Crosslands Reserve — Attraction in Sydney

The booking process has to be one of the worst around. For the two nights we planned to go, we'd initially thought the site was booked out. There are three Booking Reservation links to chose from (currently). They are all exactly the same thing and do NOT refer to different camp areas. If booking as a party, tell prople to try all three links for the nights in question if they appear to be booked out. We nearly gave up as the Reservation 1 link showed the nights we wanted as being unavailable.

As it was, the four families in our group had the site to ourselves the first night!

The main thing we like is the ability to have a campfire here. There are not many designated sites on the reserve to use so get there early to secure a spot. Also, despite there being a proponderance of stocks and looks of different sizes cluttering up the ground in the woods around the site, campers are required to bring their own logs. We would have thought that a law not to chop down wood or remove from the National Park would actually save the rangers from having to clear wood up and reduce bush fire risk....

We prefer the camp fire site at the South West end of the reserve - near the toilets!

The creek that runs along the site is great with a lovely stretch on the North East end which is almost beach-like and has swim able depth water. Too cold for the adults at end of May but the kids were in!

You can also kayak for most of the way down to Berowra Waters (some shallow spots may necessitate dragging or carrying).

The toilets are clean and serviced way too early (around 6am on the nights we were there). There is tap water and at least one bubbler. No showers but there is the creek...

The camp gate is closed by 5.30pm and as the site is 2.5km from this gate, you do NOT want to be late! You are unable to drive your vehicle to the actual camping area so you may need to carry gear a few hundred metres. A trolley would be a useful addition if you've got a lot of gear.

There are wide grassed areas that, if not too crowded, can be use for impromptu cricket or footy games. There is also a small but good play area with a decent flying fox.

This is also a great spot to stay on the Great North Walk with bush walks leading off...

I took the kids camping here. There are minimal facilities, clean toilets, running water and some electric BBQs. The best camping sites are a trek from the carpark, which is only a problem if you have three kids in tow and a heap of stuff.

You can camp closer to the car but it leaves you very close to the road. But swings and roundabouts as they say.

Once you are set up though it really is a beautiful spot. It gets crowded in the day but quietens down at night. The creek near the good toilets is not so good for swimming, but great for exploring. You can call up and hire canoes from the conference centre across the creek. It is worth a paddle just remember which way the tide is going.

Further from the entrance the creek gets deeper, although the facilities at this end are more rustic. There is a narrow sandy beach, allowing the little kids to play and paddle. Swim across the creek from here and there is a rope swing. Ideal for the bigger kids and adults. Beware of the rocks though, they are slippery at times and do pose some danger.

The other campers were very friendly and fairly quiet. Although there was a bit if noise from the conference centre.

Some nice walks into the bush and along the creek. Some wildlife, but not a lot. Overall a great spot close to the city to get the crew experienced in a slightly less well appointed...

This is a beautiful place for a day picnic and night camping under the stars(non-powered camping only). Nice clean toilets. Find a suitable spot and pitch the tent after 5:00 PM. The southern part of the site is a shared space for people who arrive for the day's picnic as it has kids play equipment and more picnic tables than the northern end. Kids had a fun time with play equipment and lots of space to ride bikes. There is the Berowra creek for people who are into fishing. We stayed in the southern end of the camp site. The northern end is quieter and toilets are fewer but sufficient. Drinking water bubbler was available but was not functional on the day, so we had to rely on our own water. Its is good to bring along plenty of drinking water. Car park is about 100 meters away, but we found a spot to pitch the tent closer to where we parked. It was a nice quiet place until ~4:30 am in summer time and then the whole of Australian bird kingdom wakes up making it impossible to sleep afterwards. Highly recommend for families with kids and hikers doing the...