Camping in the East Coast

Tasmania's east coast is white sand, clear water and granite boulders, from the Bay of Fires in the north down to Freycinet and Maria Island. The boulders along the Bay of Fires get their orange colour from a lichen, not the rock, and the whole coast is easier to enjoy if you pick one stretch rather than try to see it all.

Where is the best place to camp in the East Coast?

Up north, the Bay of Fires has simple beachside camps north of Binalong Bay, such as Cosy Corner South, with holiday parks in St Helens. In the middle, Bicheno and Coles Bay have holiday parks, and Freycinet's national park campground includes beachfront sites at Honeymoon Bay. In the south, Maria Island has no cars and is reached by a 45-minute passenger ferry from Triabunna; you can camp at Darlington, beside the old convict settlement.

What is there to do in the East Coast with kids?

Along the Bay of Fires you can swim, surf, fish and birdwatch, and in Mount William National Park there are forester kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and Tasmanian devils. Eddystone Point's pink granite lighthouse dates from 1889. In Bicheno, East Coast Natureworld is a short drive from the parks, Swansea has the Bark Mill Museum, and in Triabunna the Spring Bay Maritime Museum is next to the ferry. On Maria Island, Darlington is described as the most intact convict probation station in Australia and is World Heritage listed, and wombats wander the grass around it.

• East Coast Heritage Museum – Museums and history, Swansea. Closest campground: Swansea Holiday Park - Schouten Beach, under 1 km
• East Coast Natureworld – Animals, Bicheno. Closest campground: Big 4 Bicheno Cabin Park, 5 km
• Spring Bay Maritime Museum – Museums and history, Triabunna. Closest campground: Triabunna Takeaway Campground, under 1 km
• Bark Mill Museum – Museums and history, Swansea. Closest campground: Swansea Beach Chalets, under 1 km
• Maritime museum – Museums and history, St Helens. Closest campground: BIG4 St Helens Holiday Park, 1 km
• St Helens History Room – Museums and history, St Helens. Closest campground: BIG4 St Helens Holiday Park, 1 km

What are the best walks and waterfalls in the East Coast?

At Freycinet, the Wineglass Bay walk is 6 km return and graded difficult, so it suits older kids; Bennett's wallabies, pademelons and echidnas are about, and humpback whales pass in winter. Inland from the coast there are waterfalls in the forests, including Apsley Gorge Falls and Mathinna Falls, and on Maria Island the Painted Cliffs are sandstone coloured by erosion.

• Mathinna Falls – Waterfall. Closest campground: Griffin Forest Reserve, 9 km
• Wineglass Bay walk – Walk, Freycinet National Park. Closest campground: Freycinet National Park Campground (Honeymoon Bay sites 46-52), 2 km
• Whalers Lookout – Lookout. Closest campground: Bicheno East Coast Holiday Park, under 1 km
• Sleepy Bay Lookout – Lookout. Closest campground: Freycinet National Park Campground (Honeymoon Bay sites 46-52), 2 km
• Hardings Falls – Waterfall. Closest campground: Apsley Waterhole Campground, 8 km
• Tevelein Falls – Waterfall. Closest campground: Apsley Waterhole Campground, 10 km
• Apsley Gorge Falls – Waterfall. Closest campground: Apsley Waterhole Campground, 11 km
• Grey Mares Tail – Waterfall. Closest campground: Scamander Sanctuary Holiday Park, 11 km
• Possum Creek Falls – Waterfall. Closest campground: Apsley Waterhole Campground, 11 km
• Lookout Rock – Lookout. Closest campground: Bicheno East Coast Holiday Park, under 1 km
• Bear Hil – Lookout. Closest campground: Crocketts Bay Campground, 1 km
• Bloodstone Point – Lookout. Closest campground: Encampment Cove Campground, 1 km
• Mayfield Bay Lookout – Lookout. Closest campground: Mayfield Bay, 2 km

Do you need to book campsites in the East Coast?

For Freycinet, yes: camping and park passes are booked through the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, and you need a parks pass for all the national parks. Maria Island ferry seats need booking too. In Mount William, campfires are only allowed in the fireplaces and never during fire bans.

Are there powered sites in the East Coast?

