The 10 best campsites in Cornwall

Cornwall is where British camping shows off. Nowhere else packs so many turquoise coves, surf beaches and clifftop sunsets into one county, and nowhere else fills up faster when the school holidays hit. The two coasts have distinct personalities: the north is all Atlantic drama, with big surf, high cliffs and dunes running for miles at places like Gwithian and Porthtowan, while the south coast is gentler, a run of sheltered estuaries, fishing villages and calm swimming coves from the Roseland round to Looe. Inland, Bodmin Moor offers something different again: space, silence and some of the darkest night skies in England.

Timing matters more here than almost anywhere else in the country. August is glorious but busy, with the best-known sites selling out months ahead and the lanes to the beaches crawling by mid morning. June and September are the connoisseur's choice: long days or golden light, warm sea (warmest in September, in fact), and pitches you can actually book. Several sites on this list stay open into autumn or all year, and an October storm watched from a warm tent on a Cornish clifftop is its own kind of holiday.

The right campsite makes the whole trip, and the wrong one means forty minutes in traffic to every beach. We have picked ten sites across the county, from wild-feeling tent fields to well-equipped family parks, so there is something here whether you arrive with a two-person tent or a seven-metre motorhome.

How we chose

Location first: every site here puts you somewhere special, on the coast or genuinely close to it. Then the things that make or break a stay: clean facilities, a welcoming feel, and pitches you would actually want. We have stayed at some, and the rest earn their place through consistently glowing reviews and long reputation. For each one we checked what you can actually book, from bare tent pitches to serviced hardstandings and glamping, because Cornwall's best sites vary wildly in what they offer.

1. Treen Farm Campsite, near Porthcurno

4.5 ★ Google rating from 380+ reviews

Treen Farm Campsite is a working farm's field a short walk from Pedn Vounder beach and the Minack Theatre, with some of the best sea views in Britain. It is deliberately old-fashioned: the site takes no advance bookings for camping, so you simply turn up and take your chances, which keeps the atmosphere relaxed and the crowd genuinely committed. Most pitches have sea views, there is a limited supply of electric hook-ups on a first-come, first-served basis, and vans are welcome only up to about 6.7 metres, so this is tent and small campervan territory. Facilities are simple but well looked after: token-operated hot showers, laundry, a bookable sauna and a shop selling fresh croissants, pasties and coffee. Dogs stay free but must be kept on leads. What people love: reviewers consistently praise the friendly, well-organised feel and that well-stocked farm shop, and the walk over the fields to the coast path draws superlatives. The practical tip is obvious: in summer, arrive early in the morning to be sure of a pitch, and phone ahead to check the current arrival arrangements before you set off.

2. Ayr Holiday Park, St Ives

4.6 ★ Google rating from 660+ reviews

Ayr Holiday Park is the only holiday park within walking distance of the centre of St Ives, perched on the hill above Porthmeor beach with the town, the Tate and the coast path all reachable on foot. That location is the whole pitch: park the car on arrival and forget about it. You can book touring pitches for tents, motorhomes and touring caravans, or go under a roof in one of the modern holiday caravans and self-catering apartments, several with sea views. The park holds an AA 5 Pennant rating and the facilities match it, with an indoor swimming pool, an adventure playground and the Quarterdeck restaurant on site. What people love: reviewers single out the serviced pitches with sea views, the modern shower blocks and the helpful office staff, and the site scores 9/10 across more than a hundred independent reviews on one UK campsite directory. One practical warning: this is the first site in Cornwall to sell out for peak weeks, so book school holidays as far ahead as you possibly can.

