Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp camping, Wollemi: booking, access and rules

Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp campground is the Wollemi National Park camp on the Cudgegong River, near Rylstone on the western side of the park. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) lists unpowered, marked sites for tents, camper trailers, caravans and camping beside your vehicle. It is a drive-in camp reached by unsealed road, and it is built around the river for paddling, swimming and fishing. Ganguddy is the name local Aboriginal people use for the waterway, and NPWS now uses it alongside Dunns Swamp. This guide pulls together what NPWS says about access, rules and booking.

Can you camp at Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp campground?

Yes. NPWS lists the campground as open. Its page says the park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger. When we checked on 3 November 2026, the campground page showed no alert, but the local alerts page did not display any alert text, so check the NPWS alerts page before you travel. The NPWS page does not state the number of sites.

NPWS also says the campground is very popular during school and public holidays.

Do you need to book?

Yes. Bookings are made online through NPWS using the availability search. Groups of up to 20 people or 5 sites can book online, and larger groups submit a group booking enquiry. The National Parks Contact Centre is on 1300 072 757 (7am to 7pm daily), or email parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au. The Mudgee office, which manages the campground, is on 02 6370 9000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm). Check-in is from 2pm and check-out is at 10am.

The NPWS page does not list prices, so check the NPWS page for current camping fees and for any park entry requirement, which the page does not state.

How do you get to Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp campground?

NPWS gives directions from Rylstone: turn off Ilford Road onto Fitzgerald Street, then continue onto Narrango Road for 2.4 kilometres, bear slightly left onto Narango Road for 15.4 kilometres, then continue straight onto Coricudgy Road and Mount Coricudgy Road for 7.1 kilometres. The listed segments total about 24.9 kilometres.

The roads are unsealed, suitable for 2WD vehicles, and open in all weather. NPWS advises against taking front-wheel-drive vehicles towing caravans or heavy trailers. There are several gravel carparks, including one accessible spot in the northern part of the campground.

What is the camp like?

The camp sits along the Cudgegong River, in a waterway that NPWS says was created when Kandos weir was built in the late 1920s. The learn-more page describes the wider park as home to pagoda rock formations. NPWS says wallabies, purple swamp hens and greater gliders at night are among the wildlife, and with luck you might see long-necked turtles and platypus in the weir.

Facilities

• Toilets: Non-flush. Two accessible toilet blocks are in the south, and the three in the centre and north are not accessible.
• Barbecues: Wood barbecues, plus free gas or electric barbecues.
• Picnic tables: Accessible picnic tables, and three bench seats by the river, south of the boat ramp.
• Sites: Unpowered and marked.
• Rubbish: There are no rubbish bins. Take your rubbish with you.
• Accessibility: NPWS rates it medium. The campground is mostly step-free on gravel, but other areas have hard-packed, uneven or sloped ground.

Can you drink the water?

No. NPWS says there is no drinking water. Treat or boil all creek water. Bring drinking water and cooking water for the whole stay.

Firewood and fire rules

Limited firewood is supplied at the campground, and collecting firewood in the park is not permitted. NPWS says firewood can be bought at the Louee St service station in Rylstone. The NPWS page lists no campground-specific fire rules beyond wood barbecues being provided, and the general note that the NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner may declare a total fire ban during fire weather. Check the NPWS alerts page and the Rural Fire Service on the day you leave. Do not assume that open campfires are allowed.

Is it dog friendly?

No. NPWS says pets and domestic animals are not permitted, except certified assistance animals.

Rules

• Permitted: camping, cycling, boating (4-knot speed limit), and fishing, for which a NSW recreational fishing licence is required.
• Prohibited: chainsaws, unregistered vehicles, recreational drone flying, and commercial filming or photography without consent.
• The page gives no noise rules and nothing under generators, so check the NPWS page.

Phone reception and safety

Reception is limited, and you need reception to call Triple Zero (000). NPWS recommends downloading the Emergency Plus app before your visit. Its safety guidance covers camping, bushwalking, river and lake safety, boating and paddling, and fire safety. Tell someone your plans before you set off up the unsealed road.

What is there to do?

