Keepit Dam; sensational, waterfront camping
We’ve stayed at quite a few brilliant dams in NSW to date, and after getting what we needed in Tamworth, we headed out towards Keepit Dam, at Matthews Reserve. This proved to be one of the best places we’ve camped at for some time, with insane sunsets, glass off’s on the water and we even managed to land quite a few fish!
Where can you camp at Keepit Dam?
The low cost camping area at Keepit Dam is located on the Eastern side, with a caravan park style campground on the Western side. We stayed on the Eastern side, which has a huge area for camping in.
Some spots are closer to the main amenities, and others are much further away. You can camp very close to the water if you like, but watch the slope, and the softness, as you can get bogged very easily if you’re complacent.
What’s the road condition like?
There’s two ways that you can get to Keepit Dam; over the top, or from the bottom. We drove in over the top, and left down the bottom, and both road conditions were good quality gravel. It’s a lot better coming from the south, with the road much wider and more commonly used, but you’ll have no issues either way.
What does it cost to stay?
The camping here is a donation arrangement, but we nearly missed the sign with it knocked off the fence and laying down. Leave a donation in the box to keep great places like this open, or they’ll get shut.
Amenities at Keepit Dam
There’s drop toilets here, along with a big firepit and picnic tables. I could smell the drop toilets from several metres away though, so my suggestion is to take your own toilet, and leave no trace.
There are no other amenities at Keepit Dam, and you need to take everything you bring in out with you.
Fishing at Keepit Dam
One of the major attractions to Keepit Dam is the fishing, and I’m told it can get quite busy with people wetting a line. We had read that the easiest way to catch carp was to put corn kernels on a hook, and a float, so I lobbed one out early in our stay, with our youngest son. We managed to land 5 decent sized carp over 3 nights, just by flicking the hook out with corn on it, putting the rod in a rod holder and walking away.
Most people don’t eat the carp, but they’re not recommended to go back in the drink as they are a pest, so we just put them out of their misery and then burnt them on a fire. We did notice quite a few left laying around, and they reek, and aren’t very nice to arrive to, so do what you can to respect the area.
Of course, carp are not really any good except for pest management and a bit of fun, but there’s some big, decent fish to be caught if you are persistent, and know what you’re doing.
Dogs and fires at Keepit Dam
Fires are permitted here in season, but there’s a sign saying no dogs beyond the entry point, so leave your 4 legged friends at home.
Would we recommend a stay at Keepit Dam?
We absolutely loved our stay at Blowering Dam, and I reckon Keepit Dam is as good, if not better than that. We had 3 magic nights here, and were sad to depart. It’s 100% worth a stay, if the wind is kind!
