The best campgrounds near Stanwell Tops, New South Wales with climbing

Go camping in NSW near natural wildlife, relaxing pools, and coastal hotspots—all accessible from Stanwell Tops. Campers can explore historic tunnels in search of glow worms at Old Helensburgh Station, then stay at in-town holiday parks with powered and unpowered sites or ensuite family cabins. Symbio Wildlife Park promises unique animal encounters, and Dharawal National Park offers great hiking and relaxation at on-site beachfront campsites. January through May is a prime time to go off-grid at remote campgrounds near Royal National Park. Overnight shelters inside the park are handy for early morning cliff walks and excursions to scenic waterfalls.

97% (273)

Top-rated campgrounds

Go camping in NSW near natural wildlife, relaxing pools, and coastal hotspots—all accessible from Stanwell Tops. Campers can explore historic tunnels in search of glow worms at Old Helensburgh Station, then stay at in-town holiday parks with powered and unpowered sites or ensuite family cabins. Symbio Wildlife Park promises unique animal encounters, and Dharawal National Park offers great hiking and relaxation at on-site beachfront campsites. January through May is a prime time to go off-grid at remote campgrounds near Royal National Park. Overnight shelters inside the park are handy for early morning cliff walks and excursions to scenic waterfalls.

97% (273)

Top-rated campgrounds

1. Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

94%

(152)

73km from Stanwell Tops · 10 sites · Tents, RVs · Joadja, NSW

Escape to 100 acres of natural beauty, where 60% of the land is pristine bushland perched high above the Wingecarribee River. Our 4 secluded campsites offer the perfect retreat for nature lovers, with walking tracks, bush climbing adventures, and exceptional stargazing on clear nights. We’re a pet-friendly getaway—dogs are welcome on-leash and under control. Share the space with our friendly farm animals, including horses, a donkey, an alpaca, and free-ranging peacocks, chooks, ducks, and guinea fowl. Our property is fully off-grid, so campers must be self-contained and follow a leave-no-trace policy. To enhance your stay, we’ve recently added a flush toilet, outdoor sink, and cold shower, centrally located near the homestead due to the natural landscape. It’s a short walk from most sites and fully lit at night for easy access. Each site has its own firepit. Firewood is plentiful, fresh drinking water is available, and we can provide table and chair setups on request. Located just 30 minutes from Mittagong and 20 minutes from Berrima, you're close to great restaurants and cafes, lots of boutique shopping, weekly markets, award-winning cellar doors, and world-class distilleries and farm experiences. Don't miss the World Heritage-listed Joadja town and distillery, just a 15-minute drive away. To make your stay even more special, indulge in one of our gourmet hampers filled with the best local produce. Discover the Southern Highlands—peaceful, adventurous, and unforgettable.

2. Dharawal Camp

99%

(164)

18km from Stanwell Tops · 1 site · Tent, RV · Wedderburn, NSW

Dharawal Camp offers all the benefits of glamping. Enjoy a peaceful night's rest in your tent/vehicle, then hop out of bed and enjoy the peaceful surrounds of the cabin with access to a kitchen area supplying rainwater. With the secluded bush surroundings and the quiet, it's hard to believe you're only an hour away from Sydney. You might even see a Koala There is strictly no accomodation in the Cabin. The camp features a camping toilet and bathing facilities, gas bbq, a kitchen washing area, NO FRIDGE, a recreation space and dining table when the weather is bad. All you need to do is roll out your swag. Campers are encouraged to take their rubbish with them. There is access to power for campervans/caravans. Warm your toes at the outdoor fireplace whilst you chat with friends. (Please bring own firewood). You will be a 10 minute drive from the beautiful Dharawal National Park which has wonderful swimming holes and bush walks. The site is 15 minutes drive from Campbelltown, which offers all amenities of a large metropolitan city.

3. Calabash Haven

93%

(23)

69km from Stanwell Tops · 5 sites · Tents, RVs · Arcadia, NSW

Welcome! Lovely to see you here. Our property is located in Arcadia, just 45 minutes from Sydney CBD. The campsite is located on the high side of the property that looks over into the valley & has stunning views of the Berowra National Park. There is a multitude of walking, hiking and mountain bike trails. There are also many nearby horse riding trails. The property backs on to Calabash Creek which is like a rain Forrest once you get down to the valley floor. Berowra waters is near by, whereby many fishing, canoeing, boating activities are available, coupled with some great cafes/restaurants. Campfires are allowed as long as there are no restrictions in place and they are supervised. Pets are welcome and can be off leash, however are the responsibility of their human parents. The property has ample room to accommodate larger groups that might want to hold milestone celebrations such as Birthday parties, whereby all sites will be closed to accommodate such events. Recently Calabash Haven hosted a party of 50 people for 50th Bday celebration. Feel free to inquire to see if we can accommodate your needs. Campers must be self contained with their own camping toilet and take all waste with them on departure.

