camp­ing: $36 ($18 camp­ing per night). Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 173.46km

Top tip: The icon­ic Aus­tralian nov­el, ​‘Storm Boy’, was orig­i­nal­ly made into a movie in 1976 and in 2019 a con­tem­po­rary reimag­in­ing of the orig­i­nal movie was released. The sto­ry fea­tures the vast beach­es, lagoons and sand dunes of Coorong Nation­al Park, where you can fol­low in the foot­steps of char­ac­ters Storm Boy, Mr Per­ci­val and Fin­ger­bone Bill.

Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park 

Onka­paringa Riv­er Nation­al Park is the per­fect spot for any­one who loves walk­ing. Diverse hik­ing trails take you to cliff tops with mag­nif­i­cent views, or down to per­ma­nent rock pools teem­ing with life. You’ll see rugged ridge tops and the nar­row riv­er val­ley of the spec­tac­u­lar Onka­paringa Gorge.

Lace up your boots and keep your eyes peeled for the remark­able wildlife such as birds, koalas, kan­ga­roos and pos­sums — you may even spot an echid­na. Just next door, to the west of the nation-al park, Onka­paringa Riv­er Recre­ation Park boasts wet­lands, board­walks to explore and kayak­ing opportunities.

Total cost

2 nights camp­ing: $72 ($36 camp­ing per night). Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 35km

Top tip: Relax with friends and fam­i­ly at one of the gor­geous pic­nic areas in the park – some offer BBQs, toi­lets and shel­ter, and all are close to great trails.

Mur­ray riv­er nation­al park

Camp­ing beside the Mur­ray Riv­er is treat not to be missed and the Mur­ray Riv­er Nation­al Park pro­vides a vari­ety of recre­ation­al activ­i­ties such as walk­ing, bike rid­ing, canoe­ing, bird watch­ing and bush camp­ing to enjoy over a week­end. This park is help­ing to con­serve more than 14,879 hectares and includes a vast net­work of Mur­ray Riv­er wet­lands and flood­plains to explore.

Why not pack the car and head to one of the des­ig­nat­ed camp­ing areas and enjoy this stun­ning part of South Australia?

Total cost

2 nights camp­ing: $28 ($14 per night). Dis­tance from Ade­laide: 239.81km

Top tip: Check out the best way to spend a day in Mur­ray Riv­er nation­al park with this handy guide here.

Fees are cor­rect from 1 July 2023 — 30 June 2024.