What Grampians National Park Camping Looks Like Since the Bushfires
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Camping in the Grampians looks different since the 2024-25 bushfires burned through close to 80 per cent of Gariwerd.
The good news is most of the big campgrounds, lookouts and walking tracks are back open, and the last five hike-in camps on the Grampians Peaks Trail only reopened in March 2026.
A handful of spots are still rebuilding, so it pays to check exactly what’s open before you commit to a booking.
What’s Open in Grampians National Park Right Now
Several fires tore through the Serra, Mount William and Victoria Ranges plus the central corridor of the park between December 2024 and January 2025, burning around 135,000 hectares.
Most of the drawcards you’d actually plan a trip around escaped the fire or have since reopened.
Mount Sturgeon, The Pinnacle, Boroka Lookout, Reeds Lookout, the Grand Canyon, Venus Baths and the main vehicle-based campgrounds are all open and safe.
A few things are still closed or under works:
- The Fortress Walk and Fortress Hike-in Camp remain shut due to track damage
- The Red Gum Walk is closed for the same reason
- Mackenzie Falls is mid-construction through most of 2026 – a new viewing platform and carpark upgrade means the walk to the base of the falls, Broken Falls Walk and Bluff Lookout Walk have been closed since 9 February 2026, with works expected to finish by the end of the year
Before you head out, it’s worth calling into Brambuk the National Park and Cultural Centre in Halls Gap. It’s open 9am to 4pm every day and has the most current maps and closure updates.
You can also check Parks Victoria’s live conditions page before you leave home.
If you want the full rundown of what to actually do once you’re set up, my guide to things to do in the Grampians covers the walks and lookouts in more depth.
Best Grampians Campgrounds for Tents and Camper Trailers
These are the main vehicle-accessible national park campgrounds. All of them need booking and prepayment through Parkstay Victoria – before you drive out, since none of them takes walk-ups.
⭐ Stapylton Campground sits in open woodland in the northern Grampians, close to Hollow Mountain, Mount Stapylton and the Taipan Wall climbing area.
It’s wheelchair accessible, has bush showers, and is a solid base if you’re here to hike or climb rather than swim or picnic.
⭐ Troopers Creek Campground is a short drive further north again, just south of Roses Gap.
It’s got two group camping areas that each hold up to 16 people alongside regular tent and vehicle sites, so it’s worth a look if you’re travelling with a big crew.
⭐ Smiths Mill Campground is one of the more central options, about a kilometre from Mackenzie Falls car park and a short drive from Boroka Lookout and Zumsteins Picnic Area.
It has 28 tent sites plus five drive-in sites for camper trailers and caravans. The shower here is a bush shower rather than a hot running one, so it’s really more of a bucket rinse – if you want a proper wash, Halls Gap has a public pool you can pay to use.
⭐ Jimmy Creek Campground sits roughly halfway between Halls Gap and Dunkeld in native bushland next to the Wannon River, with showers and a good spread of day walks nearby.
⭐ Borough Huts Campground is a short drive from Halls Gap on Fyans Creek, and it’s the pick if you want to canoe, kayak or fish from your campsite. It’s also the starting point for the Mount Rosea walk.
On one trip I couldn’t get a site anywhere in Grampians National Park (it was Easter school holiday!), so we camped two nights at Horseshoe Bend in Little Desert National Park instead and only got one day in the Grampians itself.
It was packed, with a group near us playing music until almost midnight, though the Wimmera River running past camp was lovely – book your Grampians sites early so you don’t end up doing the same drive.
⭐ Boreang Campground is the quiet one. It’s out in the Victoria Valley on the park’s less-visited western side, with 23 unpowered sites, drop toilets and untreated water only.
Four-wheel drivers and anyone after real solitude tend to head here first.
Free Grampians Campgrounds and Campsites
If you’re travelling on a budget, three national park campgrounds don’t charge a fee at all.
✔️ Plantation Campground, on the edge of the Mount Difficult Range, has a car park and toilets and allows dogs on a lead
✔️ Wannon Crossing Campground sits by the Wannon River about 35km from Halls Gap, is first come, first served with no booking needed, and doesn’t allow dogs
✔️ Kalymna Falls Campground is small – just five platforms – and tucked near the Kalymna Falls walking trail; also first come, first served
None of these three takes bookings, so if you’re set on one over a long weekend or school holidays, get there early in the day.
Free Camping Just Outside the National Park
If you want a proper campfire and don’t mind stepping outside the park boundary, the wider Grampians region has a handful of free camping spots that locals rate highly.
✔️ Rocklands Reservoir, west of the park near Cavendish, has six free waterside campgrounds – Glendinning, Fergusons, Henry’s, Brodies, Turkey Neck and Mountain Dam.
They’re all first come, first served; most have toilets, and some have fireplaces and picnic tables, though you need to bring your own wood and check the fire rating before you light up.
✔️ Lake Lonsdale, a free reservoir about 20 minutes north of Stawell, has fire pits and toilets, and it’s a handy stopover if you’re driving in from Melbourne on the way to Halls Gap. There’s no drinking water on site, so bring your own.
✔️ Green Hill Lake, just 4km from Ararat, doesn’t take bookings either – you just turn up and pick a spot. Firewood can be bought from the rangers on site rather than collected from the bush, and most campers chip in a small donation towards its upkeep.
✔️ Wannon Falls Reserve, west of Hamilton on the park’s southern side, has a free overnight campground with toilets, picnic tables, barbecues, and it’s pet-friendly too.
