One of the great campgrounds on the Sunshine Coast, and not that far from Brisbane, is the
Booloumba Creek Campground in the Conondale National Park. This campground is made up of several camping spots near each other, fire rings, creek access and lots of hikes.
Booloumba Creek Campground
The campgrounds are made up of Camping Areas 1, 3 and 4 as well as a day use area. I am not sure what happened to camping area: perhaps it was changed into the day use area. Areas 3 and 4 let you camp right down by the creek which is always a bonus. All the areas have fire rings, which is fantastic as this is something few campgrounds in South East Queensland have. Here is a
list of several others.
Booloumba Creek Campground
The biggest problem with this campground and hiking area is that you need a 4 wheel drive to drive into the campgrounds or day use area. The first campground requires 2 creek crossings, and after that, there is a third one for the other campsites. When I last went there the first 2 crossings were very shallow and the third was deep. But I was told in the past it was the opposite.
To get to the camp grounds there are several creek crossing on Booloumba Creek Road
Remember that whenever it rains the rocky base of the crossings can suddenly change. Which means, you really need a proper 4 wheel drive with panels protecting the underside of your car. Even if it looks fine to drive in when you arrive, an overnight rainstorm could cause the creek levels to rise and rocks to shift. So please, 4 wheel drives only.
Many hikers will park their car up before the first crossing and walk in. I believe that the distance is about 3 kms and you will get your feet wet. You could also do this if you are camping with a light tent and equipment, but it is not really recommended.
A lot hikers on a day trip will park their car up the road and walk in
Booloumba Creek is a great base for a
number of hikes long and short. The short walks include an old gold mine, a piece of art called Straingler Cairn and the longer ones including the Artists Cascades and Mt Alan. If you want to go further, then of course you can head off on the Conondale RangeGreat Walk.
Booloumba Creek Campground is a good base for a range of short and long hikes
Overall a great camping spot, but you need a four wheel drive to access it easily and safely. With fire rings, it will be very popular during winter as well as summer.
