We had a great March long weekend camping at the Doon Reserve Caravan Park. This was our second visit to this park and here is our review.
What you can find in this post
To be honest, this is not our normal style of camping. Back before the kids we used to go camping in the bush and gave dirty looks to anyone that came anywhere near us!! Fast forward a few years and we have ended up in a caravan park surrounded by hundreds of others. But, it’s all about the variety (I suppose?!?!). It really did seem like there were hundreds of others camped in the same area but we were able to position our tents and cars to give ourselves privacy.
Check out this quick little walkthrough.
Location
Doon Reserve Caravan Park is located in Yarra Junction, in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. It’s an easy drive and only just over an hour from home (much closer for those that live on the Ringwood side of Melbourne).
Doon Reserve Caravan park is a great place to base yourselves for a weekend of exploring Yarra Junction, Warburton and Mt Donna Buang amongst others. Or, for relaxing around the campfire and floating down the river.
There are so many things to see and do in this area of Victoria. From natural waterfalls, a Redwoods Forest to explore and historical sites and museums. Not to mention the abundance of food and wine options.
Accommodation
As soon as you search for Warburton accommodation or Yarra Valley accommodation there are so many options to choose between. We were specifically looking for Doon Reserve Caravan Park due to the river access and the fact you could hire fire drums.
Camping Sites
There are powered and unpowered camping sites available. We always camp unpowered and there were plenty of these both along the riverfront (no river access as such but kids could escape down the bank into the water). There are also sites near the playground and oddly right next to the entrance to the toilet block.
There are also quite a few permanent vans dotted around the park. I am never a massive fan of these. Only because of the look, some can be very run down.
An update since our last visit is that you are able to easily book online (even for a group of multiple families). Unfortunately, there was no option to request a particular site or area so we didn’t know where we would be setting up until we arrived and checked in.
Facilities
There are two toilet blocks at Doon Reserve which are kept spotless plus a camp kitchen and laundry with sinks and coin-operated machines. The temperature of the showers was a little off and I’d be wary of this with kids showering. It changed from scalding hot to freezing cold. I think it was every time another shower was turned on, a toilet flushed or a tap at the sink turned on.
There is a little old school playground which the kids enjoyed a couple of times. But to be honest, they are so happy running around and making up their own games. One of the benefits of being outside and camping, it’s just so good for the kids.
The best selling point of Doon Reserve is the river flowing through the caravan park. The depth of the water various around the river with a few trees and rocks to navigate but there is plenty of fun to be had by floating down the river. We didn’t see quite as many blow up floating devices as Porepunkah and the water was absolutely freezing this time.
Ned and Ross floating down the river (trying not to get wet as the water was freezing!)
Every long weekend the owners of Doon Reserve have a huge pancake cook up for all the guests. Pancakes and every type of topping you can imagine from ice cream, cream, sauces, sprinkles and popping candy plus huge trays of fruit. It is a huge effort for the staff to do this and they did such a wonderful job. It is not expected and very appreciated.
There are 4 plates of pancakes here but no way I could eat this!!!
One of the great things about this park was that you could hire fire drums. At so many caravan/holiday parks you are not allowed fires – for us this really makes the camping experience.
There was a little shop at the reception with very basic supplies (think marshmallows and chocolate frogs!).
Dog Friendly camping sites
There are not too many dog friendly camping sites in Victoria and Doon Reserve Caravan Park is a pet friendly caravan park. I was a little worried about dogs with the kids but all the dogs we saw were kept under control.
Details for Doon Reserve Caravan Park
Check In – 12 pm
Check Out – 10 am (this is flexible after a long weekend)
Reception Hours – 9 am to 6 pm – times may vary over a long weekend. We had no issues checking in at 8.30pm
After Hours – See and follow instruction on kiosk door.
Car Parking – Parking is available on or close to your site. There were so many cars on our visit they were parked along the road at the entrance to the park.
Getting There – Follow the Warburton highway towards Warburton. Turn onto Corduroy Road and then right onto Doon road. See map above.
Pricing for Doon Reserve
Powered Sites – $35 per night
Unpowered sites – $30 per night
Children under 2 are free.
Children between 2 and 16 are charged at $5 per night.
Overall
Overall, did we enjoy our stay? We did and I’m warming more and more to stays in caravan parks as it is a really safe environment for the kids and quite relaxing for parents!
As the kids get older I think caravan parks will get better and better for us. I think we will just need to alternate bush camping by ourselves and this caravan park style where there are just so many people!
Doon Reserve Caravan Park – website
200 Doon Road Yarra Junction
Have you camped at Doon Reserve? What did you think? Leave me a comment below if you like.
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