None of these four charge a fee or need a booking, so they’re worth keeping in mind if the park’s own free sites are full over a long weekend.
The WikiCamps app is also worth downloading, since it lists plenty of small free and low-cost sites around the region that don’t always show up on the official Parks Victoria pages.
Camping on the Grampians Peaks Trail
If you’re an experienced hiker, the 164km Grampians Peaks Trail from Mount Zero to Dunkeld reopened in full in March 2026, after staged rebuilding of five fire-damaged hike-in camps at Barri Yalug, Duwul, Durd Durd, Yarram and Wannon.
The northern section starts at Mount Zero with its own two-day, one-night hike through Barigar camp, or you can push on with the connecting Gar and Werdug three-day, two-night hike into Halls Gap, taking in rocky ridgelines and clifftop camping.
In the south, the Griffin Trailhead to Dunkeld route through the Djardji-djawara and Mud-dadjug camps is a three-day, two-night option.
Camping fees apply at every hiker camp, and they’re separate from the park’s general camping fee structure, so budget for that on top of your park entry.
Solo hikers doing their first overnight trip should consider going with a Licensed Tour Operator, who can handle transport logistics and permits for you.
For day walk options and other trails around the state, my guide to the best hiking trails in Victoria is a useful companion to this one.
Family Camping and Powered Sites Near Halls Gap
If you want hot showers, a camp kitchen or a pool for the kids, Halls Gap has a few solid private options right on the edge of the park.
⭐ NRMA Halls Gap Holiday Park has an outdoor pool, tennis court, games room and jumping pillow, and it’s dog friendly, with pets staying free on designated sites (two dogs per booking, always on a lead).
⭐ Halls Gap Lakeside Tourist Park sits right on the dam wall of Lake Bellfield, with swimming, fishing and canoeing on the lake plus a glamping option if you’d rather skip pitching a tent altogether.
Both work well for families or first-timers who want the Grampians experience without going fully off-grid.
How Much Grampians Camping Costs
I’m not going to quote exact dollar figures here since Parks Victoria updates its fee schedule yearly, but roughly speaking you’re looking at three cost tiers.
- Free – Plantation, Wannon Crossing and Kalymna Falls campgrounds
- Budget – the other national park vehicle and hike-in campgrounds, charged per night through Parkstay
- Mid-range to one of the pricier options – private holiday parks with powered sites, cabins or glamping tents
One genuinely useful thing to know for 2026 – the Victorian Government brought in half-price camping across Parks Victoria’s bookable campgrounds from July 2025, running for two years, so it’s worth checking current rates on the Parks Victoria fees and charges page before you assume the old prices still apply.
Hiker camps along the Peaks Trail are priced separately and sit outside that half-price discount, since they’re remote sites that need regular helicopter servicing to keep their toilets and water tanks running – check current rates before you book.
Getting to the Grampians
By car, it’s about a three-hour, 260km drive from Melbourne to Halls Gap, or roughly four and a half hours from Adelaide to Horsham on the western side of the park.
If you’re coming off the Great Ocean Road, Dunkeld is only about two hours from the Twelve Apostles – I’ve got the full coastal route mapped out in my Great Ocean Road guide.
By train, V/Line’s Grampians Link runs from Melbourne to Ballarat, with a connecting coach through Ararat and Stawell into Halls Gap. It’s a genuinely workable option if you don’t want to drive.
By air, the closest airports are Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Avalon, both of which need a hire car or coach connection from there.
The Grampians sits within Victoria, so if you’re planning a longer loop it’s worth building this in alongside the Great Ocean Road or a Melbourne base.
Best Time to Camp in Grampians National Park
Spring, from September to November, and autumn, from March to May, are the best windows. The weather is mild, wildflowers are out in spring, and the park is noticeably quieter than summer.
Summer (December to February) is peak season and also fire danger season. The Grampians sits across the Wimmera and South West fire districts, and total fire ban days are common – on those days, campfires and sometimes gas cookers are banned entirely, so check the daily rating before you light anything.
Given how much of the park burned through in 2024-25, it’s worth being extra careful with any fire this year and sticking to the letter of whatever restriction is in place.
Winter is cooler and quieter again, and fine for lower-altitude camping, though a few walking tracks get slippery after rain.
If you’re set on camping over Christmas or Easter, book at least four months out – those campgrounds fill fast.
Know Before You Go
‼️ Camping is only permitted in designated, marked campgrounds – free camping outside these areas isn’t allowed, and rangers do check
‼️ Book every site in advance through Parkstay, including the free ones where a booking isn’t required but a permit still is at some locations
‼️ Dogs are only allowed at a small number of sites, including Plantation Campground and some holiday parks – check the individual campground page first, since most vehicle and all hiker camps ban pets
‼️ Kangaroos and emus wander through campsites regularly, and magpies and currawongs can get pushy around food if they’re used to being fed – keep food packed away and don’t hand-feed anything
‼️ Mobile coverage drops out through large parts of the park, so download the VicEmergency app and grab a paper map from Brambuk before you head in
‼️ Generators, firearms, hunting and unpermitted drone flights are all banned inside the national park
‼️ Three days gives you a proper look at the park if you’re driving between sites, longer again if you’re doing a section of the Peaks Trail
‼️ Large parts of the park are still recovering from the 2024-25 fires, so treat any closed track or road as closed for a real reason, not red tape
