Campsites in Cornwall
Good to know
Which part of Cornwall is best for families?+
Where is best to camp with kids in Cornwall?+
What is the best campsite in Cornwall for families?+
Do campsites in Cornwall have swimming pools?+
When should you book a family campsite in Cornwall?+
What can you do with children in Cornwall on a rainy day?+
Camping in Cornwall
Family camping in Cornwall
Family campsites in Cornwall are sites whose facilities suit children, and 227 qualify across the county: fenced play areas, family shower rooms, on-site shops and, at the larger parks, heated pools and evening entertainment. Cornwall holds the ingredients no indoor attraction can fake, with rock pools, bodyboard waves, crabbing harbours and ice cream in genuinely competitive quantities.
Matching the site to your children's ages
Ages decide the right site more than star ratings do. Toddlers need a fenced play area, family wash rooms and a flat, short walk to sand, which the farm parks behind the south coast's coves do well. Primary-age children get the most from the bigger parks around Newquay and St Austell, where pools, playgrounds and organised evening entertainment absorb whole days. Teenagers rate Cornwall for one reason above all others, and it is surf: the parks behind Watergate Bay, Polzeath and Widemouth Bay sit within walking distance of surf schools.
The best areas for a family pitch
The Newquay coast concentrates Cornwall's biggest family parks and its most reliable beach-day radius. St Austell Bay and the south coast around Pentewan and Mevagissey offer calmer swimming for smaller children, plus the Eden Project twenty minutes inland for wet days. Bude and Widemouth Bay in the far north combine bodyboarding beaches with smaller, quieter sites. Wherever you pitch, Kynance Cove, Port Isaac and St Ives make classic day trips when legs need a rest from the beach.
Booking the school holidays
Family pitches in Cornwall sell out earlier than any other camping in Britain: the big parks take their peak-summer bookings from the previous autumn, and May half term follows close behind. Travelling with pre-school children, September and June deliver warmer sea, empty sites and roughly half the peak price.
Camping with the family dog too, cross-check dog-friendly campsites in Cornwall for the beach rules; for furnished family stays, glamping in Cornwall lists safari tents and multi-bed yurts. The full county picture sits on campsites in Cornwall.