Eden Free Camping; a truly sensational spot
Finding a magic, free camp not far from the NSW coast has been a dream of ours for several weeks now, after paying extremely expensive camping fees every night since we headed south of Sydney. I was so happy then, to find a beautiful free camp not far from Eden, and to hang out for two nights. This place is exactly what we wanted, and needed; quiet, immersed in nature and away from hordes of people!
Where is this place?
You’ll find this place just off Broadwater road, about 30 minutes from Eden itself. It’s right on the Yowaka river, and in the middle of beautiful bushland.
Do you need a 4WD to get here?
Yep, I’m going to say you do. There’s a few places nearby you’d get a 2WD or AWD in, but the entrance to this particular campground requires a bit of extra traction and clearance. That said, we did have a local come down in an older 2WD Ute that bounced his way back up again, so its possible!
On that note, you’d squeeze a small van down, but its really only suited to tents, rooftop camping or small trailers.
On that note, there’s some serious 4WD tracks not far from here that would challenge anyone without muddies and lockers, and a lift. They cross the water on the next campsite down, and we left them for bigger rigs to play with!
How long does it take to get back to the highway?
The road out is only about 10km long, and takes about 20 minutes, taking it very easy. We had it in low range just ticking along gently for the engine braking and to ensure that our automatic transmission didn’t get too hot!
What’s at the camp site?
This camp site has two broken picnic tables, and a broken rope swing. It’s got great river access into a really deep pool close to camp, and a much shallower entrance near a little waterfall not far the other way. It’s a decent size campground that is green, shady in spots all day and absolutely stunning if you just want to soak up some nature.
Look after this place
These spots are getting rarer and rarer, and if you do have the privelige of staying here, please do the right thing and look after it. There’s a big fire pit that needs to be put out before you leave (there’s been some terrible bush fires here), and all of your rubbish needs to be taken out. If you leave a trace here, you’re a grub!
Is it worth a stay?
We seriously rated this place. For a free camp it doesn’t get much better, and its better than some of the paid sites we’ve stayed at in NSW. I found out that you can camp in state forests in NSW for free without any issues (as long as you keep out of the way) and have been hooked on the idea of finding some magic places to check out since, so this was a brilliant start.
If you are near Eden and want an amazing place to stay, this is it. It’s brilliant.
