River walk
Boonoo Boonoo National Park
Overview
Using the park’s fire trail system, River walk connects Cypress-pine campground with Boonoo Boonoo Falls picnic area, offering excellent swimming, hiking and picnicking opportunities.
- Where
- Boonoo Boonoo National Park in Country NSW
- Accessibility
- No wheelchair access
- Distance
- 6.1km one-way
- Time suggested
- 3hrs 30min - 4hrs 30min
- 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
- 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
In summer, what better place to relax than by a river? River walk, which can be joined at several places along Falls Road, connects Cypress-pine campground and Boonoo Boonoo Falls picnic area. Spring is also a great time along River walk, as the park is a haven for wildflowers including a variety of wattles, pea flowers and rock orchids.
The track takes you through dry eucalypt forest and vegetation in the riparian zone – the interface between the land and the waterway – a little way back from the river. Make the most of the two river visits by having a dip, a swim, or at the very least by splashing someone in your group.
If you’ve approached the river quietly, you may be lucky enough to spot a platypus. Around sunrise and sunset, wallabies and kangaroos might be seen grazing or drinking at the river.
Map
Map legend
Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/boonoo-boonoo-river-walk/local-alerts
General enquiries
- National Parks Contact Centre
- 7am to 7pm daily
- 1300 072 757 (13000 PARKS) for the cost of a local call within Australia excluding mobiles
- parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au
Park info
- in Boonoo Boonoo National Park in the Country NSW region
Boonoo Boonoo National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
-
Park entry fees:
$8 per vehicle per day. The park uses a self-registration fee collection system. Please bring the correct change.
Buy annual pass.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about River walk.
Track grading
Features of this track
Distance
6.1km one-way
Time
3hrs 30min - 4hrs 30min
Quality of markings
Clearly sign posted
Experience required
No experience required
Gradient
Short steep hills
Steps
Occasional steps
Quality of path
Formed track
Getting there and parking
On entering Boonoo Boonoo National Park, for Cypress-pine campground:
- Follow Boonoo Boonoo Falls Road and the campground is on the left- hand side and is well-signposted
For Boonoo Boonoo Falls picnic area:
- Follow the unsealed Boonoo Boonoo Falls Road for 4km to the park entrance
- Continue for a further 9km to the picnic area
Road quality
Check the weather before you set out as the road to Boonoo Boonoo Falls can become flooded during heavy rains.
Parking
Parking is available at Boonoo Boonoo campground. Bus parking is available.
Best times to visit
There are lots of great things waiting for you in Boonoo Boonoo National Park. Here are some of the highlights.
Spring
This is the season for wildflowers. The mild weather at this time of year is also particularly good for camping.
Summer
The water in the large secluded rock pools along the river will give sweet relief from the summer heat.
Winter
Temperatures can plunge overnight and mornings are often frosty at this time of year, so be well-prepared if you're camping. Though winter days are often sunny, cloudless and warm enough to enjoy a picnic or a long hike.
Weather, temperature and rainfall
Summer temperature
Average
14°C and 27°C
Highest recorded
38.3°C
Winter temperature
Average
2°C and 14°C
Lowest recorded
-10°C
Rainfall
Wettest month
January
Driest month
August
The area’s highest recorded rainfall in one day
228.6mm
Facilities
Drinking water is not available in this area, so it’s a good idea to bring your own.
Maps and downloads
Accessibility
Disability access level - no wheelchair access
Permitted
Fishing
A current NSW recreational fishing licence is required when fishing in all waters.
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.
Learn more
River walk is in Boonoo Boonoo National Park. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
Fabulous falls
The park's jewel is Boonoo Boonoo Falls. If you'd like to see what this feature is really made of, then visit during the wetter months of summer. Even if the falls aren't pumping, though, they're still beautiful and there will always be rock pools along the 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 at the time, the village of Boonoo Boonoo temporarily flourished but is now 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 is an Aboriginal name meaning 'poor country with no animals to provide food'. Since that name came about, before European settlement, the environment has significantly changed. Now kangaroos and wallabies visit Cypress Pine campground and the park's picnic areas at dawn and dusk. The wariest wallaby of them all, the threatened brush-tailed rock wallaby, can even be seen if you're very quiet and patient. Spotted-tailed quolls, also a threatened species, sometimes visit Cypress Pine campground at night and platypuses live and frolic in Boonoo Boonoo River.
- Boonoo Boonoo Falls picnic area Boonoo Boonoo Falls picnic area is not only a great place to eat and rest, it teems with wildlife, wildflowers and is close to Falls lookout, rock pools and River track.
- Boonoo Boonoo Falls walking track Boonoo Boonoo Falls walking track allows a short stroll between Boonoo Boonoo picnic area and the scenic lookout onto the magnificent Boonoo Boonoo Falls.
- Morgans Gully picnic area Visit Morgans Gully for a relaxing picnic, and investigate gold mining historic heritage surrounded by wildflowers and embellished with a waterfall and geological formations.