Tooloom National Park
Overview
Tooloom National Park, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, is a great place for walking, picnicking, birdwatching and admiring the views across the Great Dividing Range.
Read more about Tooloom National Park
Bordered by dry forest and farmland, Tooloom National Park protects a lush, cool landscape of subtropical rainforest known as Tooloom Scrub, which is part of Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. The park also includes important sections of red and flooded gum. Tooloom lies within the traditional land of the Githabul Aboriginal people, who now co-manage the park with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Enjoy a picnic and a walk in this gorgeous natural environment of strangler figs, glossy green rainforest foliage and superb scenic views.
Ten species of kangaroos and wallabies inhabit the park, including the threatened long-nosed potoroo. Take an easy hike along Tooloom walking track and you’ll probably see a red-necked pademelon dart across the trail. Listen for the rasping call of paradise riflebirds, which sometimes decorate their nests with snakeskin. In the case of Tooloom, that’s likely to be the discarded outer layer of a Stephens banded snake or a carpet python.
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/tooloom-national-park/local-alerts
Contact
- in the Country NSW region
Tooloom National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
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Kyogle office
02 6632 0000
Contact hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm. - 136 Summerland Way, Kyogle NSW 2474
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Email: npws.richmondriver@environment.nsw.gov.au
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Kyogle office
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Tooloom National Park.
Map
Map legend
Getting there and parking
Get driving directions
From Woodenbong:
- From Mount Lindsay Highway, turn towards Urbenville on Urbenville-Koreelah Road.
- Continue for approximately 20km to Tooloom picnic area
Parking
- Tooloom picnic area See on map
By bike
Check out the Bicycle information for NSW website for more information.
By public transport
For more information about public transport options, visit the Transport NSW website.
Best times to visit
There are lots of great things waiting for you in Tooloom National Park. Here are some of the highlights.
Autumn
Listen out for calls of pied currawongs signifying the return of colder weather as you find a sunny spot to enjoy a bite to eat or stroll through the rainforest.
Spring
Brilliant new leaf shoots adorn red cedar trees on the upper slopes of the rainforest. In the early morning or following prolonged rain, carpet pythons can be seen basking in the warming spring sun along the entrance road.
Winter
Photograph or simply gaze at the spectacular view when, on a clear winter's day, the farming valley is usually filled with morning mist.
Weather, temperature and rainfall
Summer temperature
Average
16°C and 28°C
Highest recorded
39°C
Winter temperature
Average
3.5°C and 18°C
Lowest recorded
7.3°C
Rainfall
Wettest month
February
Driest month
August
The area’s highest recorded rainfall in one day
210mm
Facilities
Maps and downloads
Prohibited
Pets
Pets and domestic animals (other than certified assistance animals) are not permitted. Find out which regional parks allow dog walking and see the pets in parks policy for more information.
Smoking
NSW national parks are no smoking areas.
Nearby towns
Kyogle (86 km)
Kyogle is an attractive timber-milling town surrounded by rainforest. It's set on the Richmond River at the base of Fairy Mountain.
Casino (117 km)
Casino is a thriving rural centre in the heart of rich agricultural country. It's set in lush pastures on the banks of the Richmond River.
Tenterfield (148 km)
Sir Henry Parkes delivered his famous "birth of our nation" speech in the Tenterfield School of Arts in 1889. His rousing speech is credited with being the decisive moment that set the country on its path toward Federation in 1901.
Learn more
Tooloom National Park is a special place. Here are just some of the reasons why:
Traditional land of the Githabul people
Tooloom National Park is an Aboriginal place and the traditional land of the Githabul people. For thousands of years, these forests provided shelter, food, medicine and tools. Certain features in and around Tooloom remain deeply significant, such as Bandahngan Aboriginal Area (Tooloom Falls), which is 13km east of the park. The Aboriginal word for ‘Tooloom’ is ‘Dooloomi’, which means ‘head lice’ and relates to the story of these falls.
Full of life
Although there are as many as 13 species of snake, 10 species of macropod (things that hop) and three other species of mammals in Tooloom, they’ve got nothing on the birds. So far, 214 species of bird have been recorded, including paradise riflebirds, wompoo fuit-doves, regent bowerbirds, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, scarlet honeyeaters, endangered black-breasted button quail, and Coxen’s fig-parrot. Endangered animals inhabiting Tooloom are Fleay’s barred frog, and black-striped wallaby.
- Tooloom lookout It’s a short, easy walk to magnificent scenic views across World Heritage Tooloom Scrub and out to Great Dividing Range from Tooloom lookout.
- Tooloom walking track Tooloom walking track is a short, easy stroll through World Heritage rainforest of Tooloom National Park, with plenty of opportunities for birdwatching and picnicking during your hike.
A thriving ecosystem
Feast your eyes on Tooloom’s magnificent forest communities. Subtropical rainforest, with vines stretching from the soft forest floor to the towering green canopy, are dominated by black booyong. Bird’s nest and staghorn ferns decorate broad trunks, live and dead. Hoop pines break through the canopy of dry rainforest on the upper western slopes. In the wet sclerophyll forests old tallowwood and Sydney blue gums grow. Other forest types include forest red gum, New England blackbutt, grey gum and grey iron bark.
- Tooloom walking track Tooloom walking track is a short, easy stroll through World Heritage rainforest of Tooloom National Park, with plenty of opportunities for birdwatching and picnicking during your hike.
A good scrub
The rainforests of Tooloom Scrub are part of Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, which used to be known as Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves. Tooloom is one of the few areas on Earth in which plants and animals have remained relatively unchanged from their ancestors.
- Tooloom lookout It’s a short, easy walk to magnificent scenic views across World Heritage Tooloom Scrub and out to Great Dividing Range from Tooloom lookout.
- Tooloom walking track Tooloom walking track is a short, easy stroll through World Heritage rainforest of Tooloom National Park, with plenty of opportunities for birdwatching and picnicking during your hike.
Education resources (1)
What we're doing
Tooloom National 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.