About
Built by a camper, for campers
CampWatch has helped Australian campers chase down a cancelled site 473 times and counting.
The 2am campsite scramble that became CampWatch
At 2am in mid-2024, Campbell was awake on the Sunshine Coast with his laptop open, his phone beside him, and one goal: book a campsite in Yosemite National Park.
He was heading to the United States for work and had tacked on a few extra days to hike through California's national parks. But the trip was last minute, and Yosemite was full. Every night, when cancelled sites were released, he set an alarm, opened the booking page, and refreshed.
Too slow.
The next night, he tried again.
Too slow again.
What saved the trip was a small American service that watched the booking system for him. When a campsite opened, it sent him a text. He booked several prime sites in Yosemite Valley, close enough to start early on the trails before the crowds arrived. The hike to Nevada Falls via the Mist Trail became one of the highlights of the trip.
When he came home, one thought stuck with him.
“I knew we needed this back home. I was actually surprised it didn't already exist.”
The idea sat there for nearly two years. Then Easter 2026 came around, and Campbell found himself in the same old Australian camping ritual: checking booked-out sites, hoping someone would cancel, wasting time refreshing booking pages.
So he built the thing he wished existed.
From side project to campsite lifeline
The first version of CampWatch was simple. It watched one NSW National Parks campground over Easter. If someone cancelled, it sent Campbell a text.
It worked.
He posted about it in a couple of camping Facebook groups, thinking a few people might find it useful. Instead, the comments rolled in. Hundreds of campers wanted access. The message was clear: people were tired of fighting booking systems, refreshing pages, and missing out on sites that disappeared in minutes.
CampWatch works like a lookout. You choose a campground and your dates. It checks the park booking site in the background. If a site opens, even briefly, you get a text with a direct booking link.
No account. No password. Just your phone number.
Where CampWatch works now
CampWatch monitors campgrounds across seven Australian states and territories. It watches more than 1,300 campgrounds today, with thousands more planned.
Recent additions include hard-to-book overnight walks like the Jatbula Trail in Nitmiluk National Park — one of the Top End's great multi-day hikes. Its small trail-side campgrounds are part of what makes the walk special, but they also make bookings fiercely competitive. Once a season fills, walkers usually fall back to checking the booking page and hoping for a cancellation. Adding walks like Jatbula means CampWatch can watch those hard-to-get overnight sites too, giving hikers a better shot at walking the trail when someone else's plans change.
The lesson is simple: create your watch as soon as you know your dates. Most cancellations still happen in the final few days before a trip, but the earlier CampWatch is watching, the better your chances.
How to set up an alert
- Visit campwatch.com.au.
- Choose your campground and travel dates.
- Enter your mobile number.
- Confirm the code CampWatch sends by text.
- Wait while CampWatch checks the booking site for you.
- If a site opens, you'll get a text with a direct booking link.
Be quick when the alert lands. Popular campsites can disappear in minutes.
The service is free.
Voices from the trail
Campers explain the value better than any product page could.
“I love this tool very much. We are always last minute and the tool comes in clutch.”
Another camper said CampWatch rescued their Easter break.
“This tool saved our Easter holidays. Had no plans till last minute. Set up alert for camps near Sydney and bang. Notification came through, booked, and we had an awesome time.”
What began with one frustrated camper, awake at 2am trying to book Yosemite, has become a quiet helper for Australians chasing the same thing: a few nights outside, a good site, and one less booking page to refresh.
Ready to stop refreshing booking pages?
Tell us where you want to camp. We'll text the link the moment it opens up.