Wee Jasper

I have never found it too busy at any week day out of school holidays. However, all bets are off following the relaxation period after our Covoid lockdowns.

All the campgrounds in the area are controlled by National Parks. You need to book in via the office at Billy Grace Reserve and pay your fees there no matter which area you camp in. The dertails are at - Wee Jasper Reserves - I suggest you ring and ask them.

Thanks mate

Inspired by this post, I made a day trip out there this (Sunday) afternoon to check the place out. I visited all the camp sites other than Micalong. The only vans and campers were at Billy Grace, with the exception of one RV that was packing up to leave Fitzpatrick Trailhead. (Carey's Reserve is more or less abandoned and unusable.)

I'd estimate that there were around ten sites occupied at Billy Grace, but as this is quite a large area there was a lot of space between them. Not crowded at all. By the time I got there it was well after 4pm and so the numbers may have been higher earlier. I had the impression there had been some sort of Tvan get-togther over the weekend. Based on what I saw I find it hard to imagine that you'd have a problem mid-week outside of school holidays.

Price is currently $17 per person per night for "primitive camping". Struck me as a little steep, but the main sites are well maintained, and at Billy Grace there are flush toilets and showers, a covered meals area that may have had a camp kitchen (not sure), and a dump point, so despite the lack of power and water it's not totally primitive. I gather it's possible to access potable water, but didn't see where from.

There are some great campsites by the river at Billy Grace. The showers are hot, just don't be there after a bunch of cavers have taken a shower as the caves are damp and muddy. One other thing, we did a shake down camp by the river and the property on the other side had some sort of automatic bird scaring 'cannon' that went off at regular intervals during the day. It was in the distance and wasn't actually very obtrusive. A very lovely spot. Note you have to bring everything. There is /was a small shop at caretaker's residence with very limited items. From time to time their can be a pub/cafe operating in the village, it obviously struggles to be viable as it is often closed.

And thanks to you also.

I have just spent a few nights at the Billy Grace site at Wee Jasper. Staying there during school hols hadn't been the plan, but it seemed to be the best option for an early outing for the newish Karavan. It is a nice setting, but not really bush camping. Some observations:

Given that it is school hols, I'd describe it as well patronised but not crowded. On the first night we felt that we had a fair bit of separation from other campers, less so on the second night, but I think that was just some clustering near us because we had chosen a prime area.

I was surprised that the numbers weren't higher, but the Christmas / new year peak had probably passed, and the regular storms in the region will have put some people off. Minimum booking at present is three nights, and it would be hard to pick three consecutive storm-free nights at present with any confidence.

The heavy rain late last week had left the Goodradigbee flowing fast and wide and the campground soil rather saturated. In fact last Friday the causeway at the intersection of Wee Jasper & Nottingham Road just around the corner from the entry to Billy Grace had apparently been impassable, so if there's been heavy rain it's wise to call and check or view their FB profile.

The shower / toilet / dump etc facilities at Billy Grace are quite good, which you'd hope for at $17 p.p p.n. for "primitive camping". Also a childrens playground and BBQ facilities (I assume gas). What used to be the Wee Jasper store is closed with no prospect of reopening under the current owner of the land and building. As previously mentioned by someone, the office at Billy Grace has a few non-perishables for sale, but it's slim pickings, plus a fridge with soft drinks and I think some milk, but not much. The pub that burned down a few years back has not been rebuilt.

Nottingham Road south from Billy Grace to Micalong is even worse than when I was there a little over a month ago. In fact the Reserves FB page a few days ago said "the road to Swinging Bridge & Micalong Creek is in terrible condition - advising standard vehicles to reconsider using this road, 4x4's use caution. " That's probably an overstatement, but the kilometre or two just before Swinging Bridge has some doozies across the road. Could you cross them in a 2WD? Probably, slowly, but decent clearance would essential. No low-slung sports cars.

I made it to Micalong this time and checked out the facilities. What Frank said is correct - the east side is open and only has what seems from a distance to be long drops, although I didn't opt to inspect them. The west side has much more shade and better facilities - flushing toilets and two showers that were clearly added later in a corrugated iron add-on. It is almost on a par with Billy Grace, assuming you manage to get there. It was well patronised.

There's a decent Telstra signal at Billy Grace. I didn't check it at Micalong, but I'd be surprised if it extended that far given the distance and terrain.

I did venture a few kms further south from Micalong to check the state of the road. Not in great condition, more cross-track erosion. If it was all like that then it would probably be doable, but very slow.