Canungra Showgrounds Camping

If you’re looking for great camping within a short drive from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with a swimming hole and comfortable amenities then Canungra Showgrounds Camping is definitely worth a visit. Read below for everything you need to know about this Canungra caravan park.

Please note, this blog post is a summary of our experience and the facilities available at Canungra Showgrounds, and information is updated as at June 2023. We are in no way affiliated with the campgrounds – for more information please direct enquiries directly towards the Canungra Showgrounds.

Location of the Canungra Showground Camping

The Canungra Showgrounds – also referred to as the Canungra Sports and Recreation Grounds – is located just over an hours drive south of Brisbane, or 35 minutes west of the Gold Coast.

It offers fantastic camping at Canungra, a quintessential country town located in the Scenic Rim. Canungra offers lovely cafes and is only a thirty-minute drive from Tamborine Mountain where you will find great bushwalks and other family-friendly activities.

The camping ground is a two-minute drive, or fifteen-minute walk from the centre of town where you’ll find a number of cafes, a hotel, convenience store and bottle shop. The showground itself is situated on Canungra Creek where you can swim and fish.

Canungra has a great playground great for children of various ages, situated on Kidston Street. This playground has a public toilet and a large climbing fort with slides.

There are a number of popular cafes along the bustling main street. We popped into town to eat at Cafe Metz which had great coffee and a fantastic selection of meals and snacks. The Canungra Hotel on Kidston Street includes a bistro and bar if you’re looking for somewhere to eat dinner.

Activities at Canungra Showgrounds Camping

Camping at the Canungra Showgrounds is located right on the bank of the Canungra Creek. This offers a fantastic swimming hole to cool off in during warmer months. The bank is sandy and the water is calm – great for swimming with kids.

While we were there many people were floating by on blow up pool toys or enjoying the cool water underneath the shade of their gazebos that they had set up for themselves. A great idea for warm summer days!

If you’re visiting in winter and it’s too cold to swim don’t forget to bring your fishing rod instead. There were a few people fishing in the creek while we were there. We spotted turtles and apparently, there are platypus that live in the area!

Camping Site Options

There are three designated areas for camping at the Canungra showgrounds.

Oval camping

Powered and unpowered sites are available on the oval. These are allocated grass sites and very comfortable but being on the oval there is obviously no shade.

Expect to be quite close to your neighbour especially if you’ve booked a powered site during weekends and holiday periods. You may be a little further away from the bathroom and cooking amenities, and it’s a short walk to the creek for a swim – but not far enough to worry about.

Goosenecks

Located closer to the creek, unpowered sites are available in this shady section of the campgrounds. It is right behind the camp kitchen and close toilets. This looks like a very nice area and probably one we would try to stay in next time we visit due to it being within bushland.

Creek camping

Unpowered camping by the creek is unallocated but numbers are capped. There is lots of shade down this way, and it’s right next to the creek. In this part of the camping ground, it’s hard to believe you’re camping at a showground. It is popular down here and not exactly secluded – but this is to be expected with showground camping.

Fire pits are scattered around this area.

Canungra Campground Amenities

There are two toilet and shower blocks, providing comfortable amenities. Hot showers are available with $1 coins. Make sure you remember to bring coins unlike us (lucky we were camping on a particularly hot summer weekend so didn’t mind a cool shower).

A large camp kitchen provides a convenient place to cook and eat. It includes a barbecue, sink with hot water for washing dishes. Under the shelter there are several large wooden tables and chairs, making this a nice place to eat. It appeared to be a popular option for social campers at night.

A large showground pavilion which houses events including music and singing on weekends, and family events during the school holidays is located close to the oval camping. There was something on the night we arrived which sounded like a lot of fun. Everything finishes up at a reasonable hour, so the noise shouldn’t be a concern.

On Saturday mornings Ray the coffee man is in attendance with his van – ready to serve up a hot drink. He also attends more often in the school holidays. We grabbed a couple of flat whites on our way down to the creek and can vouch that it is a good brew!

A fruit truck often comes on Tuesdays during the holidays also.

Fires at Canungra Showgrounds

As long as there are no current fire restrictions, fires are allowed in a fire pit (either the ones provided, or bring your own).