Yes, you can wild camp in Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, but not everywhere and not every month: from 1 March to 30 September, four stretches of lochshore called Camping Management Zones need either a campsite booking or a camping permit, and that applies to motorhomes and campervans as well as tents. The rest of the park, and the whole park from October to February, works under the normal Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Everything below is from the National Park Authority’s own byelaw pages and the Access Code, checked on 17 October 2026.

Where the permit rule applies

There are four zones: West Loch Lomond, East Loch Lomond, Trossachs West and Trossachs North. The authority says they cover less than 4% of the park’s 720 square miles, and that responsible wild camping stays allowed in the other 96%.

Inside a zone, in season, the rule is short: “Camping within these Zones (March to September) is only possible in campsites or with a camping permit.”

In practice, the zones sit on the busy lochshores, which are exactly where you would be tempted to stop. Check where the zones run on the authority’s byelaw pages before you set off, and read the signs as you drive in. A permit gives you a defined permit area to camp in, not the whole loch.

What a permit costs and how long it lasts

  • Price: 4.30 pounds per tent, or per motorhome or campervan, per night.
  • Length: up to three nights.
  • Times: arrive from 1pm, leave by 11am on your departure day.
  • Booking: permits are sold online through the park authority’s site.

If you would rather have a pitch with facilities, the authority runs its own campsites at Loch Chon and Loch Achray, at 10.80 pounds per adult per night and 2.30 pounds for children aged 5 to 15.

Motorhomes and campervans

This is where most people get caught out, because the Access Code and the byelaws treat vehicles differently.

Outside the zones, the Access Code does not help you. Scotland’s right of access covers lightweight camping in a tent, in small numbers, for no more than two or three nights in one place. The Code says plainly that access rights do not include motor vehicles, and that you must respect a landowner’s parking restrictions. So a night in a van outside a zone is a parking question: the car park sign or the landowner decides. The authority itself warns that many car parks do not allow overnight parking.

Inside the zones, in season, you have three options:

  1. A motorhome permit area. There are three: Firkin Point and Inveruglas on the west side of Loch Lomond, and Three Lochs Forest Drive near Aberfoyle. Your permit gives you a specific numbered bay. The bays fit a vehicle of about 8 m long by 2.5 m wide, so measure before you book. At Firkin Point and Inveruglas the permit covers parking; Three Lochs Forest Drive adds a 3 pound vehicle charge.
  2. A campsite. The authority points tourers to the campsites around the park.
  3. An official lay-by. You do not need a permit to stop in a lay-by that is part of the road network, including overnight, but the authority says these are rest stops, not suitable for extended stays.

Parking up on the lochshore outside those options is not allowed. The authority’s answer to “can I wild camp in my motorhome outside the permit areas inside a zone” is no.

Plan your water and waste. The permit areas have no fresh water and no disposal point. The authority lists a park facility at Tarbet, and some campsites offer touring services.

Caravans and roof tents. Caravans cannot use the permit areas: the ground and the turning space do not suit them. Roof-tent vehicles are classed with motorhomes for overnight stays but are not allowed in the permit areas either, so book a private campsite.

Fires and penalties

If you light a fire, the authority wants it where it will do no damage, or in a fire bowl, and with wood you brought yourself. Collecting firewood is covered by the byelaws. Ignoring the byelaws can lead to a report to the Procurator Fiscal and a fine of up to 500 pounds.

Right now

It is October, so the byelaws are off until 1 March 2027. Tent campers can use the Access Code across the park. Van drivers are still subject to whatever the car park sign says.

The sign wins

If a sign, a ranger or the landowner tells you something different from this page, follow them. The authority’s pages are the current version of the rules, and permit prices and terms can change between seasons.

For the wider Scottish picture, see what the Outdoor Access Code allows. If Loch Lomond is the start of a longer trip north, the NC500 free camping reality check covers what changes on the Highland route, and the rules pages compare other countries.

Sources

  1. Camping Management Byelaws, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
  2. Camping and Motorhome Byelaw Q&As, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority
  3. Camping, Scottish Outdoor Access Code

When a source is not in English, follow the link for the official wording.