4. Bendameer

100%

(21)

48km from Stanwell Tops · 1 site · Tent, RV · Tongarra, NSW

Bendameer is a 100 acre hobby farm running beef cows on the South Coast. The farm is located just 15min drive to pristine beaches or 10min drive to national parks, walking tracks and swimming holes. We provide Elevated camp sites over looking Lake Illawarra and Warilla Beach or stay on the farm and enjoy bush walking to water fall and swimming holes plus heaps of other attractions close by.

Stories from the community

S

Simon

2 weeks ago

Tent

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Drive in is beautiful through the open paddocks then once in property driving through sets the tone of a quite stay and peaceful, sunset is a smaller private spot loved the table and chairs Leanne has set up to enjoy breaky and dinner especially as it was a bit of stormy weather. The peacocks sound great and loved their calling noises during my stay. The walks on the property are nice simple walks but enjoyable but must do the George walk absolutely stunning. Whilst I am a complete self contained camper the toilet and shower was really nice and great set up

Lauren

3 weeks ago

6 m pop-up camper

With kids

Weekend Trip to Dharawal Camp

2nd visit to this beautiful place. Everything you need to have a wonderful stay. Kids had a great time as well! 😀

M

Miroslaw

3 weeks ago

Tent

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Camp site was gorgeous. The only think keep in mind that you on the big rock. So will be hard to safe you tent to the ground. Nice animals on farm, donkey and lama, dogs and chickens. Host is very nice and helpful.

S

Sally

November 2025

5 m car

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Private and pretty place to camp. Great is have a toilet and shower. The show stopper is the gorge views. Would highly recommend.

E

Earl

October 2025

5 m Class B

With pets

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

We enjoyed our stay at Leanne’s property. We stayed at Sunset which had a lovely view facing west and the camping spot was neat. The camping ground has a slight incline but it can be managed easily. Great campfire pit and a table and 4 chairs provided. Plenty of wood around to make fire. Recommend the walk down near the gorge campsite, the views of the canyon are breathtaking. Leanne was very friendly too!!

Chris

October 2025

5 m pop-up camper

With pets

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Great camping in "The paddock." Being fully fenced was great for the dogs to have some freedom and plenty of soace for the kids. The kids also loved being able to get up close with the animals. Toilet/shower facilities are really good. Host responded super quick to any messages and was very helpful.

E

Emily

October 2025

Tent

With pets

Weekend Trip to Dharawal Camp

Our first time camping with the kids and we had a great time. The cabin with drinking water and toilet/shower was very convenient and very useful for storing things. Outdoor pizza oven was a big success. Was great to find a camp site so close to Sydney where we could also take our dogs. A short drive to the national park where we enjoyed hiking with the kids to the Minerva Pool.

A

Andrew

October 2025

8 m pop-up camper

Group trip

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Great location, nice and peaceful. Looking forward to going again.

Linda

October 2025

3 nights at Dharawal Camp

Such a quiet place, the cabin was handy and had games, a ping pong table, electricity, a shower, toilet, fire pit, outdoor wood stove and hot water. Plenty of space for two tents, a swag and a 3x3m gazebo, 4 adults, 2 kids and a dog. The owner even come down to say hello and then left us alone for the rest of our trip. Was close enough to major shops but far enough away that you felt like you were in the middle of nowhere.

B

Ben's

October 2025

Tent

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

The environment at this camp was undoubtedly very peaceful to experience. The well-maintained grounds allowed for a sense of tranquility to be felt. There was ample space between areas, which ensured privacy and a sense of seclusion. This aspect truly contributed to a more relaxed stay for everyone. Overall, it was a great environment for a peaceful retreat.

M

Michael

October 2025

5 m car

1 night at Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Great place to stay. We spent a tremendous evening on sunset and were all on our own.