3. Henry's Campsite, The Lizard

4.0 ★ Tripadvisor rating from 230+ reviews

Henry's Campsite sits at the top of the Caerthillian Valley on Britain's most southerly point, a couple of minutes from Lizard village and ten from the coast path. It is famously characterful: every pitch is individually planted and shaped, some tucked behind low stone walls, most with hook-ups and many with sea glimpses, and ducks, chickens, pigs and alpacas wander the site. There is a small shop, fire hire for the evenings, laundry facilities and hot water throughout, and the whole place feels closer to a garden than a field. What people love: reviewers describe it as quirky and unlike anywhere else, and the free-roaming animals come up in almost every write-up as the thing that makes the site feel homely. It suits couples and small tents far better than big outfits: pitches are snug, so pack modestly. For the practical tip, walk out to Lizard Point for the sunset, then loop round to Kynance Cove early the next morning before the car park fills.

4. Trevedra Farm, Sennen

4.8 ★ Google rating from 650+ reviews

Trevedra Farm is a big cliff-edge farm site near Land's End, run by the same family for four generations, with direct paths down to Gwynver and Sennen beaches. It takes tents, caravans and motorhomes across spacious fields, many pitches with serious sea views, and it stays open for winter touring when most of Cornwall shuts. The facilities are a cut above the usual farm site: modern heated washrooms, outdoor hot wetsuit showers for surfers, EV charging, a well-stocked shop and the Ocean Blue cafe, with pizza and waffle vans calling by on set evenings. Dogs are positively welcomed rather than tolerated. What people love: the setting and the family welcome dominate reviews, and one Tripadvisor reviewer calls it simply "one of the best campsites", citing the beaches, the staff and the views. Ask for the seaward fields if you want to fall asleep to the surf, and take proper pegs: there is nothing between you and America here, and the wind knows it.

5. Beacon Cottage Farm, St Agnes

4.0 ★ Tripadvisor rating from 150+ reviews

Beacon Cottage Farm is a working family farm tucked under the heather of St Agnes Beacon on the north coast, with the much-photographed cove and mine engine house at Chapel Porth about a ten-minute walk below. It is an AA 5-star touring park done the quiet way: around sixty level grass pitches split between six small landscaped paddocks, some with sea views and some sheltered by shrubs, plus a handful of serviced hardstandings. The toilet and shower blocks have been refitted and there are proper laundry machines; note that charging an electric car from a pitch hook-up is not permitted. What people love: reviewers repeatedly use the word immaculate about the facilities, and several mention the views running all the way down the coast towards St Ives. This is a site for walkers above all: the coast path from the gate, over the Beacon and along to Trevaunance Cove, is the whole holiday. Book the sea-view paddocks early, and keep an evening free for the sunset from the Beacon itself.

6. Gwithian Farm Campsite, Gwithian

4.7 ★ Google rating from 550+ reviews

Gwithian Farm Campsite sits across the dunes from three miles of golden sand at Gwithian Towans, a ten-minute walk from a lifeguarded, dog-friendly beach, with the Red River Inn directly opposite the gate. It is a strong all-rounder: spacious pitches in landscaped grounds, including large motorhome pitches, backed by facilities that campers rave about, with luxury showers, a children's bathroom, a well-stocked shop and a rotating cast of food vans serving fish and chips, pizza and curry, plus barista coffee and cakes from the on-site Goat Shack. Dogs are welcome. What people love: the cleanliness is the headline, with the site scoring 9/10 across 270 independent reviews on one UK campsite directory, and one recent Tripadvisor review is titled simply "The best ever campsite!". The practical tip: walk north along the beach towards Godrevy lighthouse in the last hour of light, when the evening sun turns the whole bay gold and the seals haul out below the headland.

7. Treloan Coastal Holidays, Roseland Peninsula

4.7 ★ Google rating from 220+ reviews

Treloan Coastal Holidays sits right on the South West Coast Path just outside Portscatho on the gentler south coast, with three quiet coves within walking distance. It is open all year and takes tents, touring caravans, trailer tents and motorhomes on standard grass pitches and some hardstandings, both with electric, and there are mobile homes to hire if half your party has gone off canvas. Two things set it apart: campfires are genuinely allowed, in braziers with seasoned wood supplied by the site, and well-behaved dogs are welcome on leads. What people love: a Tripadvisor reviewer sums it up as "breathtaking views, peaceful, simple, well run", and the easy stroll into Portscatho for a pint above the harbour features in many reviews. This is the pick for young families and anyone who finds the north coast a bit fierce, because the Roseland stays calmer than the rest of Cornwall even in August. Facilities can queue at peak times, so time your morning shower cleverly.

