Camping Management Zone
Camping near Loch Lomond, without the permit.
The National Park restricts wild camping inside its Camping Management Zone for much of the year. We sit just outside it, so a stay with us needs no permit at all.
- Outside the management zone
- No permit required
- Booked pitches from £14pp
You do not need a camping permit to stay at Drymen Camping. Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park operates a Camping Management Zone where informal camping requires a permit during the main season, but Drymen Camping at Gartness Road, Drymen, Stirlingshire G63 0DN sits just before the start of that zone. Booking a pitch with us is all that is required.
What is the Camping Management Zone?
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park manages camping in some of its busiest lochshore areas under Camping Management Byelaws, which run 1 March to 30 September each year. Within those zones you either camp in a permit area, stay in a campsite, or you do not camp at all. Permits are £4.50 per tent per night for 2026. The byelaws exist to take pressure off ground that was being badly damaged by informal camping.
The East Loch Lomond zone runs roughly from Drymen north to Rowardennan. The zones cover less than 4% of the National Park, but they cover precisely the stretch of Loch Lomond shore that West Highland Way walkers cross on Stage 2.
Why we sit outside it
Geography, mostly. We are on Gartness Road, roughly two kilometres from the centre of Drymen and before the boundary of the zone. Walkers finishing Stage 1 of the West Highland Way reach us before the restrictions begin, which is why so many people planning the Way end their first day here.
What that means in practice
- No permit application, and no permit fee.
- A booked, marked pitch rather than hoping for somewhere to pitch up.
- Toilets, hot walk-in showers, charging points and wi-fi included in the price.
- A shop on site for gas, food and coffee.
If you are carrying on north
Once you leave us and head for Balmaha over Conic Hill you are entering managed ground, so check the Park's current rules for wherever you plan to stop next. There are permit areas and campsites along the east shore, but they are finite and they fill up in summer.
The zone boundaries, dates and permit rules are set by the Park, not by us, and they were under public review during 2026, so they can change between seasons. Take the National Park's published guidance as the authority rather than this page, and check it close to your dates.
Last updated 14 September 2026.
Common questions
Can I camp at Drymen Camping without a permit?
Yes. We sit just before the start of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Camping Management Zone, so no permit is needed to pitch with us.
Do I need a permit to wild camp on the West Highland Way?
Inside the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Camping Management Zones you do, from 1 March to 30 September, and the East Loch Lomond zone runs from roughly Drymen north to Rowardennan. Drymen Camping sits just before that boundary, so a booked pitch here needs no permit. Check the National Park’s published guidance for wherever you plan to stop after us.
Walking the Way this year?
The 2027 season runs from Sunday 14 March, with the last night on Friday 8 October and last check-out on Saturday 9 October.