Trial Bay Gaol Campground

Trial Bay Gaol Campground in Arakoon National Park combines beachfront camping with a slice of Australian convict history on the NSW Mid North Coast near South West Rocks. The campground sits on a headland right beside Front Beach, with the atmospheric ruins of the 1870s Trial Bay Gaol as your neighbour. The gaol was originally built to house prison labourers constructing a breakwater, and the ruins and museum are open for visitors (additional entrance fee applies).

This is one of the more developed national park campgrounds in NSW, operating more like a well-run holiday park. It offers both powered and unpowered sites for tents, caravans, campervans, and camper trailers. Facilities include four amenity blocks with hot showers and accessible toilets, a camp kitchen with hotplate, cooktop, fridge/freezer, microwave, and hot water, drinking water taps throughout, laundry, and boat ramps. There is also a kiosk restaurant on site so you can grab a meal if you do not feel like cooking.

The sheltered bay is excellent for swimming, snorkelling, and paddling, while the rocky foreshores around the headland provide top fishing spots. In winter (June to August), the campground is a prime whale watching location as humpbacks migrate north. Spring is even better as mothers and calves rest in Trial Bay on their return journey south. The surrounding park has walking tracks through coastal bush and wildflower displays in spring, with glossy black cockatoos often spotted feeding in the she-oaks.