Standley Chasm — Attraction in Hugh

A great source of both delight and disappointment lies in our inability to see into the future. If one possessed this ability it would immeasurably change the world within which we live, in ways unimaginable. It would for example allow one to know, without prior experience, than the camp ground at Standley Chasm is awful. When you first arrive you wonder where the camping area is because all you can see is a small grassed area beside the ablutions block. As it turns out this is the camping area, and if you are travelling with a camper trailer then the camp ground is the car park itself. Once you recover from your initial disappointment you erect your tent, prepare your tables and chairs etc and settle down for a quiet drink and discussion of the day's events. Unfortunately this was difficult due to the fact that the car park was currently the centre of a construction site which showed no signs of knocking off for the day despite the setting of the sun. Earthmoving machinery moved back and forth, kicking up billowing clouds of dust as it went. The excavator driver put on an excellent show not twenty feet from out camp, knocking and banging his bucket and revving his engine. An earthmoving enthusiasts dream, but not what we were hoping for. Sadly however, the display ultimately came to a close and we were left only with a Hilux diesel idling a few car park spaces over. After about an hour it became clear that the idling ute was not in use by anyone so I wandered over and enquired when the ute gets turned off for the day? My enquiry was met with the response that it was hard to start and they generally left it running through the night. After a long silence he decided that in this instance he could move it out of earshot, which he did.

On the bright side the toilet block was impeccable in its cleanliness. The same however cannot be said of the somewhat unorthodox showers, which would keep a team of forensic technicians busy for days.

The small but quite nice grassed area with tents, which I had been somewhat enviously eyeing from my gravel car park turned out to be not so good when I awoke in the middle of the night and saw the large spotlight which illuminates the area in a way the MCG would be proud of was still burning bright. At least it did a good job of lighting my walk to the amenities block in two in the morning.

Another feature of Standley Chasm is the collection of decrepit buses, what looked like an old A-Team van and a variety of broken down old vehicles of all types which were home to the workers which were maintaining the walking track. Another nice feature was the trailer full of old car tyres which was just a few metres from our own campsite.

In conclusion, I would recommend visiting the Chasm, it is excellent, but the camping ground is utter excrement, and staying anywhere else would be...

LOVE this place. I've visited three times in the last six months and have loved it every time. The first time I went was to visit the chasm and to walk part of the Larapinta Trail so I stayed in my van in the camping area for three nights. I found this to be one of the best places that I've paid to camp in the Alice Springs area, the overnight fee was amazingly reasonable and included my entrance fee into Standley Chasm, the toilet and bathroom facilities were very clean and well kept, wi-fi access to the internet was free with the signal being better than anything I was able to get in Alice Springs. In addition Jackie and the other staff at the cafe/kiosk were super friendly and helpful, making my stay there a great experience so much so that about six weeks later I decided to go back and stay a few more nights so that I could walk a different section of the Larapinta trail. My experience the second time was just as good as the first, only this time I paid a little extra so that I could have a site with power. The third time I visited was only a day trip to take a friend visiting the area out to see Standley Chasm. By the way......I ate at the cafe each time and the cafe was pretty good too. I highly recommend everyone who visits the Alice Springs area to check this place out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

The photos I've added are taken either at the entrance of Standley Chasm itself (3 photos) or from a lookout located on the walking track that starts behind the cafe/kiosk (2 photos)

N.B. This site is not run by National Parks, it is a privately run and maintained site and understandably there are costs involved in that so there is a small entrance fee to visit the...

TLDR: a great place to enjoy a snack, a poor place to camp.

This is an updated review. My original one only covered Standley Chasm itself, not the entire tourist complex located there.

Standley Chasm is absolutely spectacular and everyone should see it. It may not be on the same scale as Uluru, but it is a truly beautiful rock formation. Five stars.

Regarding the restaurant and tourist facilities, I have a few more comments. The cafe is very good, with friendly and professional service. I only tried the Chasm Burger and Eggs Benedict, but both dishes were excellently prepared and presented. The prices seemed reasonable for a place like this, where you pay a bit extra for the location. Five stars.

Camping and tourist facilities: the toilets and showers were clean and well-maintained. You can charge USB devices and fill up on clean drinking water for free at the cafe. Most of the available facilities are good or very good.

I have two negative comments about staying overnight at Standley Chasm:

There do not appear to be any sleeping platforms or shelters like at other trailheads (unless they are very well hidden?). Throughout the night, there was a loud engine noise, probably from a diesel generator or something similar. This was the only night on the entire trail where I slept very poorly. Everywhere else I slept well in trailhead shelters, but here I had to roll out my swag and either could not fall asleep or kept waking up because of the noise.

I can strongly recommend visiting this place and enjoying a hot, well-prepared meal, but I would not recommend...