Mount Franklin Reserve — Attraction in Mount Franklin

Great camping spot, went for the 2018 Easter weekend it was pretty busy. There is a male toilets and a female toilets with a water tank at each for washing your hands (bring toilet paper and soap just in case). There is a lot of sloped ground as the campsite is a crater. There are a few communal (park owned) fire pits, if you are wanting to set up around one keep in mind the park rangers will tell you anyone can come into your campsite to use it. If you want your own fire you cannot dig a hole or place rocks around it as it doesn't fall under CFA regulations. You will need a man made pit (such as a fire barrel etc that is at least 30cm deep. There is some firewood avaliable around the top of the crater but it is probably best you bring some red gum if you're staying more than a couple nights. The camp site is so not too far from Daylesford so you can pop into town to get some forgotten supplies. As for other campers, there will either be rowdy adults drinking, being loud, having fun and swearing until 4am (you're campinh in Australia what do you expect?) or loud unleashed children who begin chanting 'Steve your an idiot' as early as 7am. So either way dont go camping anywhere in Australia on a long weekend and expect to get some sleep....

Free camping is obviously a bonus, but we didn't have a great experience due to the following.

Sharing in case it helps others like us: Local youth seem to use it for a drinking/hanging out location. Very rowdy, wasn't suitable for us as we sleep and rise with the sun this time of year (and having a 2yo, you don't get much of a choice on wake up time!). Total Fire Ban weekend, lots of gas stoves and open campfires lit. Police around during the day, but none in evening when fire activity at its peak. Didn't feel safe. Our campsite was on quite a slope so made it difficult to sit around or prepare food on a table. As it's inside an extinct volcano (which is super cool), the smoke from campfires seems to be captured inside and we were swamped with campfire smoke when in bed. March flies and mozzies, take bug spray Seemed to be a lot of loud barking dogs, sometimes fighting with each other.

Positives: Saw lovely Kookaburras, Rosellas and Magpies frequently Not many crawling insects at all The trees are really lovely and the pine and Eucalyptus give off such a beautiful aroma The short hike is a nice stroll, views from up top Long drop toilets and appreciated Generally well kept. No rubbish and stuff...

Four stars for its unique geophysical feature, where else can you camp at the centre of an extinct volcanic crater? BUT … this unique feature also means it’s a natural amphitheater. I feel reluctant to start the generator, the sound is going to bounce around and annoy others, I can hear them, but the chance of our solar being any use in here is almost zero. So many trees and very short days because of the crater rim. Also Being winter means there is very little grass cover on the ground and the rain means the bare dirt sticks to everything, so it’s quite messy at present. I would give it just ONE star as a camping area, possibly three stars on a blue sky warm day. The whole camp ground feels claustrophobic as it’s barely the size of a small oval. There is a long drop toilet block with water at the hand basins. The fire pits have cooking plates but are surrounded with ash. Best for a day trip in my opinion. Hope the rain stops so we can do the...