The best forest campgrounds near Balgal Beach, Queensland

Balgal Beach puts you right on the doorstep of forest camping, with over 45 options that let you swap highway noise for bird calls and the sound of the breeze in the trees. Expect campsites where you can light a campfire, take a hot shower, and bring your dog along. Hike rainforest trails, swim in hidden creeks, or cast a line if fishing’s your thing. You’ll find spots from $25 a night, with the average hovering around $32. If you want a tried-and-tested site, check out Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds (629 reviews), Mungalla Station (75 reviews), or Black River Bush Retreat (44 reviews). This patch of North Queensland is all about tall gums, shaded clearings, and river swimming holes. Bring your sense of adventure—and don’t forget the mozzie spray.

87% (786)

Top-rated campgrounds

Balgal Beach puts you right on the doorstep of forest camping, with over 45 options that let you swap highway noise for bird calls and the sound of the breeze in the trees. Expect campsites where you can light a campfire, take a hot shower, and bring your dog along. Hike rainforest trails, swim in hidden creeks, or cast a line if fishing’s your thing. You’ll find spots from $25 a night, with the average hovering around $32. If you want a tried-and-tested site, check out Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds (629 reviews), Mungalla Station (75 reviews), or Black River Bush Retreat (44 reviews). This patch of North Queensland is all about tall gums, shaded clearings, and river swimming holes. Bring your sense of adventure—and don’t forget the mozzie spray.

87% (786)

Top-rated campgrounds

1. Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

88%

(1156)

15km from Balgal Beach · 27 sites · Tents, RVs · Mutarnee, QLD

Crystal Creek Campsite is a large camp area with private access to the creek. Large area with plenty of shade. Dog friendly (on a lead). Fires allowed Caretaker Number is 0498 692 998 Stephen. Campers MUST provide car registration details at time of booking and display booking number on their windscreens. Close walk to natural swimming pools which are absolutely picturesque. We offer large shady spots with a few BBQ's, fire pits and amenities. Plenty of fishing and swimming to enjoy. Amenities include hot showers (10 MINS ONLY PLEASE). Access to campsite passes our school so please drive very slowly if your accessing campsite during school hours. Children under 6 stay for free. Do not include them at time of booking. Please read all information, rule and directions (provided once you have a confirmed booking)

2. Mungalla Station

94%

(125)

40km from Balgal Beach · 20 sites · Tents, RVs · Forrest Beach, QLD

Mungalla Cattle Station Camp (125kms north of Townsville, near Forest Beach) Campers MUST provide car registration details at time of booking.If you have your own tent, van or RV come and camp! Small dogs welcome. Flat sites, suitable for caravans and 2WD. Guests are welcome to use the worker's toilets and showers, though please keep in mind these are very basic if self-contained greywater can be dispersed on the ground.Mungalla Station is a historic cattle station near Ingham in North Queensland. Come and share a unique experience of the culture and history of Mungalla Station and its Aboriginal owners.Guests can meet the Nywaigi Aboriginal people, the Aboriginal traditional owners of the lands around Ingham in North Queensland. Experience our rich culture and history.Explore the property established by James Cassady, who fled the potato famine of Ireland and created a pastoral dynasty. Visit the birthplace of the world-famous Droughtmaster cattle breed, the original homestead, the graves of James Cassady and his son.Children under 6 stay for free. Do not include them at time of booking.We ask campers to please try to arrive before it gets dark. Please read all information provided carefully and only contact your host if absolutely necessary.

3. Gorge Creek Bushcamp

100%

(13)

48km from Balgal Beach · 2 sites · Tents, RVs · Horseshoe Bay, QLD

Private sites in amongst the trees on the outskirts of Horseshoe Bay. Safe and secure camping at the bottom of the block separate from the owner's residence. Two sites offering power and water suitable for vehicles, camper trailers, campervans and motorhomes. Caravans under tow up to 5.3m. Outside shower available. No toileting facilities currently available onsite. Shared picnic and BBQ area. 400m from the beach and 2km from the centre of Horseshoe Bay. Surrounded by wildlife including wallabies, echidnas, curlews, plovers, black cockatoos to name a few. Walking distance to shops, restaurants, patrolled swimming area, and local bus. Bushwalks, secluded beaches, island tours, beach hire, snorkelling and many more. Please make sure to book the Magnetic Island Ferries barge transfer across from Townsville. The barge books out in holidays and maybe subject to tides for larger vehicles. This property suits tents, campervans, camper trailers, motorhomes and small to mid-size caravans. Contact Derek directly for larger vehicle options.

