Campsites at Loch Lomond: where to pitch on every shore

Campsites at Loch Lomond: the best sites on the east shore, the west shore and in the Trossachs

Loch Lomond has more than 25 campsites, from the Camping and Caravanning Club's site on the shore at Milarrochy Bay to the National Park's own basic sites at £11.20 a night. The short version: families and first-timers do best at Milarrochy Bay or Luss, tent campers who want the loch at their feet go to Cashel, West Highland Way walkers stop at Drymen or Beinglas Farm, and motorhomes have the easiest time at Lomond Woods in Balloch or Cobleland in the Trossachs.

Which shore you pick shapes the whole trip. The east side (Balmaha to Rowardennan) is the pretty, walkable side, with Conic Hill and Ben Lomond on the doorstep and a dead-end road that keeps it quiet. The west side sits on the A82, which means easy driving, Luss village and quick trips to Balloch, at the price of some road noise. The Trossachs sites trade the loch itself for river and forest, and they are the ones with space when the lochside is full.

One thing to know before any of this: from March to September the lochshores outside the campsites are covered by the National Park's camping byelaws, so you cannot just pull off the A82 and pitch. If that is the kind of night you are after, read our wild camping at Loch Lomond guide, which covers the free spots and the £4.50 permit areas. This guide is for everyone who wants a shower at the end of the day.

The sites at a glance

Prices are the operators' published figures, checked August 2026; where a site only prices through its booking system we have said so rather than guessing.

East shore: Balmaha to Rowardennan

Milarrochy Bay is the one to book first. The Camping and Caravanning Club site sits right on the shoreline a mile north of Balmaha, takes tents, caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents on grass or hardstanding with hook-ups, and has the best facilities on the loch: a modern amenity block, showers, laundry, a motorhome service point, a shop and a play area. Pitches start at £10.50 a night for a member adult, non-members pay more, and it opens from 27 March to 26 October in 2026. Dogs get their own designated walk. Book early for any summer weekend.

Cashel, three miles further up the road at Rowardennan, is the classic east-shore site: open pitches inside Queen Elizabeth Forest Park with direct access to the loch, boat launching and boat hire, and Ben Lomond rising behind. It changed hands recently and now books through its own online system, so check prices there. Note the house rule, which is stricter than it used to be: no fires or BBQs at all.

Drymen Camping is a mile outside Drymen on day one of the West Highland Way, and it knows its audience: tents and small campervans only, no motorhomes or caravans, standard pitches from £14 per person, plus a handful of pods (the four-berth LandPod runs £80 to £120 a night). Season is mid-March to mid-October. If you are walking the Way and want a gentle first night, this is it.

The Park's own Sallochy site sits between Milarrochy and Cashel, in oak woodland with its own beach; it is the best-loved budget site on the loch and also the one with an uncertain future, listed as temporarily closed at the time of writing. There is more on it below.

West shore: Luss and Balloch

Luss Campsite puts you on the bank of the loch at the edge of Luss village, with loch-front pitches, hardstandings for tourers and a small shop at reception. Prices are through its booking system. You trade a little A82 hum for being able to walk to the beach, the pier and a morning coffee in the village.

Lomond Woods Holiday Park in Balloch is the full-service option: open all year, touring and motorhome pitches with heated washrooms, plus lodges (some with hot tubs) and glamping pods, an EV charger, and dogs welcome with their own walking area. It is a short walk from the loch and Balloch's bars and restaurants, and 17 miles from Glasgow, which makes it the practical base for a first visit or a winter trip. Tents are not clearly listed, so phone before turning up with one.

North of the loch: Inverarnan and Ardlui

Beinglas Farm at Inverarnan is a West Highland Way institution. Camping across three fields, dedicated campervan spaces, hiking huts, bell tents and chalet rooms for anyone whose knees have had enough, and the Stagger Inn on site for dinner. There are hot showers, a camping kitchen, a drying room (you will want it) and a shop. Two rules to respect: no open flames of any kind, and book ahead, because they keep nothing back for walk-ups.

Ardlui Holiday Park, at the loch's north tip, is set up for motorhomes and campervans, with a marina and hotel alongside. Check current details with the park directly.

The Trossachs: forest and river instead of loch

Cobleland, on a bend of the River Forth near Gartmore, is the site we point people to when the lochside is booked out. It has 126 pitches split between grass meadow and woodland hardstandings, safari tents if you want the glamping version, and forest walks straight from your guy ropes. It is unashamedly dog friendly. Trossachs Holiday Park near Aberfoyle takes tents and tourers alongside its statics and lodges, and Loch Katrine Eco Camp at Trossachs Pier suits motorhomes; check both directly for current details.

The National Park's own campsites, from £11.20

The Park Authority runs four deliberately basic sites, and at £11.20 per adult (children 5 to 15 £2.20, £3.30 for a car) they are the cheapest legal beds by the water: Loch Chon (26 tent pitches in the Trossachs), Loch Achray (17 pitches between Aberfoyle and Callander), Inchcailloch (the island site off Balmaha, £10.50 a head, 12 campers a night, two-night maximum) and Sallochy on the east shore. Composting toilets, no showers, fire bowls at some, and that is the point. Book up to four weeks ahead through the Park.

Two caveats, checked August 2026: Sallochy was listed as temporarily closed while its future is worked out, and a road closure on the B829 was affecting access to Loch Chon. Check the Park's site before planning around either.

Cheaper still is a £4.50 camping permit on the shore with no facilities at all; our wild camping guide covers those and the places you can camp for nothing.

When to book

July and August weekends sell out weeks ahead, and Easter and the October school week are nearly as tight. Beinglas holds nothing for people who just turn up, and the Park's sites release only four weeks out, so diarise the booking date if you want Sallochy or Inchcailloch in summer. May, June and September are the sweet spot: long days, quieter sites, and (in May and early June at least) fewer midges.

Tip: midges run from late May to September and are at their worst on still, damp evenings. A breezy lochside pitch beats a sheltered woodland one in July, whatever the photos say.

Can you have a campfire?

Increasingly, no. Cashel bans fires and BBQs outright, Beinglas allows no open flames anywhere, and the National Park's byelaw review proposes tightening fire rules across the zones. The Park's own sites are the exception, with fire bowls on some pitches and firewood to pre-book. Assume no fire unless the site says otherwise, and bring a stove.

Plan your trip

• Wild camping at Loch Lomond: the rules and where you can pitch

• Loch Lomond

• Camping and caravan sites in Scotland

• Glamping pods and huts

• Hiking Ben Lomond

• The West Highland Way