As far as National Park free campground go, this was a great example!
We were doing a 4 week camping road trip in May 2017 and this Cocoparra National Park was on our list to checkout and perhaps stay a night if it was ok. We grabbed supplies in Griffith which this National Park is near to and headed out to explore the area before heading into the campground for the night.
We entered the main part of the park and diverted on the way in to see if a small waterfall that was signposted was running after the rain we had over the last day or so, whilst the track was muddy in places, not even a trickle, but still a nice and easy walk to this feature. We continued on the short distance to the campground itself and noticed that apart from one van parked away from the amenities, we had the place to ourselves.
We decided to setup our tent right near the brand new big BBQ and tables shelter, it was quite muddy underfoot so we used some dead leaves to put down in front of our tent to stop mud coming in. We had a good look around and was very impressed with just how well the new BBQ shelter and toilets had been constructed, it really shows that someone took pride in what they were constructing, it really shows. There was plenty of good seating and we setup our camp kitchen under here in case it rained, which it did on and off, but never heavily.
The toilets are your typical long drops but were in very good state of cleanliness and it was never a trip you dreaded making.
There are areas of grass around the campsite, we just chose to be right next to the shelter due to the rain, plenty of space to spread out depending on how far you want to be away fromj the loos and shelter.
Things To Do & See
To be honest, apart from our initial explore before we came in, we did little else as we were just passing through. There is a short drive up to the top of one of the peaks where there are transmission towers, but once you are up there, you will need to work hard to find an un-filtered view due to trees. A nice drive just the same. There are a few other tracks to explore in the park, but most will need to be done on foot due to gates etc. The waterfall would be stunning after a good rain so make sure you do the short walk to there.
Checkout the walking track called Jacks Creek walking track, it is 10-15 minutes drive out from the campground and then back down south on the old stock route. There is a picnic area there as well if you want to make use of that. We drove in and had a look but never made use of either of these.
How to get there
An easy campsite to find and there is almost only one way to get in and out, unless you have a 4WD and are prepared for some slow going on un-maintained tracks.
If you are coming from the south of the park, we accesed the park from Yenda, get yourself onto Myall Park Road, then follow that North, on a left hand bend, we turned right onto Mount Bingar Rd, after a short while you will veer left to stay on Mount Bingar Road, just stay on Mount Bingar Road till you hit the old stock route that runs North South.
After a few kms you will hit the boundry of the National park and a dirt road that goes North / South. If you are heading straight to the campground, turn left and head north along this road. After turning left and driving 3-4kms, you will see a turn to the right with the National Parks sign, follow that road in and a few km later you will be at the campsite.
If you are coming from the North, you will want to get onto Rankin Springs Road which heads south off the Mid Western Highway. Then turn onto Myall Park Rd and you will be turning again almost straight away, then the rest of the directions will apply.
BE WARNED: If you choose to continue following the old stockk route NORTH after you leave the campground, do not take a caravan and be prepared for some 4WD action, especially after rain, the road was well erroded in places and eventually we gave up and found a east / west road to get off the old stock route, it was just too slow going.
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