Mann River Campground
New South Wales has completely and utterly blown my socks off, in less than a few weeks of travel and that gets me incredibly excited to see more of this amazing state. Our latest stay was at Mann River Campground, which is one of the most scenic, and kid friendly camping areas we’ve been to in a very, very long time.
Did I mention its basically free?!


Where is Mann River Campground?
You’ll find this stunning part of the world roughly 50km East of Glen Innes.

What does it cost?
The camping here is actually free, but they charge a $6 booking fee. In essence then, its $6 for 1 night, or for 10, which is pretty incredible.

Do you need to book?
Yes, and there’s no reception, so book in advance, before you arrive!
The road in is long, steep and windy
If you are coming in from the Glen Innes (northern) side, you’ll come down a road that is reasonably long, quite steep and very windy. It is used by big trucks, and is entirely doable, but you want to make use of your engine braking, and if you are towing something take it extra slow.
Getting back up requires a fair bit of effort, and was a very clear reminder of the need to have an aftermarket transmission cooler, as the factory one just does not keep your expensive transmission cool enough. We still hit 111 degrees going back up, with the heater on!

Amenities at Mann River Campground
Given the price, you’d expect to have a drop toilet, and that’s it. Nope; there’s a decent sized kitchen, nice picnic area and a couple of good toilet blocks. Every site has a picnic table and fire pit with lots of options for cooking on, and there’s plenty of green grass around if you go in the right season.
They even supply free firewood, which is unbelievable (and ironic, given the price of the camping here!).

It’s the ultimate kids playground
Our boys had a huge amount of fun exploring the area around the creek. You can walk for miles and the scenery just gets better and better.



Book a stay; its amazing
I was stunned, walking down to the river not long after we’d set up. The dead trees, in combination with endless rocks, grey clouds threatening to dump rain on us and the trickle of water is the ultimate combination, and hopefully some of the photos we’ve shared give a decent glimpse into how great this spot it.

