Where

Boonoo Boonoo National Park in Country NSW

Accessibility

No wheelchair access

Distance

8.5km one-way

Time suggested

6 - 8hrs

Grade

Grade 3

Trip Intention Form

It's a good idea to let someone know where you're going. Fill in a trip intention form to send important details about your trip to your emergency contact.

Personal Locator Beacon

Hire a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for free at the Tenterfield office.

Entry fees

Park entry fees apply

What to
bring

Hat, drinking water, sunscreen, clothes for all weather conditions, sturdy shoes, snacks

Please note

• The weather in this area can be extreme and unpredictable, so please ensure you’re well-prepared for your visit.
• Remember to take your binoculars if you want to birdwatch

River walk is a journey of discovery for the nature and wildlife lover. It starts in Boonoo Boonoo Falls picnic area. From there, you can take the short Falls Lookout walk to Boonoo Boonoo Falls. Then follow the river through dry eucalypt forest. There are gorgeous wildflowers to see including wattles, pea flowers and rock orchids, especially in spring, and birds such as the glossy black-cockatoo.

Eventually, you'll come to Platypus Hole picnic area. Here you may be lucky enough to see platypuses in the early morning and late afternoon. If you’re quiet, you may spot wallabies and kangaroos. This is also a great place to splash your friends or swim in the river.

Next, you'll reach Cypress Pine campground where you can have a barbecue dinner and spend the night. In the evening, you may find a spotted-tailed quoll hunting in the area, or see an owl.

The track finishes at Morgans Gully picnic area, once a gold rush hotspot but now a serene place for a relaxing snack.

If you don’t want to do the entire walk, you can join it at several places along Boonoo Boonoo Falls Road. 

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

Fabulous falls

The park's jewel is Boonoo Boonoo Falls. If you'd like to see what this feature is really made of, visit during the wetter months of summer. Even if the falls aren't pumping, though, they're still beautiful and there will always be rockpools along Boonoo Boonoo River to swim in, walking tracks to follow and riverside picnics to indulge in.

Gold fever

Morgans Gully and Ropers Gully are two sites in the park where alluvial gold was discovered in the late nineteenth century. As a result, there was a huge influx of European and Asian prospectors to the area. As well as giving the nearby town of Tenterfield a massive economic boost, the village of Boonoo Boonoo temporarily flourished, though it is now in ruins.

Though nature has reclaimed these gullies too, imagine what the areas might have looked, sounded and smelt like when they were teeming with men from here and all over the world, half-crazy with gold fever.

Have you seen the wildlife?

Boonoo Boonoo takes its name from the Jukambal language and means ‘big rock’. Known for its stunning waterfalls, secluded waterholes and many walking trails, this national park is home to many plants and animals including kangaroos, endangered brush-tailed rock-wallabies and vulnerable spotted-tailed quolls which you may see throughout the park in the early morning and late afternoon. You may also be lucky enough to spot platypuses frolicking in Boonoo Boonoo River.