4. Barefoot Island Escape MAGNETIC ISL

50km from Balgal Beach · 4 sites · Tents, RVs · Horseshoe Bay, QLD

GROUP BOOKING Are looking for that perfect location for a PRIVATE EXCLUSIVE EVENT .... ..... ..... ..... ..... Sport Event- Rustic Wedding- Private function- Birthday Celebration- Homeschool group- Walking group- Family get-together - ...... ...... ....... ....... ..... We can accommodate your Group Booking. ... SEND us a message to discuss how we can help . EXTERNAL Hire available to suit your event type. Marquees can be set up. Bathrooms BBQs Tables Linen Floristy Private Chef or catering .... Location: Photographic scenery. Beaches nearby. . Sitting on 3 acres of rustic land with National Park as a backdrop. . DESIGNATED Camping available for up to 10 vehicle. These Camp sites are suitable: Caravans✔️ Rooftop tents✔️ Campervan ✔️ Motorhomes ✔️ All designated sites are spacious and flat. .... There is further space available for pitch up camping ... Plus Plenty more room in a separate lower paddock for Marquee set up or activities area. ... Important: No Bathroom Facilities No Kitchen Facilities You either need to be self contained - meaning have your own cooking set up and your own toilets. Although, if required you can hire external toilet blocks. BATHROOMS Can be hired for EVENTS . A central entertainment area, landscaped with hammocks and lounging chairs. ... So what's there to do? Amazing walks Beaches in abundance Fishing Rock climbing Nature discovery Butterfly, Koalas, Wallabies Birds Kookaburra. Galahs.Finch. +++ Snorkeling Hire a bike Hire a scooter Hire a cute convertible Yoga classes Cafes, and great restaurants Trip to Palm or outer reef or go sailing on a yacht Hire a jet ski and find your private oasis. Book a boat - go snorkeling or fishing

5. Twitchers Rest

80%

(5)

60km from Balgal Beach · 4 sites · Tents, RVs · Upper Stone, QLD

Nestled in the mountains is a little grove with beautiful views and fresh crisp air. This property is set on 5 acres of flat and sloping ground. The campsite is part rainforest and has a creek on one side. There is also lots of open forest. I find the rainforest good for enjoying the birds. If you're up for an adventure bring your mountain bike and go riding, or head of for walks along the creek. It's very peaceful. You will find the Wallaman Falls, Mt Fox and National Parks nearby. This campsite is located about half an hour from town. This campsite suits self-contained campers who bring their own camping toilet/shower. There is a picnic table for meals, access to water, power and wifi as well as rubbish facilities.

Stories from the community

Amelia Beth

October 2025

6 m Class B

Weekend Trip to Gorge Creek Bushcamp

Peaceful and tranquil - lovely shower and host! Definitely a relaxing night on Maggie and only a short drive from horseshoe bay / dining.

Keita

October 2025

Tent

With pets

2 nights at Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Beautiful creek (although a little low currently), and nice wide open campground. Unfortunately some rubbish left from previous campers. Facilities fairly standard (2 female showers functional). You can hear some road noise throughout the night but easily tuned out. Outstanding sunsets.

