Marina service
Sackville Ski Gardens
About
Sackville Ski Gardens at a glance
Riverside caravan and camping park at Sackville on the Hawkesbury River popular with water-skiers, offering long-term and casual sites, amenities, pool, camp kitchen and boat ramp access.
Service area: Hawkesbury River
- Marina type
- riverside holiday park / boat ramp
- Operator
- Sackville Ski Gardens
- Region
- Hawkesbury River
- Water body
- Hawkesbury River
- Berth types
- casual berthing
Facilities and services
- boat ramp
- power & water (powered camp sites)
- swimming pool
- camp kitchen
- kiosk
- laundry
- dump point
- playground
- fire pits
- cabins
- dogs permitted
- ski beaches
About Sackville Ski Gardens
On a long, willow-lined bend of the Hawkesbury River at Sackville Reach, about 70 kilometres northwest of central Sydney, Sackville Ski Gardens carries on a local tradition that dates back to the 1950s, when farmers along this flood-prone stretch began opening their river flats to water-skiers after floods ruined their crops. The park at 742 Tizzana Road occupies part of the old Everingham farm, an 1803 grant worked by one of the district's first settler families, and the river frontage here has been drawing Sydney families to tow sports ever since caravan and ski parks spread across the lower Hawkesbury floodplain. Today it operates as a riverside holiday park rather than a conventional marina: a mix of long-term and casual caravan and camping sites, most within a short stroll of the bank, with a swimming pool, camp kitchen, kiosk and a boat ramp that sees constant use through the warmer months. The clientele is unashamedly skewed toward ski boats, wakeboarders and jet skis, and on summer weekends the reach in front of the park hums with tow ropes and loud hulls. The Sackville Ferry, one of the Hawkesbury's few remaining vehicular punts, crosses the river just downstream, and Tizzana Winery's cellar door sits almost directly opposite on the Ebenezer side. Flood risk is part of life here; the park sits inside the reach locals call the Sackville Bathtub, where floodwater backs up in major events, and the 2021 and 2022 floods reminded everyone why the district's parks keep detailed evacuation plans.
Marina facilities
Facilities are those of a caravan park with serious boating leanings rather than a serviced marina, and visitors should arrive with that expectation. The centrepiece for boaters is the park's wide concrete boat ramp giving direct access to Sackville Reach, with room to rig ski boats and park trailers on site; ramp use is tied to a stay or a fee arrangement with the park. There are no floating pontoons, fuel berths, pump-out points or mechanic on the premises; boats are typically beached on the sandy ski beaches in front of the sites or anchored just off the bank overnight. Powered sites with water are available for caravans, camper trailers and RVs, including big-rig friendly sites, alongside unpowered grassed camping areas, and the park also offers cabin-style accommodation. Amenities include a clean toilet and shower block, laundry, a dump point for vans, a camp kitchen with barbecues, fire pits with firewood available, a children's playground and a swimming pool set back from the river. A kiosk operates for basics, ice, snacks and coffee, and reception sells essentials during office hours; the nearest supermarket and fuel are at Wilberforce or Windsor, so skippers should arrive with full tanks and a stocked esky. Dogs are permitted under control, which suits the many families who treat the park as an annual pilgrimage. Bookings are essential in the October to April peak, when riverside sites fill weeks ahead and the park runs at capacity on every fine weekend. Long-term sites are held by regulars, some of whom have kept vans and boats here for decades, and casual sites are best secured midweek outside school holidays.
Local sailing knowledge
Sackville Reach is freshwater river boating, and the character of the Hawkesbury changes markedly this far upstream of the sea. Tides still reach Sackville but run roughly two and a half hours behind Fort Denison, and the water is brackish-to-fresh, which is why hull growth is slower here and why ski boats dominate. The reach in front of the park is a designated water-ski area and gets genuinely busy on summer weekends; know the towing rules, keep a lookout and expect wash. Depths in the main channel are generally generous for trailerboats and cruisers, with some of the deepest water on the river, around 27 metres, recorded opposite Tizzana Winery near the old Sackville Reach wharf. Downstream, Wisemans Ferry offers a pub, fuel and supplies, while upstream the river winds past Lower Portland and Ebenezer toward Windsor; a 40-foot cruiser can comfortably reach the Colo River junction. Tizzana Winery, in a grand 1880s stone building across the river, welcomes visitors arriving by boat by arrangement, and Ebenezer Church, built in 1809 and the oldest church building in Australia, is a short run downstream. The annual Bridge to Bridge powerboat race thunders through this reach each year. Fishing is worthwhile: bass and estuary perch in the quieter creeks, and bream and flathead around the drop-offs closer to the tidal influence. Keep flood warnings in mind between autumn and spring; when the Hawkesbury rises, Sackville is among the first places to go under, and the park and ferry close well before the peak.