A

Anne-Kathrin

October 2025

Tent

With pets

Weekend Trip to Dharawal Camp

We had the best long weekend here. Our group of 10 friends plus a Labrador puppy enjoyed the super well setup campsite with a well organised campfire area and extra smooth and flat camping area. The hut with power, running (hot) water, clean compost toilet, a gas bbq, pizza oven, ping pong table and cooking basics made life super comfortable and easy and David was lovely too. This is probably our favourite campsite ever.

H

Hadrian

October 2025

6 m Class B

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Joadja Gorge camp was really good. We stayed up the top, it was peaceful and easy. Leanne was very helpful.

T

TRH

October 2025

Tent

With kids

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

I loved the camping and the paddock! The place is amazing soo big, and it was almost all to ourselves. We found some good spots to put the tents in a flat surface and there is firewood everywhere. Leanne is amazing, she took our kids to look for some eggs that the ducks just laid and we got to eat them. The facilities are great also, always clean and well look after. Thank you again for the hospitality, we had a great time

A

Alasdair

October 2025

Tent

With kids

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Fabulous stay at Sunset campsite. Thanks very much

L

Luke

October 2025

5 m car

With kids

Weekend Trip to Calabash Haven

Super convenient to get to, Alex was great to deal with and this is the perfect camp for anyone with young children looking to get them started in their camping experience or groups that maybe don’t have experience going remote.. grounds were clean and really well kept, great views and easy in/out access for vehicles and flat ground for setup..

F

Felicia

October 2025

Tent

With pets

2 nights at Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Great camp-site, nice and private. The amenities were great with a flushable toilet. It was very windy though, bring extra pegs for your tent!

A

Allison

October 2025

6 m Class B

Group trip

4 nights at Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

We loved camping at Leanne’s property. The Paddock was clean and flat and great spot for the campfire. Heaps of room for 4 campers and a communal area. The toilet and shower was clean and close enough for the sites. Great walks and views over the gorge. We loved having Nelly the donkey and Claude the alpaca to visit each day, listening to the peacocks and chooks, seeing the dogs each day. Relax, unwind and enjoy!

s

steven

September 2025

Tent

With kids

Weekend Trip to Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Beautiful property for a night or two. Perfect place for kids to explore while adults relax by the fire.

Victoria

September 2025

Tent

2 nights at Joadja Gorge Retreat & Camping

Great spot for a pretty sunset over the trees and a quiet, private camp. The property is easy to find, there are great walking trails, awesome views of the gorge and short walk to amenities. My only tip for this campsite is reconsider if windy, even in the slightest. Although winds were supposed to die down in the evening, we got smashed with wind gusts every so often that prohibited our fire (campsite is super dry and wind-tunneling) and bent our tent. No stargazing either :(

Happy farmer sitting in a truck in a grassy field

The best camping near Stanwell Tops with climbing guide

Where to go

Symbio Wildlife Park

Campers with families will want to plan a fun day at Symbio Wildlife Park. This private zoo and wildlife park offers opportunities to feed kangaroos, cool off in a splash park, or run off energy at an on-site playground. Reserve a pitch nearby at holiday parks that welcome pets, allow campfires, and provide toilets and water hookups. Or find cabin rentals near the beach for a cosier stay. Families who want to see the animals at their liveliest can visit during spring or autumn. However, the park is open year-round.

Dharawal National Park

Take an easy day trip from Stanwell Tops to Dharawal National Park. View the mystical waters of Madden Falls in winter after a short bush walk that is perfect for families, or pedal down the 10B cycling trail in spring to catch a glimpse of a yellow-tailed black cockatoo in the outback. Private campsites are abundant near the park with tent sites or glamping options at holiday parks that give campers access to hot showers at vacation rentals, power hookups for caravan sites, and beachfront cabins for families and groups.

Royal National Park

Campers will find almost too many outdoor activities at Royal National Park. Home to kookaburras, beaches, waterfalls, and coastal bushwalking trails, the park offers nearly 60 square miles of natural Australian outback, including a challenging trek to Figure Eight Pools. Cycle down trails, watch whales from clifftops, or spend a lazy day fishing from the shore. Then find unpowered private pitches inside the park as well as powered sites for the caravan or trailer. The campgrounds also provide picnic tables, drinking water, showers, toilets, and BBQ facilities.

When to go

Summer months bring crowds to Stanwell Tops for its sunny skies and hot temperatures. Hipcampers looking for a holiday at the beach during the school break will enjoy visiting in December or January. Those seeking smaller crowds and cooler weather should visit in spring or fall, especially if wildlife viewing is at the top of the adventure list.