Neds Gully Campground

Neds Gully is well spaced campground right in the heart of the Cathedral Range State Park and less than a two hour drive from Melbourne’s CBD.

The campground is well laid out with most individual campsites being bordered by native Australian trees.

There are built-fire pits, hiking trails leaving the campsite and a river right next to the camping area, these factors and the pretty short-drive from Melbourne makes it an ideal spot to go camping for a few days. 

Although the small river is a massive bonus as it gives you somewhere to cool and catch dinner, it can also be a downfall as you’ll need to walk over a short foot bridge to get to the camping area, meaning you can’t drive right up to your campsite.

Even though Neds Gully is our preferred campground out of the two main sites in the Cathedral Range State Park, having to walk over the bridge to the campsite instead makes Cooks Mill Campground a more popular choice for most people as the majority of the campsites there have a parking spot right next them.

There is a steep hike to Neds Peak leaving Neds Gully camping area. The map says it’s less than an hour, although for us it was a fun two hour hike to the summit. Allow some tip to explore the cliff shelf once at the top, with incredible views of the great Australia plains.

It’s a thirty minute walk from Neds Gully campground to the other campsite, Cooks Mill. It’s a nice walk along the river, it’s completely flat and easy. It’s slightly faster walking along the dirt road and would take just a few minutes by car.

To stay at Neds Gully Campground, you’ll need to book your campsite from the Parks Victoria website. Jump onto their website, choose your campsite, dates then book and pay.

Booking will give you a reserved campsite and the money goes towards maintaining the Cathedral Range State Park, so it’s a good thing.