D

Damian

October 2025

Tent

With pets

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Absolutely stunning spot with hot showers toilets. Woke up to the birds singing wildlife all around and got to see some water running through the creek. Definitely will be back

Jayden

October 2025

Tent

With pets

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Had a okay stay, not horrible but not amazing either. Campsite is decently large, but at max capacity it’d be somewhat uncomfortable. Fortunately, there were few there. The site is in relatively poor condition, and campers demonstrate a severe lack of standard camp etiquette. For example, a dozen campfire spots that are half arsed, not offical, and ruin the availability of where you can chuck a swag. Many fire ‘pits’ had plastics, or other rubbish shoved in there during or post burn. The BBQs are all basically unusable. Bathrooms work but are in bad condition, lots of webs, no locks on the doors, but the water was hot and toilets flushed. Sink taps didn’t work well. There was a high about of foot traffic during the day, which was a bit annoying given that we paid for access. Not sure if it’s local mob, which would make sense and be acceptable, but if it’s randoms just pulling in for a day, then that sucks. Those that were there left a lot of rubbish on the banks and in the water. Dogs were offlead multiple times during our stay and we observed three dogs get into a fight as two were offlead. Another day tripper managed to get their POS explorer hung up on rocks, driving down and onto the river bank (that’s allowed?!). They wrecked part of the track trying to recover the vehicle which took two hours. Overall, nice spot with a lot of great potential but poorly managed and maintained. I wouldn’t say the pictures were particularly accurate this time.

c

christina

October 2025

Tent

1 night at Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

I liked the proximity to the creek, and the amenities were clean and to a good standard. I also enjoyed being able to light a fire.

z

zindzi

October 2025

Tent

With kids

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

It was absolutely amazing staying at crystal Creek with my fam. The kiddos loves their first experience of camping. Super handy and clean bathroom facilities.

kristina

October 2025

7 m Class B

With pets

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

It was a well maintained camp with toilet and shower loved that there was fire area's and short walk to river that was good for cooling off in not very deep but enough for kids.

C

CIndy

October 2025

10 m Class B

2 nights at Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Stay was great! I didn’t hear anything back from the host unfortunately and the map directions were incorrect.

D

David

September 2025

5 m car

With kids

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Great spot with an easy walk to a crystal clear creek.

S

Skye

September 2025

Tent

With pets

3 nights at Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Beautiful little campsite with great amenities, we’ll definitely be back. The creek is stunning & our dog loved having a swim there chasing after the ball.

F

Felicity

September 2025

4 m Class B

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Lovely camp ground. Lots of room and not feel overly cramped. The amenities block is convenient with warm showers. They are a little tired but functional. Swimming hole was a little lower than usual when we were there but still nice to swim in for our kids. Super convenient location. A service station not even 5mins away if you are desperate for something last minute. Cute little farm shops on the road to big crystal creek. Great launching spot for heaps of day trips to surrounding locations. Jourama, paluma, Wallamen or Townsville.

Ben

September 2025

Tent

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Great place to stay for some fresh air, and very handy having facilities close by

F

Fiona

September 2025

7 m Class B

With pets

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Quiet and peaceful and clean amenities. One of our favourite spots to get away for the weekend close to home

Brett

September 2025

5 m Class B

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Nice spot and I enjoyed my two night stay. The powered sites are right up in the front section of the campground just in from the road. But Spiegelhauer Road seem to only get a small amount of traffic during the day and hardly any overnight so road noise was not much of a problem. The clean and well equipped amenities block sits in between the powered and unpowered sections and on the side of it is a small kitchen area with a sink, bench and large chest freezer. Quite good Telstra phone signal as well.

T

Tilly

September 2025

Tent

With pets

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Awesome location and great facilities! Some secluded camps in the area, crystal clear water

Francesca

September 2025

Tent

With kids

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Loved the area easy to get to water, toilets and showers where lovely and clean. Camp site was nice and clean. Lovely butterfly and birds around the area.

T

Tracy

September 2025

5 m car

Weekend Trip to Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Easily accessible and very clean facilities we had a beautiful peaceful night would definitely stay again

J

Jacinta

September 2025

Tent

With pets

2 nights at Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

The view and the creek were beautiful. Love that it is pet friendly. The facilities are clean.

Jamie

September 2025

6 m Class B

1 night at Crystal Creek Nywaigi Camp Grounds

Very good camp ground, a few mosquitos as it's next to the creek so bring citronella, but had toilets and showers and portable water. Lovely scenery and would definitely stay again! Thank you ☺️