Smoko Campground - Victoria

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4 days ago
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Smoko Campground - Victoria High Country

Smoko Campground is a great bush camping spot on the Ovens River in Victoria’s High Country. It is located at the end of Miley Lane at Smoko, approximately 17 kilometres south of Bright and 10 kilometres north of Harrietville along the Great Alpine Road. Bright is located approximately 322 kilometres from Melbourne.

It is a popular destination for camping, swimming, fishing, relaxing and exploring the surrounding area.

Smoko Campground ~ Camping & Amenities

Access to Smoko Campground is along the sealed Great Alpine Road, you then turn into Miley Lane and drive along a narrow, decent gravel road for about a kilometre.

The camping surface is mainly hard-packed dirt with some grassy areas.

The beautiful Ovens River runs through the campground, and there is a day-use area for everyone to enjoy, with picnic tables and access to the river for swimming. The Ovens River is a popular spot for trout fishing.

There are only a few riverfront spots available, but there are plenty of places to camp in the bush back from the river.

We chose a nice flat site with a fire pit about halfway between the river and the toilet. There were not too many trees here, so we had good solar. The camping area has lots of trees, so if you want shade, you will have plenty of choice of campsites. We stayed here in early October, and there were a few campers over the weekend, but it wasn’t very busy.

Parks Victoria maintains Smoko Campground, and it is FREE to camp here.

A couple of State Forest rules to be aware of are:

Always check for fire bans before starting a fire, as they are strictly enforced.
Be prepared to take all your rubbish with you, as bins are not provided.
Ensure you have an adequate supply of drinking and cooking water, as there are no taps or water tanks available.
When camping in a state forest, set up at least 20 metres from any waterways.

Amenities

There is a one long drop toilet towards the back of the campground. There are fire pits scattered around the camping area and several picnic tables in the day-use area.

Smoko campground is a large campground that is suitable for Motorhomes, Caravans, Camper Trailers and Tents.

More Information

Smoko Campground is dog-friendly, just keep your dogs on a lead and clean up after them.
Fires are allowed as long as there is no Fire Ban.
The camping spots are easily accessible for motorhomes.
We had good Telstra mobile coverage when we stayed.
A Long Drop Toilet is available; you will need to provide your own toilet paper.
There are Picnic Tables.
Tent camping is allowed.
There are no rubbish bins, so take your rubbish with you.
You can swim in the river and
You can fish in the river.

The Great Valley Bike Trail that runs between Bright and Harrietville also passes through the campground, so be aware of cyclists.

Stony Creek Fish Farm

Four kilometres from Smoko Campground is the Stony Creek Fish Farm, which has a great cafe, and you can catch your own salmon and trout. It is open Friday to Monday from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

It's free to try and catch a fish, and Stony Creek provides bait and fishing lines, and then you pay per kilogram for every fish you catch.

We caught two lovely brook trout, they gutted and cleaned them for us, and we took them back to camp.