Lovely spot but really disappointed with the park in general. Campsites overgrown and full of leaches, walking tracks overgrown with thistles, (see photo from the Lava Canal walk), drainage issue with the male shower that had us standing in 10cm of water, and which started to leak into the ladies block, no park notes / visitors guides at the visitors centre and not a ranger in sight over the three days we were there. All of this would be easy enough to put up with if the site fees were not so exorbidently expensive. At close to $60 a night I expected better.
Great place to camp, more like glamping with flushing toilets and hot showers. Huge range of walking tracks and caves to explore. We pretty much had the place to our selves on the last weekend in April.
Great walks around top and bottom of lake.. Lake itself not suitable for swimming or vessels. Blue green algae at present. I
Surprised that it was such an interesting place with crater and lake, a lava tunnel cave, picnic area etc. Also surprised I was alone there, which made my experience even better! Lots of walks. Deserves better marketing. If it was a reasonable price somebody would camp there. 50 dollars is like "don't come here and disturb us"…
Camping at mt eccles campground is crazy. Just because it has a old dirty hot shower fee is 50 dollars a night.way overpriced. Many walking tracks were closed due to lack of maintenance. The area around the campground is overrun with weeds, overall the park is tired and unloved needs a big injection.
Away from the main tourist trail, this National Park is well worth visiting. The Surprise Lake circuit walk can be achieved in an hour, though two hours would be more worthwhile to allow for more frequent stops for photography, koalas, birds and the lava caves.