Have you visited the very spectacular Wolgan Valley in the Blue Mountains?
We did to stay at the super opulent One and Only Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort.
But I was thrilled to hear more recently of Newnes Campground, which offers all the scenery but at the cost of precisely nothing.
NB The road into Wolgan Valley is closed at the moment: December 2023. Please check whether the road is open again on the National Parks and Wildlife links below. You can also contact the Newnes Hotel to see if it can be reached when you are ready to travel.
Newnes Campground is a National Parks and Wildlife site which offers free camping, meaning that you can’t book and there’s no cost.
The historic Newnes Hotel (now known as Newnes Kiosk) is a short walk from the campground, there’s a museum there plus food for sale. There are cabins and a private campsite there too.
Many thanks to blog reader Mat for sending through his beaut photos.
I’m looking forward very much to getting there one day in person, and will update this post when I do.
Thanks Mat for letting us know about this wee slice of paradise.
The NPWS page on Newnes campgound is here.
Read more about the Gardens of Stone National Park here.
A great place to visit from here is the Glow Worms Tunnel at Wollemi National Park.
Do you know a hidden gem?
Can you share it with us here?
For more great campsites in and around Sydney, you’ll love this post:
The Best Places To Go Camping In and Around Sydney
We have camped here and it’s a lovely place and well worth doing. We arrived a bit late one time and had trouble seeing to set up our camp so make sure you leave early enough!
Hi Seana, I loved this post. Newnes is one of my favourite camping spots I’ve been to in NSW! I also love Treachery Beach and the Bluegum campsite in the Barrington Tops NP. The Basin in Kuringai is a fun place to go with a group of friends that’s very easy to get to from Sydney.
No I haven’t been to the Blue Mountains yet but I’d love to visit – looks like a top spot for hiking and the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort would be the perfect place to rest and relax in!
Can you please write an article about low impact camping? I have been going to newnes for over 20 years and the decline of its natural beauty has been terrible lately. Toilet paper everywhere, wipes, dirty nappies, dogs!!!!, cloudy water – please don’t use shampoo and soap on the river bank or chuck your dirty water into the river embankments – people chopping down trees or cutting off bark for fires. And don’t touch the glow worm walls! Seriously, it’s terrible. If you can’t live without comforts the wilderness is not a place for you. A caravan park is.
Oh dear Erika, I am so sad to read this. You are quite right. I will have a think about what to add to this post and to others.
Newnes campground can only be reached by a long, hard 10km walk from Glen Davis now.
You cannot drive to it at all. The road has collapsed in a landslide and Lithgow Council has no plan to repair it.
See: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/newnes-campground