Bells Bay Camp Ground

Have edited this post a few times so as to try keep it up to date. Original post 2.8.19 when we were so dissapointed to travel so far to spend a weekend at this place camping and kayaking only to find it closed.Checked WaterNSW site before going there including opening their link to 'important notice' for current Bells Bay Camping info which said it was open to public on weekendsOwned by Water NSW and run by volunteers from the Kyogle Fishing Club - hard to find info about closures unless you're 'in the know' it seems. This sort of info should be easily and readily available to the general public.I sent a complaint to WaterNSW and got no response and a month later their information was still incorrect as you can see by conflicting screen shots I'll post.Camping fee's $10 per night to be paid on arrival - cash only. According to the fishing clubs website they were using camp fee's to restock dam with fish. When I first wrote this campsite was closed due to blue green alga; at many other times they said it was closed due to low water levels.As a lot of people aren't interested in fishing I find it hard to understand why it cannot be open to the public for camping, bushwalking etc 7 days a week. Bendeela Recreation Area at Kangaroo Valley is also owned by WaterNSW and is open 7 days a week, provides similar facilities and only charges a $6 Covid booking fee for up to a 7 night stay; National Parks camping area's are also open 7 days a week and usually charge less than Bells Bay too.Something seems rather 'fishy' to me about this.

Great camp ground, quiet and beautiful location. Toilets clean and not smelly, great fireplace facilities and firewood available from the manager near the gate (better than from a servo). Better if you have watercraft to enjoy the lake.

Such a tranquil spot, to relax. Remote camping with only drop toilets. Picnic tables & fire pits. Only disappointment is only open Fri - Sun . We would love mid week camping.

Was a great secluded spot but now can’t camp there mid week and take my dog. I’m a pensioner who loves to get away and have a fish and rough camp and I always paid my fees. Complained all the way to the Minister with no success, fishing club have it all locked up

What an absolute magical spot! So secluded and surround by state forestry.Ample fishing spots, tables and chairs under covered areas, grassy spots for picnics. This is certainly where I would choose to come for serenity and openness. It’s a breath of fresh air.It’s kept beautifully. The dam itself has several areas you can access. So what a part of it is closed , plenty of other areas to pull up to. Some cows roaming about the place. Honestly it’s a great spot.

What a really nice place.we were here for a overnight stop in. We camped and fished and had a ball and would be back again.The caretakers where so nice. Good for a getaway.

Great location for our caravan group of 8 vans. One lane road in but blissfully quiet. Clean composting toilets. No mobile phone coverage at campground - how good was that!

Enjoyed ourselves but a few things could be done...levelling of some camp spots, drop toilets were full...we ended up getting a big storm (no warning from anyone and once we got washed out with land slide and a tree falling on car we moved up to the shelter part to have someone come down the next day and ask us for an extra 20 dollars as we moved there but there was no mention of this extra cost or noone told us we weren't aloud to camp there when we first arrived and paid

Friday to Sunday Winter and Summer only access to the public area (Bells) at a cost $10 Adults. Should be open 24/7 public property would still be a low traffic spot.Boat ramp at dam wall 24/7 access, launching a boat or yak looks risky as it's a very steep and very thin ramp. And drops off deep apparently. Whole ramp is hidden to the side of a heli pad landing area. No other access points.