Thredbo Diggings Campground in Kosciuszko is free to camp but must be booked. How booking works, when it fills up and how to snap up a cancelled site.
About
Thredbo Diggings is a riverside campground on the Thredbo River in the Thredbo-Perisher area of Kosciuszko National Park, just inside the park off the Alpine Way. It's a no-frills spot with a lot going for it: the river for fishing and swimming, the Thredbo Valley track and Bullocks track for walking and riding, and Thredbo Alpine Village and the ski tube to Perisher a short drive away.
The big drawcard is price. NPWS charges no camping fees here, just a small booking fee. That's a rare thing in a national park this popular, and it means sites get snapped up quickly in peak periods.
The Thredbo-Perisher area is open all year, but roads and trails can close for weather or park management. Heads up for this season: NPWS has the campground closed for post-winter maintenance from 12 October to 31 October 2026, with feral animal control closures also listed for parts of late October. Check the local alerts before you plan anything for the end of October.
The sites
The official NPWS page lists 41 campsites at Thredbo Diggings, suitable for tents, camper trailers, caravans and camping beside your vehicle. All sites are unpowered and marked.
Facilities, per NPWS:
- Toilets
- Barbecue facilities
- Picnic tables
There's no water, firewood or rubbish service, so bring your own drinking water, cooking water and firewood, and take your rubbish home. There's a gravel car park, and you can also park next to your campsite. Mobile reception is limited.
The maximum stay is 14 days at this campground and 21 days in the national park overall. You can book up to 12 people or 2 sites online. School groups and Park Eco Pass holders can lodge a group booking enquiry. Park entry fees apply on the Alpine Way and Kosciuszko Road, with a higher daily rate in winter.
How booking works
Even though camping is free, you still need to book through the NSW National Parks website or by calling the National Parks Contact Centre on 1300 072 757 (7am to 7pm daily). The campground is operated by the Snowy Region Visitor Centre in Jindabyne. There's no ballot; you pick from whatever's available for your nights.
The booking fee is non-refundable. NPWS's camping refund terms (75% back if you cancel 31 or more days out, 50% after that) apply to the fees you've paid, which at a free campground is close to nothing. That's worth knowing: because there's little money at stake, people tend to book generously and cancel freely, which works in your favour if you're hunting for a site.
When it sells out
Summer school holidays, the Christmas to Australia Day stretch, Easter and long weekends are when Kosciuszko's riverside campgrounds are busiest. Warm-weather weekends from December through to autumn are popular with walkers, mountain bikers and anglers heading for the Thredbo River.
Winter is a different game: the area stays open, but 2WD vehicles must carry snow chains on the Alpine Way between Thredbo and Tom Groggin during the June to October long weekend period, and chains are required after snow on the access road.
How to get a cancellation
With almost nothing to lose by cancelling, plans at a free campground change a lot. Groups over-book and drop sites, people bail on rainy forecasts, and sites come back without warning, often in the last week before arrival.
The 31-day refund mark matters less here than at paid campgrounds, so expect cancellations to be spread out rather than bunched around one date. That makes them harder to catch by checking manually.
Easiest fix: watch Thredbo Diggings on Aussie Camp Alerts. Choose your nights and we'll email you when a site opens. The free plan gives you one live watch with alerts delayed by about 15 minutes. If you're watching a few Kosciuszko campgrounds at once, the Summer pass adds instant alerts and Telegram or web push.
Getting there
From Jindabyne, leave town on Kosciuszko Road and turn left onto the Alpine Way after about 3km. Continue around 19km, then turn right at the sign for Thredbo Diggings campground shortly after entering the park. The access road is unsealed but suitable for 2WD vehicles.
Kosciuszko Road is closed between Perisher and Charlotte Pass in winter. The Snowy Region Visitor Centre at 49 Kosciuszko Road, Jindabyne, is open 8.30am to 5pm daily (closed Christmas Day) and lends personal locator beacons free of charge, as do the Perisher Valley Office, Tumut and Khancoban visitor centres. NPWS also suggests filling in a trip intention form if you're heading out on a remote walk.
NPWS lists 1080 baiting for wild dogs and foxes in the surrounding area through to early February 2027, so leave pets at home.
Nearby alternatives
- Ngarigo, a short drive away on the same stretch of the Thredbo River.
- Bonnie Vale in Royal National Park, if you're after a coastal backup closer to Sydney.
- Depot Beach on the South Coast, a natural pairing with a Snowy Mountains trip.