Waking up to birds, fresh air, an outback landscape, and a new place to explore – that’s what caravanning in Outback Queensland is all about.
From red dirt to lush waterholes, the 827,767km2 outback world is your caravanning oyster.
With a van on your tow bar you can park yourself just about anywhere out here and make it your own base for adventure.
Looking for a place to drop your steadies? Here are 11 places we recommend parking your caravan in Outback Queensland.
Living by the motto “no rig too big”, the Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis is just that – an outback oasis for the big, the small, and everything in between (we’re talking about caravans of course).
Located on the Overlanders Way amongst the hustle and bustle of Cloncurry, you’ll find cabins that open up to the large grassy and shady sites, an inground swimming pool, and a barbeque area.
P.S. It’s also an oasis for the canine kind – it’s a pet friendly caravan park (pssst – check out more pet friendly places to stay here).
If you’re tracking east on the Overlander’s Way from Cloncurry, make the most of the red dirt because Hughenden will be your last whiff of it.
To make those outback feels linger longer, stay at Hughenden Allen Terry Caravan Park, which offers powered sites with sullage and bitumen roads within the park making for easy access.
It’s also a great base for your dino experience, only a few minutes away from the Flinders Discovery Centre where you can say hi to Hughie, the seven metre tall skeletal Muttaburrasaurus.
With 32 powered sites, the Windorah Caravan Park has plenty of space for you and your mate’s (and your mate’s mate’s) caravan.
Open all hours, there’s an eating, barbeque, and campfire area, as well as amenity blocks with washing machines and clothes line.
While the surrounding bushland fosters ‘I’m in the middle of nowhere’ vibes, it’s only a short walk to the main street of town.
Here lives the iconic Western Star Hotel, which is the stomping ground of the International Yabby Races which takes over the town every August.
While conveniently located in downtown Charleville, the Cobb & Co Caravan Park offers peace and quiet with acres of shady, grassy areas to choose from.
This park fosters a tight community and you’ll feel right at home with a book exchange, communal kitchen and laundry, and a campfire area where guests are welcome to come down and swap stories around the fire.
The best part? One word – Wi-fi.
This one’s for the fish fanatics – with a prime location next to Callide Dam, this is an anglers retreat with plenty of hooks.
New to the Biloela camping scene, the retreat opened its doors in 2017 and has already established itself as a go-to family holiday hotspot.
Swim, fish, kayak, and water-ski along the dam, or relax under a shady tree with a picnic while the kids play in the playground on the property.
While the retreat is only 15 minutes from Biloela’s town centre, there’s a kiosk on site if you forget your toothbrush (or extra snacks).
If you’re after a front row seat to 360 views of the outback’s hidden gem, Carnarvon Gorge, then drop your caravan steadies at the Sandstone Park.
The property owners also run a cattle station on the 43,000 acre site, and couldn’t help but share the view with as many visitors as possible, and so their tourism business was born.
Situated on the cusp of the national park, it’s the perfect base for your Carnarvon Gorge adventure.
If you’re not one for self-guided trails into the unknown, there’s also helicopter flights and guided tours available from the park.
Note: Sandstone Park is only open seasonally, usually opening their gates between March and October.
If you weren’t a Nosey Nelly before your caravanning trip to Outback Queensland, a stay at Blackall Caravan Park might just do the trick.
Owners Debbie and Michael welcome all travellers and extend an open invitation to join in for a camp oven dinner followed by damper and billy tea.
Dinner is put on every night between June and August, encouraging guests to mingle and swap stories with their temporary neighbours.
With a choice of unpowered, powered, slab, or grass sites, your time in Blackall can also be spent relaxing and touring the town.
If you’re hailing from the southern states, get your Outback Queensland fix just above the border at Kilcowera Station.
Found between Thargomindah and Hungerford, half way along the Dowling Track, Kilcowera Station sits on a whopping 94,000 acres of outback bushland.
It wouldn’t be much of a stretch (read: no stretch at all) to say you’ll get a true Outback Queensland experience here, with plenty of activities like fishing, bushwalking, exploring the gorges, caves, waterholes, and spotting wildlife.
You’ll want to unhitch because there’s also a 60km self-drive 4×4 track that takes drivers along part of the Currawinya National Park that lines their eastern boundary. Follow it up with a night of kicking back around the campfire and you got yourself one helluva caravanning trip.
What does the Big Red, birds, and a billabong all have in common?
They all can be found in Birdsville – and you can stay amongst all the action at the Birdsville Caravan Park.
Located at along the banks of the Birdsville Billabong, the park has 54 powered sites and 30 acres of unpowered sites to choose from as your base for your Birdsville adventure.
You can get the best of both worlds here, with water views from your temporary home and only a short trip to the Simpson Desert National Park and Big Red Sand Dune.
Spend your days 4x4ing up the dunes, sand tobogganing down them, then winding down in the fresh night air by the billabong.
Note: This park is choccas every July and September when the world’s most remote music festival and the races that stop the outback roll into town. You’ll want to book!
Switch up the views of the red dirt and endless horizons with a stay by the water at Lara Wetlands.
Park up on the banks and spend the days under the shady trees watching the birdlife, cattle, ‘roos and wallabies that call the wetlands home.
This caravan park is all about the relaxed outback life, with an Artesian hot spring available for you fix those aching driving bones.
Although it’s also a working cattle farm, it’s a pet friendly property – but pooches are required to be restrained due to the wandering cattle.
Sunset Tourist Park Mount Isa is where east meets west across northern Australia and is the gateway to Outback Queensland from the Northern Territory. Sunset Tourist Park Mount Isa is a family run caravan park that is family friendly, pet friendly and budget friendly.
Sunset Tourist Park is located on the quiet outskirts of the bustling town of Mount Isa. Stay out of the hot Australian sun, by setting up your caravan or pitching your tent under the shade of the many mature African Mahogany trees that park has to offer.
Sunset Tourist Park offers a range of facilities. The camp kitchen is the place where all the action is – with well-maintained amenities and BBQ’s, gas-fuelled, free and ready for you to cook up some tucker. The salt water pool provides park guests with hours of entertainment, while the caravan park’s playground will keep the kids occupied until the sun sets off into the distance.