Seal Rocks Camping: Best Places to Camp, See and Go
Only 3.5 hours drive North of Sydney, a weekend camping in Seal Rocks offers the perfect opportunity to escape city life and submerge yourself in beautiful, natural surroundings.
When it comes to camping, you’re spoilt for choice in Seal Rocks. Come here if you want to camp next to a beach and simply relax, swim or surf. You have three camping ground options, including the infamous Treachery Camp, and all of them are right by a beach.
Read on for my Seal Rocks camping guide.
Where: Mid North Coast, NSW, Australia
Getting there: 3 hrs 30 mins drive North of Sydney.
Where to camp in Seal Rocks
In Seal Rocks you’re spoilt for choice for not only beaches but campsites right next to a beach. So no wonder it’s one of my favourite places to spend a relaxing weekend away from Sydney.
Seal Rocks is situated on a headland with open and sheltered beach sides. So you have the option to either camp next to the open and rugged Treachery and Submarine beaches, or next to the more sheltered Number One Beach (and yes that’s it’s name). I’ve camped both sides and it’s hard to decide which is better; they offer very different experiences.
No matter where you do end up camping though, you’ll be planning a trip back to Seal Rocks again soon.
Check out my other favourite beach camping spots for the weekend. All in New South Wales and within a 4 hour drive of Sydney.
Treachery Camp
Treachery Camp is a popular choice amongst campers and I’ve often heard others refer to it as their favourite in NSW. It’s not hard to see why with this independently-run campsite tucked away off an unsealed road with virtually it’s own private beach. You feel fully submerged in bushland here with the 5-minute walk from camp to Treachery Beach taking you over the sand dunes, down the beach path and out onto the long and open (unpatrolled) beach.
Planning your stay at Treachery Camp
Treachery Camp is a well-run campsite with good facilities and even a coffee cart on site (Tim’s On Treach). You can also have campfires (check first if there is a fire ban) on the ground at your camp spot. Firewood is $16 per bag from the office.
To get there, drive the road into Seal Rocks, turn right at the general store, past Single Fin coffee and drive 5-minutes down an unsealed road (2WD is fine). Unless you book a cabin or surf shack you’ll be booking an unmarked and unpowered camping spot. Bookings are essential and you will need to book at least one month, possibly more, over peak periods. However the camping area is huge and branches off into plenty of secluded spots among the trees for privacy.
I pitched my tent in ‘Lover’s Lane’ on the far side of the campground in what I thought was a good spot depending on your priorities. Camping here is a compromise between a longer (one minute) walk to the amenities block, and more privacy closer to the beach track. For me, being by a beach track and feeling out of the way wins every time.
If you’re travelling up from Sydney on a Friday afternoon, arrive as early as possible to get a good area. You will also need to factor in arrival before 9pm when the camp gates shut on a Friday night (7pm every other day of the week).
Campsite details: From $35/night (unpowered site), 166 Thomas Road, Seal Rocks NSW 2423, (02) 4997 6138.
Tip: Set up a camp chair in the sand dunes for sundowners.
Seal Rocks Reflections Holiday Park
Another option is to camp at Seal Rocks Reflections Holiday Park. Perfectly located at the heart of Seal Rocks, this campsite is opposite Number One Beach.
When I first visited Seal Rocks the campsite looked tired and not that appealing but in recent years it’s had a complete revamp. As a result all the facilities are new and modern looking. Both powered sites and cabins are on offer with some cabins having amazing beach-front views and balconies, complete with seating and BBQs to enjoy it. I’m really tempted to go back and book a cabin for the weekend with friends.
The powered sites (no unpowered available) are a good size and none are far from the amenities block. There are sheltered benches and BBQs dotted around the site and the best camp kitchen I’ve seen complete with ocean views and seating out the front to enjoy a sundowner or two.
Although it doesn’t have the rugged charm of Treachery Camp and the feeling of properly camping in the bush, I’d recommend this option if you’re after convenience, modern facilities and enjoying ocean views from the communal areas. Here you’re even closer to the beach (a one minute walk away) and only 10 minutes walk from the general store and Single Fin coffee.
An added bonus is that Number One Beach is popular among day visitors and you’ll see a lot of people rocking up here in their campervans and enjoying the view. This gives the whole area a really relaxed beach vibe during the day, but you still get the beach to yourself in the mornings and evenings.
Campsite details: From $44/night (powered site), Kinka Rd, Seal Rocks NSW 2423, (02) 4997 6164.
Yagon Campground
There is a third choice to camp by Submarine Beach further along from Treachery Beach. This is Yagon Campground run by the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and is somewhere I’m yet to camp. You will need to take your own drinking water when camping here.
Campsite details: From $17.43/night (unpowered site), Yagon Road, Yagon NSW 2423, (02) 6591 0300. Book at nationalparks.nsw.gov.au.
I hope this guide helps you plan your next camping weekend away at Seal Rocks. It’s one of my favourite places to visit from Sydney when I need time to relax and feel a million miles away from the city.