• Paddling and swimming: NPWS lists canoeing, kayaking and swimming. Kayak hire and tours operate on weekends and daily during school holidays, from September to April. The visitor information notes canoeing in spring.
• Fishing: A NSW recreational fishing licence is required.
• Pagoda Lookout walking track: a short but steep walk with views over the pagoda rock formations and the Cudgegong River. NPWS also lists a network of easy walks with river views.
• Aboriginal cultural tour: A guided cultural walk through Ganguddy-Dunns Swamp, run by Wirimbili Cultural Experience. NPWS also lists guided kayak tours.
• Birdwatching and wildlife: Eastern grey kangaroos and red-necked wallabies are listed for the wider park, and the rare Wollemi pine was rediscovered in the park in 1994.
• Heritage: NPWS says the area has been significant to Aboriginal people for at least 12,000 years, with about 120 known sites. The Wiradjuri, Dharug, Wanaruah and Darkinjung peoples have ongoing cultural connections to the land and waters.

Who does it suit?

It suits paddlers, anglers, families who like a river beside the tent, and anyone who wants a marked, unpowered site without needing a four-wheel-drive. It is less suited to anyone who needs powered sites, flush toilets, showers or rubbish collection, because NPWS lists none of these. Pets are not allowed, and drone flying is prohibited.

Elsewhere in Wollemi

The Wollemi learn-more page names other campgrounds in the park, including the secluded Colo Meroo backpack campground, the car-accessible Coorongooba and the dramatically situated Newnes. It also lists the Glow Worm Tunnel via Wolgan Valley loop, a 9 kilometre hike past a historic railway tunnel, a rainforest gorge and pagoda outcrops. That walk is a long way from Rylstone, so check the NPWS page before building a trip around it.

Supported camping

NPWS says fully set-up caravans, camper trailers and campervans can be booked through Camplify after you book your site with NPWS. Check the NPWS page for how this works.

Best time to camp

NPWS does not nominate a season for the campground. It says the park is always open but may close for poor weather or fire danger. Paddling and kayak hire are listed for September to April, with canoeing noted in spring, so the warmer months suit the river. School and public holidays are very busy, so book early. Always check the alerts page for the day you travel.

What to bring

• Drinking water and cooking water for the whole stay, plus a way to treat or boil creek water.
• Firewood, or plan to buy it in Rylstone, and a fuel stove as a backup.
• A tent, camper trailer or caravan suited to an unsealed road.
• A NSW recreational fishing licence if you plan to fish.
• A hat, sunscreen, swimwear and clothing for changing weather.
• Bags for all your rubbish, because there are no bins.
• Fuel and groceries from Rylstone before you drive in.

Supplies and services

The campground has no shop. Rylstone is the nearest town on NPWS’s directions, with the Louee St service station listed for firewood. NPWS lists Rylstone Caravan Park and Cudgegong Waters Park at Windamere Dam as alternatives nearby when the camp is full.

A one-night plan

1. Book online and check the NPWS alerts page for closures and fire bans.
2. Stock up on food, water and firewood in Rylstone.
3. Follow Narrango Road, Coricudgy Road and Mount Coricudgy Road for about 25 kilometres to the camp.
4. Set up on your marked site, then paddle or walk the short Pagoda Lookout track.
5. Leave by 10am, taking all your rubbish.

Planning checklist

• Booking confirmed.
• Alerts and total fire ban status checked on the day.
• Drinking water and firewood packed.
• Fishing licence organised if needed.
• Vehicle and trailer suitable for an unsealed road.
• Rubbish bags packed.

Common mistakes

• Expecting rubbish bins.
• Drinking untreated creek water.
• Bringing the dog.
• Towing a heavy trailer with a front-wheel-drive vehicle.
• Fishing without a licence.
• Arriving without a booking on a school holiday.
• Assuming a campfire is allowed.

More from the operator: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/ganguddy-dunns-swamp-campground.

Plan it in the app

Save the camp on your route in MotoRidez and the planner shows road closures along the way, and where your tank runs out once you have entered the range of your vehicle. Save the route for offline use before you lose signal: it saves the corridor around your route, not a whole region.

Details come from the operator’s own records and pages, read on 20 October 2026, and change. We do not show prices or availability. Confirm fees, bookings, closures and fire rules with the operator before you go.