Stenhouse Bay is the first campground inside Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park and the easiest one to reach: the sealed road from the gate, then a short gravel road in. We drove through on our day in the park, on the way to Cape Spencer, and didn’t camp, but it’s the one we’d book for a first night in Innes with a van or a big rig.
What we like
- Easy road in, any car or van
- Drive-through bays for vans
- Camp kitchen and a BBQ
- Beach and jetty on foot
- Big sites, up to 23 m long
What we don’t
- Little or no shade
- No drinking water
- Gas fires only in summer
About Stenhouse Bay CampgroundAbout
The campground sits in low coastal scrub above Stenhouse Bay, on Nharangga Banggara, Narungga Country, with 27 sites within walking distance of the beach and the jetty. National Parks and Wildlife Service SA runs it, and every site is booked online. When we checked, a one-vehicle site for up to five people was $27.50 a night and a two-vehicle site for up to eight was $39.80, and you pay the park’s $14.40 vehicle entry on top.
Quick facts
- AddressStenhouse Bay Campground, Inneston, SA 5577, AustraliaSee on the trip map →
- Phone receptionPatchy
- FacilitiesToiletsBBQCamp KitchenBeach AccessWalking TrailsCaravan AccessCamper Trailer AccessNo Drinking WaterNo ShowersNo PowerNo Campfires
- Good to know27 booked sitesDrive-through bays 25–27 for vansNo dogs in the park
- Fees$27.50 a night for one vehicle$39.80 for twoplus $14.40 park entry
- 8.6/10Overall rated
- Book via Parks SA
Getting There
Stenhouse Bay is a few kilometres inside the park gate past Marion Bay, about 300 km from Adelaide via Port Wakefield, Ardrossan, Minlaton and Warooka. The park road is sealed, and the last stretch to the campground is a short, wide gravel road that any car or van can manage in the dry. The campground loop itself is firm, pale crushed limestone. Pay the vehicle entry before you come in: the self-registration at the park is card only and the internet is slow.
The Campsites
The sites are cleared, fenced bays of pale limestone gravel set into the scrub, each with its number on a post, and they’re big, from 7 to 23 metres long, with the toilets anywhere from 15 to 105 metres away depending on which one you get. Most will take a tent, a camper trailer or a caravan. Sites 21 and 23 are for tents and camper trailers only, and if you’re towing something big, 25, 26 and 27 are drive-through bays for caravans and oversized vehicles. The scrub gives some shelter from the wind, but there’s little or no shade on any of them, so bring an awning.
When we came through on a summer morning a few sites were taken, a Defender and a rooftop-tent 4WD among them, and the rest were empty, but book ahead in the holidays.
Campground LayoutLayout
The campground is a one-way gravel loop: you come in from the south, drive up the western side, and come back down past sites 1 to 17 on the eastern side before the loop turns west past 18 to 24. Sites 25 to 27, the drive-through bays, sit between the two tracks on the western side. The toilets and the camp kitchen with its barbecue are in the middle of the loop.
Facilities
A toilet block stands in the middle of the campground, and a fingerpost points to the toilets and the BBQ. The camp kitchen is a stone and timber shelter with a bench and rainwater tanks beside it. There are no showers, power or drinking water, so fill up before the park: Marion Bay has a water filling station.
Plan your cooking around the fire rules. Wood fires are banned in the park from 1 November to 24 March, gas is the only option through the fire danger season, and on Total Fire Ban days even gas is out. Dogs aren’t allowed in the park, so they’ll need to stay home.
Little Emu Beach
Little Emu Beach is just a walk from the campground and worth the stroll, or you can drive to the small car park right above it. From there a path and steps drop through the low scrub to a sandy cove tucked in between rocky points, with clear turquoise water and a longer beach running away along the coast. It’s a good spot for a morning swim or a wander along the rocks before you head off to Cape Spencer.
Things to Do NearbyThings to do
The beach and the jetty at Stenhouse Bay are a walk from the sites, and the Stenhouse Bay Lookout walk is a 2 km loop. Little Emu Beach is a walk away (more on it above), Cape Spencer, with its lighthouse path along the cliffs, is a short drive on, and Dolphin Bay, the calm bay where we swam, is further along the park road. Everything in the park is in our Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park guide.
Summary
Stenhouse Bay is the easy camp in Innes: a simple road in, big booked sites, drive-through bays for vans, toilets, a BBQ and a camp kitchen, and the beach and jetty on foot. Bring water and shade, cook on gas in summer, and leave the dog at home.
The easy camp in Innes.
The sealed park road and a short gravel road bring you to 27 booked sites on pale limestone among the scrub, with drive-through bays for big vans, toilets, a BBQ and a camp kitchen shelter, and the beach and the jetty a walk away. There’s little shade and no water to drink, so come set up for both.
- Caravanners
- Families
- Beach & picnics
Yes, for an easy base in the park. $27.50 to $39.80 a night plus park entry buys a big booked site near the beach, with toilets and a camp kitchen.
Recommended Gear for Stenhouse Bay
There’s no water to drink, so carry plenty in good water containers, and cook on a gas stove like the Dune single burner in the fire danger season. The sites have little shade, so an awning like the Kings 270 Tourer earns its place, and a camp shower rinses off the salt after the beach.
