Forges Beach 2 Campground is a free camp located on the banks of the Murray River. It is a beautiful spot to stop and relax.
In the area, there is bird watching, fishing and paddle sports if you are after any activities. Of course, you could just sit back and relax.
This campground is accessed via the sealed Murray Valley Highway and unsealed roads. It is a 10km drive west of Yarrawonga. The unsealed roads are bumpy but suitable for 2WD vehicles, if you take it easy.
No facilities are provided, so you must be self-contained and self-reliant.
Fires and pets are permitted at this campground.
Tents are permitted.
Water and a dump point are provided at Yarrawonga. During our visit the dump point in Yarrawonga was closed. There is another dump point on the other side of the river in Mulwala.
There are two nearby campgrounds, about which we have some brief notes below. One we can recommend, and the other is best avoided if possible.
Forges Beach 2 Campground Quick Facts
| Campground Name | Forges Beach 2 Campground |
|---|---|
| Nearest Town | Yarrawonga |
| GPS | 35°59'35.00"S 145°57'20.66"E |
| Access Road | Sealed/unsealed |
| Number of sites | 10 |
| Toilets | No |
| Water | No |
| Dump point | No |
| Power | No |
| Pets | Yes |
| Tents | Yes |
| Fires permitted | Yes |
| Telstra coverage | Yes |
| Optus coverage | Yes |
| Cost | Free |
| Booking | N/A |
Campground Layout and Features
This campground contains about 10 well-spaced camping areas. During busier periods, efficient site selection may increase this number.
The sites are unmarked. Some sites are shaded, while others provide plenty of sun to recharge your batteries. There is an elevated area that provides 3 or 4 sites. This area is grassed. The remaining sites are on sandy ground and provide easier access to the river.
As previously mentioned, no facilities are provided.
Forges Beach 2 Campground Location
Forges Beach 2 Campground is located 5km west of Yarrawonga. The map below shows its location. You may zoom out for a general location.
What to Watch Out For at Forges Beach 2 Campground
This campground is located in an area prone to flooding. You should check for flood warnings before attempting to access the area.
There are a couple of issues with locals at this and surrounding campsites. One of them is the people leaving their vans or campers in the area while they are not staying there. During our stay there was only one but there are reports of more in other areas. Forges Beach 1 seems to have a significant number of people staying long-term
While we did not have any issues at this campground, other people have reported abuse from locals at other campgrounds. Just be wary of the possibility of being confronted by angry locals. See this next section for further details.
Final Words
We had a great stay and recommend this campground. It was relaxing and we met some wonderful people.
If we had known what we know now, we would probably have travelled a little further along the track to get to Little Bruce’s Beach Campground. It is more open and has more space, but it also lacks facilities. You may like to consider using this campground instead. If you do you will get to a Y-junction. Go to the left to stay higher and drive towards the pump station.
The negative about this area seems to be locals who think that you have more of a right to access the public spaces and become abusive. We initially looked at staying at Forbes Beach 1. There are reports of locals abusing non-local campers at this campground. For this reason, we looked elsewhere. While camping, we met a young couple with a couple of children. They moved from Forbes Beach 1 to Forbes Beach 2 after being abused at the former.