8. Porthtowan Tourist Park, Porthtowan

4.0 ★ Tripadvisor rating from 140+ reviews

Porthtowan Tourist Park is a sheltered, immaculately kept five-acre park spread over three level fields, about a mile inland from one of the north coast's best surf beaches. The flat ground and easy access make it a favourite with motorhomes as well as tents and caravans; every pitch has electric hook-up available, and you can choose between grass and premium serviced hardstandings. The family who run it have collected serious silverware, including AA 5 Pennants and the AA's South West Campsite of the Year for 2023 to 2024, and the shower blocks are cleaned daily and kept to a standard reviewers keep mentioning. What people love: the welcome, above all; one reviewer on a UK booking site writes "Fantastic site, the staff are amazing!", and every one of the site's reviews there says they would recommend it. The sheltered pitches earn their keep when the sea breeze picks up, and the walk over the dunes down to Porthtowan beach makes a fine start to any morning.

9. Bay View Farm, Looe

4.0 ★ Tripadvisor rating from 240+ reviews

Bay View Farm offers terraced pitches looking straight across Looe Bay to Looe Island, on the quieter south-east coast where Cornwall starts to soften into Devon. It takes tents, motorhomes and small campervans (touring caravans are not accepted), and there is a single well-equipped static caravan to hire if you want the view without the canvas. Facilities are simple and spotless, with hot showers, full laundry and free WiFi, and the South West Coast Path runs right past the site, so you can walk into Looe for fish and chips or east to Millendreath without touching the car. What people love: one reviewer calls it a hidden gem, "unpretentious, authentic and wonderfully relaxed", and the owners earn repeated praise for their local knowledge and attention to detail. It is a fine base for Looe, Polperro and the Eden Project, all easy day trips. Ask for the top terrace if you can: the sunrise over the bay from up there is worth the earlier alarm.

10. South Penquite Farm, Bodmin Moor

4.9 ★ Google rating from 180+ reviews

South Penquite Farm is a 200-acre organic beef and sheep farm high on Bodmin Moor, and the one site on this list that turns its back on the beach entirely. In exchange you get space, skylarks and some of the darkest skies in Cornwall. Camping is relaxed, choose-your-own-spot pitching across open fields, and there are yurts to hire for a proper glamping stay. The farm takes its environmental credentials seriously, with solar-heated hot water, rainwater-fed showers, a wind turbine and EV charging points, and ducks, cats and chickens patrol the site. What people love: the showers get singled out surprisingly often for a moorland farm, and the site scores 9/10 across more than fifty independent reviews on one UK campsite directory, with the free-range animals a recurring favourite among children. The evenings are the point here: walk up onto the moor before dusk, then stay out for the stars, which are astonishing on a clear night. Pack layers, because the moor runs several degrees cooler than the coast.

Before you book

August weekends in Cornwall sell out months ahead, so book early or aim for June and September, which locals will tell you are the best months anyway. Check the pitch type carefully before you commit: clifftop tent fields and large motorhomes rarely mix, several sites here cap vehicle sizes, and one takes no tent bookings at all. Confirm the dog policy if you are bringing one, since even dog-friendly sites usually insist on leads, and check whether nearby beaches have seasonal dog bans. If you drive an EV, plan your charging: some sites offer proper charge points while others explicitly forbid charging from pitch hook-ups. Finally, pack for four seasons whatever the forecast says, with proper pegs and a spare guy line or two for the north coast wind.

When you are ready, you can find a campsite and book your Cornish pitch direct. Heading east instead? See the best campsites in Devon, or browse the best UK campsites of 2025 for the whole country.