Bomaderry Creek Regional Park
Overview
Bomaderry Creek Regional Park, a beautiful bushland oasis, awaits those who take the short detour from the Princes Highway between Bomaderry and North Nowra.
Read more about Bomaderry Creek Regional Park
The centrepiece of this park, tucked away behind the Princes Highway at Bomaderry, is the lovely Bomaderry Creek Gorge. Here you’ll discover a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of life. A short walk brings you to cool forest, soaring sandstone faces, scattered boulders, the sound of running water and the joyous sight of wildflowers in spring.
Nature-lovers and keen walkers can enjoy the trails, picnic area and lookouts year-round – the shade and water make spending time here pleasant, even in high summer. You’ll love the variety of landscapes, from the cliff-lined gorge and huge sandstone slabs, to the plateau above. You can also look out for the threatened glossy black cockatoo feeding on the casuarinas. The Aboriginal rainbow serpent mural in the picnic area is great for the kids, and because it’s a regional park, you can take the family dog for a walk here, as long as it's on a leash of course.
Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/bomaderry-creek-regional-park/local-alerts
Contact
- in the South Coast region
Bomaderry Creek Regional Park is always open, but may have to close at times due to wet weather or fire danger.
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Nowra office
02 4428 6300
Contact hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. - 104 Flatrock Road, Mundamia NSW 2540
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Email: npws.shoalhaven@environment.nsw.gov.au
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Nowra office
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Bomaderry Creek Regional Park.
Map
Map legend
Getting there and parking
Get driving directions
From Wollongong and the north:
- Head south down the Princes Highway until you reach Bomaderry
- Turn right at the second roundabout (Narang Road)
- The park entrance is 300m along Narang Road on your left
From Nowra and the south:
- Turn left at Narang Road and travel for 300m to the park entrance on the left
Parking
- Bomaderry Creek picnic area See on map
Road quality
- Sealed roads
Vehicle access
- 2WD vehicles
By bike
Check out the Bicycle information for NSW website for more information.
Best times to visit
There are lots of great things waiting for you in Bomaderry Creek Regional Park. Here are some of the highlights.
Autumn
Autumn weather is perfect for a picnic and a bushwalk in the park.
Spring
Walk one of the park's lovely trails in springtime to see wildflowers in bloom above the gorge.
Summer
Enjoy the shade of the gorge and dip your toes in the cool water of Bomaderry Creek.
Winter
Take one of the longer walks – the 5.5km She-Oak crossing walk along the gorge is just the thing on a sunny winter afternoon.
Weather, temperature and rainfall
Summer temperature
Average
18°C and 24°C
Highest recorded
42.4°C
Winter temperature
Average
8°C and 18°C
Lowest recorded
2.3°C
Rainfall
Wettest month
March
Driest month
September
The area’s highest recorded rainfall in one day
304.4mm
Facilities
Amenities
Toilets
Picnic tables
Barbecue facilities
Drinking water
Maps and downloads
Permitted
Pets
You can walk your dog on-lead at this location. See other regional parks in NSW that have dog walking areas.
Dog walking is permitted in this park away from picnic areas and children's play areas. You will need to keep them on a leash at all times and remember to pick up after them.
Prohibited
Smoking
NSW national parks are no smoking areas.
Nearby towns
Nowra (4 km)
Nowra is a historic city and the commercial heart of the Shoalhaven. It's on the Shoalhaven River close to beaches and national parks.
Berry (14 km)
Berry is an attractive and stylish village. Rustic and sophisticated its surrounded by rich dairy country below the coastal escarpment.
Wollongong (76 km)
There are plenty of opportunities for adventure activities in and around Wollongong ranging from surfing and swimming to sailing, hang gliding, paragliding, cycling and abseiling. Wollongong is the only place in NSW where you can skydive onto the beach.
Learn more
Bomaderry Creek Regional Park is a special place. Here are just some of the reasons why:
Rare plants
A walk through this lovely park in spring will reward you with the sight of an array of beautiful wildflowers. You'll find this small park surprisingly rich with threatened plant species, including the endangered Guinea flower, the vulnerable albatross mallee, and Bauer's midge orchid. But perhaps the most unique plant that calls this park home is the endangered Bomaderry zieria - it only grows within the park and surrounding bushland and nowhere else in the world. The park is also alive with animal activity - Australian bass and other fish use the fishway in the weir to travel upstream. Threatened species found here include the glossy black cockatoo, masked owl and yellow-bellied glider.
- Bomaderry Creek picnic area Enjoy a bush picnic by the barbecue at Bomaderry Creek – it’s peaceful, surrounded by wildflowers and a short drive from Nowra on the Princes Highway.
- She-Oak crossing walk This two hour walk through Bomaderry Creek Regional Park boasts a hidden gorge with sandstone rock faces and boulders, creek and rainforest, and is suitable for dog walking.
Precious resources
The water was important to European settlers as well as Aboriginal people. In 1938, a weir was built on Bomaderry Creek to provide the first reliable water supply for the town of Bomaderry. When the weir waters were no longer needed for town water, a section of the weir was taken out to allow Australian bass and other fish free movement along the creek in a fishway. You can see the weir from the lookout near the picnic area.
Aboriginal cultural experience
Bomaderry Creek contains several sites of importance to its original inhabitants, and you're likely to see evidence of Aboriginal heritage such as rock shelters and axe-grinding grooves during your visit. The shade and abundant water and fish this unique place offered provided a welcoming environment for its dwellers, and it's full of stories of the past. Archaeological evidence and sites across the gorge country indicate that for the last 2000 years the park saw a diversity of use: for seasonal food gathering and possibly for ceremonial and social activity.
- Bomaderry Creek picnic area Enjoy a bush picnic by the barbecue at Bomaderry Creek – it’s peaceful, surrounded by wildflowers and a short drive from Nowra on the Princes Highway.
- Then and now: Aboriginal culture Then and now: Aboriginal culture is an Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten) school excursion in Bomaderry Regional Park, focusing on HSIE. Through story and creative expression, the life and culture of the local people are shared.
- Then and now: Aboriginal culture Then and now: Aboriginal culture is a Stage 4 (Years 7-8) school excursion in Bomaderry Regional Park. Through story and creative expression, the life and culture of the local people are shared.
A gorge of rainforest and sandstone
Bomaderry Creek has forged in the landscape a winding, cliff-lined gorge with sandstone outcrops and great slabs of fallen rock. The gorge not only looks dramatic, but also protects a diverse and beautiful environment, making it a wonderful spot to visit.
- Falcon Crescent link track Take this track across the open wooded heath from North Nowra down into the beautiful gorge and link with the lovely walks of Bomaderry Creek.
- She-Oak crossing walk This two hour walk through Bomaderry Creek Regional Park boasts a hidden gorge with sandstone rock faces and boulders, creek and rainforest, and is suitable for dog walking.
Education resources (1)
School excursions (2)
- Then and now: Aboriginal culture, Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten), HSIE
- Then and now: Aboriginal culture, Stage 4 (Years 7-8), History
What we're doing
Bomaderry Creek Regional Park has management strategies in place to protect and conserve the values of this park. Visit the OEH website for detailed park and fire management documents.