Barrington Tops National Park

Barrington Tops National Park is a protected highland area in New South Wales encompassing a rugged plateau and upland escarpments. The park contains cool temperate rainforest, subalpine communities and extensive wilderness areas.

Trails and fire trails provide access to subalpine meadows, snowgum woodlands and rainforest gullies; the plateau reaches roughly 1,500 metres in places. The park is used for bushwalking, camping, horse riding and 4WD on designated tracks.

The area preserves plant communities that are remnants of ancient Gondwanan forests and supports diverse native fauna. It is managed for conservation and low-impact recreation as part of a larger protected landscape in the Hunter and Mid North Coast region.

Geographically the park lies inland from the New South Wales coast, roughly 200 kilometres north of Sydney, set on the Barrington Tops plateau between regional towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast areas.

• Elevation and ecosystems: The park includes upland plateaus and peaks that reach around 1,500 metres, with significant areas of cool temperate rainforest.
• World Heritage status: Part of the broader Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage listing, recognised for ancient rainforest communities.

What to See #

• Barrington Tops plateau: High plateau and subalpine areas above 1,200 metres that contain snowgum woodlands and alpine meadows.
• Rainforest and river valleys: Lower-elevation rainforest pockets and river valleys that feed major river systems in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions.