Corella Dam; great free camping near The Curry
We’ve stayed at some truly epic dams on our lap of Australia, and when the option of staying at Corella Dam popped up we jumped at the opportunity, after a fairly boring and uneventful free camp near Cloncurry the night before.
As it turns out, Corella Dam might just be one of the best free camps in Queensland, and that’s not said lightly after exploring a ridiculous amount of the state over the last 8 months. Yes, its obscenely busy, and you will likely have neighbours, but if you are OK with that (and its still no where near as bad as a caravan park!), what’s not to like? Some people refer to this as Clem Walton Park, but its the same place.
Where is Corella Dam?
You’ll find this stunning part of the world just out of Cloncurry, heading towards the Northern Territory. It’s only about 45 minutes from Cloncurry and fairly close to the main highway.
What does it cost to stay?
Camping here is completely and utterly free, which is an absolute steal. I’m not sure if the camping part of this dam is on public property or private, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t put a donation box in. It’s easily worth a few bucks for every person per night.
Where can you camp?
There’s almost endless opportunities for camping at Corella Dam. When you pull in, the main track takes you to a point which is very popular, and you’ll see a heap of people camping on the points either side.
You can get to all of these by following the different tracks around, or you can continue through the gates to the river camping below the dam wall.
Camp sites range from dirt through to grass, with some very level, and others not so level at all.
We stayed on the right hand side as you come in, tucked between a couple of other campers and had stunning views, and incredible weather.
Do you need a 4WD?
No, and we saw a couple of 2WD vehicles here. The road in starts off as bitumen, and once you go through the gates (that look like they’re locked, but they are not), it goes to good gravel. There are a few camping areas that having a 4WD is needed due to lumps and bumps, or extra clearance, but you can get a 2WD vehicle into most of the camp sites without any issues.
Fishing and crocodiles at Corella Dam
Corella Dam is popular for fishing, and is home to a lot of fresh water crocodiles, some of which are pretty large. People swim and kayak here, and whilst there’s not supposed to be any salt water crocodiles, you never really know.
It’s a good spot to base yourself
There’s quite a bit to see around the Cloncurry area, with Corella Dam being a nice place to base yourself for a few days. You can head up to Mary Kathleen, which is literally 20 minutes away and another really interesting part of the world, or head into Cloncurry to the creek, or the town itself.
Would we recommend Corella Dam?
Absolutely. If you’re coming past, this and Mary Kathleen are totally worth a stop for a night, or longer if you have time.
