If there’s one campground we’ve been wanting to book for a thousand years, it’s Sandy Cape Recreation Park.
There are two reasons we’ve avoided it so far. The first is that we’re usually en route to Kalbarri, Shark Bay or Exmouth, and need to clock more miles before pulling in for the night.
The second is that, until recently, Sandy Cape was a “first in, best dressed” campground. And we all know this can result in some serious heartache.
But with Sandy Cape Campground now being fully bookable online (and online only), the game has changed. To celebrate, we headed to the Sandy Cape booking portal and swiftly snared campsite 58, which is directly opposite the coast and has its own path leading to the beach.
First up, here’s everything you need to know about Sandy Cape Recreation Park.
- You’ll find Sandy Cape Recreation Park around 15km north of Jurien Bay. The turn off to Sandy Cape Road is well sign-posted – you can’t miss it when travelling down Indian Ocean Drive. Most of Sandy Cape Road is sealed, there’s just a small amount of compacted gravel to deal with once you reach the camp.
- There are 88 sites accessible by 2WD, and 14 accessible by 4WD.
- Sandy Cape Recreation Park has sparkling clean drop toilets, barbecues and picnic tables but there are no powered sites or showers, and you must bring your own drinking water.
- There’s a dump point at Sandy Cape Recreation Park.
- You can check in at 2pm, but will need to check out by 10am.
- There’s parking and facilities for day trippers, too.
- Dog are welcome but must stay on leads.
- As of February 2025, it’s $25 a night.
Here’s our verdict on Sandy Cape Recreation Park.
In short, we were stunned.
Granted, we were blessed with magic weather – bright blue skies and no wind, a sheer miracle for Jurien Bay in summer.
We rolled into Sandy Cape on a perfectly still and sunny February day and were amazed to find it near empty. The popular sites of 40 to 45 to the left were taken, but the north side was eerily quiet.
Site 58 is a stone’s throw from the ocean – and what an ocean. When we say crystal clear, we’re not exaggerating. The water here is so clear you can see each fish darting around, and every jellyfish cruising past. It was right up there with Turquoise Bay in Exmouth and Eagle Bay in Dunsborough for twinkling, sparkling, high definition water. As an added bonus, it was lovely warm water lacking the usual Indian Ocean bite!
The sand here is like baker’s flour, thick and snow white. There are good-sized sand dunes to skid down and gorgeous rockery to explore. Excellent snorkelling, too. Seriously, this is a paradise for kids and adventurers alike.
We brought along a SUP and noticed a few kayaks on the beach too – it’s the perfect place for a lazy meander.
If you get this place on the right day, it’s like being in Rottnest Island… 75 years ago or so. Raw, undeveloped and absolutely magical.
Yes, there are some bugs to deal with (ants, flies and well-behaved wasps) but it is off-the-grid camping after all.
We can imagine this may be a different story with a strong wind, rain and a bit of seaweed flying around, so we do suggest checking out the Bureau of Meteorology for updates before you book!
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