Yes. 4 campgrounds here have powered sites confirmed, including BIG4 St Helens Holiday Park, Swansea Holiday Park - Schouten Beach and Freycinet National Park Campground (Caravan sites 1-18). For the rest we are still confirming, so check with the park or holiday park before you book a powered site.

How far is Freycinet from Hobart?

The Coles Bay entrance to Freycinet National Park is about 2.5 to 3 hours' drive from either Hobart or Launceston.

Facts from Wikipedia, "Bay of Fires" (CC BY-SA 4.0), Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, "Freycinet National Park", Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, "Mount William National Park" and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, "Maria Island National Park".

Map of campgrounds in the East Coast

44 campgrounds

• BIG4 St Helens Holiday Park — St Helens, TAS. caravan sites, drinking water, dump point, powered sites, showers, tent sites, toilets, wifi
• Swansea Holiday Park - Schouten Beach — Swansea, TAS. bbq, caravan sites, powered sites, showers, tent sites, toilets
• Bicheno East Coast Holiday Park — Bicheno, TAS. caravan sites, dump point, showers, tent sites, toilets
• Freycinet National Park Campground (Caravan sites 1-18) — Freycinet, TAS. campfires allowed, caravan sites, powered sites, showers, toilets
• Scamander Sanctuary Holiday Park — Scamander, TAS. dump point, powered sites, tent sites, wifi
• Seaview Holiday Park — Bicheno, TAS. caravan sites, showers, tent sites, toilets
• Freycinet National Park Campground (Honeymoon Bay sites 46-52) — Coles Bay, TAS. showers, tent sites, toilets
• Triabunna Caravan Park — Triabunna, TAS. caravan sites, tent sites, toilets
• Encampment Cove Campground — Maria Island, TAS. campfires allowed, tent sites
• Apsley Waterhole Campground — Douglas-Apsley, TAS. campfires allowed
• Cosy Corner North Camp Ground — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Cosy Corner South Camp Ground — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Crocketts Bay Campground — Schouten Island, TAS. tent sites
• Deep Creek Campground — Eddystone, TAS. campfires allowed
• Dianas Basin — St Helens, TAS. campfires allowed
• Dora Point Camping Area - Humbug Point Nature Rec Area — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• French's Farm Campground — Maria Island, TAS. tent sites
• Grants Lagoon - Bay of Fires Cons Area — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Griffin Forest Reserve — Mathinna, TAS. tent sites
• Jeanneret Beach Campground - Bay of Fires Cons Area — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Lagoons Beach Campground — Chain Of Lagoons, TAS. campfires allowed
• Mayfield Bay — Rocky Hills, TAS. campfires allowed
• Moreys Bay Campground — Schouten Island, TAS. tent sites
• Moulting Bay — St Helens, TAS. campfires allowed
• Policemans Point Campground — Ansons Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• River and Rocks Campground — Coles Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Seatons Cove — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Sloop Reef — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Stumpys Bay Campground No 1 — Mount William, TAS. campfires allowed
• Stumpys Bay Campground No 2 — Mount William, TAS. campfires allowed
• Stumpys Bay Campground No 4 — Mount William, TAS. campfires allowed
• Swimcart Beach Campground - Bay of Fires Cons Area — Binalong Bay, TAS. campfires allowed
• Top Camp — Mount William, TAS. campfires allowed
• Triabunna Takeaway Campground — Triabunna, TAS. caravan sites
• Trout Creek — Upper Scamander, TAS. campfires allowed
• Big 4 Bicheno Cabin Park — Bicheno, TAS
• BIG4 Iluka on Freycinet Holiday Park — Coles Bay, TAS
• Darlington Campground — Maria Island, TAS
• Friendly Beaches Campground (Isaac Point) — Friendly Beaches, TAS
• Hillcrest Tourist Park — Stieglitz, TAS
• Little Beach Campground — Chain Of Lagoons, TAS
• Scamander Kookaburra Caravan Park — Scamander, TAS
• Swansea Beach Chalets — Swansea, TAS
• Whitewater Wall Camp Site — Coles Bay, TAS

Region boundary: ABS ASGS Edition 3 Tourism Regions 2021 (Tourism Research Australia), CC BY 4.0.