Closest point to drive and park is on sealed roads, from there it is on foot to the campsite
46.7 km N of Sydney
GPS: Latitude 33° 28′ 1.632"S Longitude 151° 9′ 7.632"E
Drive to the end of Canoelands Road (off Old Northern Road) to the locked gate. The campsite is about 8km walk down the Canoelands Ridge trail, on the shore of the Hawkesbury River. Alternatively, enter by boat.
General Information
There is a long walk into this campsite Need to carry you own drinking water in.
Bookings and contact information
You are not able to book these campsites - first come basisFor more information contact the NPWS Sydney North (Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park) office on:Phone:02 9472 8949
(more contact details)
Fees
Free Camping - no camp fees applyAdult=$0 Per NightChildren=$0 Per Night
No car entry fees applyVehicle=$0 Per Day
Facilities
Toilets Pit or composting toilets are available
Showers No showers are provided on site
Water No drinking water onsite - bring your own water
Picnic Tables No Picnic tables or shelters are provided on site
Pit fire BBQs Wood fired Pit BBQ's are provided - bring your own wood
Electric of Gas BBQs Gas or electric BBQ's are not provided
Rubbish Bins No rubbish bins provided - take your own rubbish with you
Campfires Fires are generally permitted at this campsite, be aware of local fire bans.
ActivitiesSwimmingThere are places to swimNearest known Camping Stores
A fun way to get to this camp site is by canoe or kayak. There is a small jetty by the river with the camp site up an embankment. When we were there the site had a pit toilet and no fresh water.
ACCESS FROM THE WATER ONLY! We hiked in to camp at Gentleman's Halt in Dec 2007 so maybe different now. The hike in is about 8km and not flat, which was fine. The first 6km is relatively easy as it is pretty much a dirt road. After that there is only a general direction indicated and no visible track. We fought our way down to the water the only way we could find through the scrub then followed the waterline around to the capsite, hoping that the trail would be easier to find from the other end. The last 2km took about 3hrs. Unfortunately there the trail from the campsite only goes 100m or so before disappearing too. Luckily there was a family camping there who came in by boat and they kindly offered us a lift across the river the next day to Spencer where I was able to call my brother to pick us up and take us the 2 hour drive back to where we started. Otherwise we were gonna have to hail a boat from the river or swim aross.
A group of 4 of us hiked in. It's about 8km along the fire road which is steep in some sections but still a road so relatively easy. The last 2.2km it turns into a path and this is where the fun/trouble begins. At first there's 500m as you work your way on a relatively well marked trail. Then at the edge is a 300 meter steep descent along not much of a trail marked by an occasional pile of rocks. At the bottom the trail continues. After hitting a T (turn right, no idea where left goes), you continue on for several hundred meters and hit a clearing with the remnants of a campfire. Although it looks like the trail goes straight (spent about an hour trying to follow the non-existent trail) there are 2 yellow ribbons to the right illuminating a trail marked by blue ribbons. After about 1km a sign indicated only 800 meters to go. This last 800 meters in completely unmarked and large amounts of brush hide the trail. On the way back I marked the trail with ribbons as best I could from a pink garbage bag, if those are gone just follow the edge of the mangrove swamp from that point and you'll get to gentlemen's halt.
Long story short it's a good challenging hike if you know the trail and where the dead ends are. Hopefully these directions should get you there.
I managed to walk in yesterday but didn't have a hope of walking back out. I waved down a passing boat that took me to Spencer. I think the 10km moderate walk sign at the start of the track is misleading.
Hi, Does anyone know if you can get a boat to go to this campsite from anywhere? Am thinking of going with the kids (4 and 6). Is the river fast flowing here, can they play/swim in the water?
Thanks, Mirabelle
Hi, Does anyone know if you can get a boat to go to this campsite from anywhere? Am thinking of going with the kids (4 and 6). Is the river fast flowing here, can they play/swim in the water?
Thanks, Mirabelle
Swimming ok, but with littli kids watch the tides, REALLY watch the tides. get there by boat no probs from anywhere along the Hawkesbury, nearest ramp would be Spencer i'd guess.
This campsite is so worth it but the trek into is tough. 1st 8km is up and down fire trail with lots of loose rocks and quite steep in sections but take it slowly and its not too bad. Takes around 3hrs comfortably. The next part is quite challenging as you descend down to the river, hard because its steep and slow but also track is not very well worn at all. This is where we got lost but that's because we did it in pitch darkness so where it will take 1.5hrs when you know where you are going, it took us 4hrs bush bashing a path. You need to do this part in daylight to avoid headache. We defintely did out fair share of trailbreaking - when you get to bank of the river - its quite tricky the last 800m as it is severely overgrown with weeds but if you head around the reeds it is not too bad but watch out for spiderwebs. The campsite is amazingly beautiful with its wide views and mountains off the Jetty. That made the trek all the worth while! :)
NEW
SwimmingThere are places to swimNearest known Camping Stores
You are not able to book these campsites - first come basisFor more information contact the NPWS Sydney North (Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park) office on:Phone:02 9472 8949
1 km
not too much longer now :)