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Booti Hill and Wallis Lake walking track

Booti Booti National Park

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Overview

Just 20km from Forster, this thrilling track offers a scenic day walk including beaches, Wallis Lake, and plenty of opportunities for swimming and whale watching.

Distance
7.3km loop
Time suggested
2hrs 30min - 3hrs 30min
Grade
Grade 3
Entry fees
Park entry fees apply
What to
bring
Drinking water, hat, sunscreen
Please note
  • The Booti Hill and Wallis Lake walking track can also be approached from Elizabeth Beach and Sunset picnic area on The Lakes Way.
  • Remember to bring your binoculars if you want to bird or whale watch

The Booti Hill and Wallis Lake walking track touches both the ocean and the shores of Lake Wallis. Bring your swimmers and make a day walk of it with beautiful views from the headland and plenty of wildlife to keep the camera active. 

Start at Ruins campground and travel clockwise, so the hardest part is knocked off early. Walk out to the stunning Seven Mile Beach and look for the signposted track – this climbs up the northern side of Booti Hill through twisted eucalypts. There are rest spots along the way, and a small opening with a scenic view of Seagull Point right before you enter some refreshing rainforest.

Eventually the track emerges onto the ridge-crest above Lindemans Cove and joins a fire trail that leads to a small clearing. Go straight ahead for Elizabeth Beach and a terrific opportunity for an ocean dip. If it’s winter, you might even spot a migrating whale. There are also tables and a barbecue just 100m along the trail, so don’t forget the picnic.

Back on the main walking track, branching west, cross The Lakes Way for a change of pace. The final 3.5km of the loop follow the shore of Wallis Lake, with striking lichens and graceful waterbirds aplenty.

Soon you’ll reach a grassy clearing with some marked graves. The Gogerly family are buried here; pioneer fishers once owned the land of the Ruins campground.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

 

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A family walk a boardwalk section of Bouddi coastal walk, Bouddi National Park. Photo: John Spencer/OEH.

 

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Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Saving our Species is a statewide conservation program that addresses the growing number of Australian animals and Australian native plants facing extinction.

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a tree. Photo: Courtesy of Taronga Zoo/OEH

General enquiries

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Park info

  • in Booti Booti National Park in the North Coast region
  • Booti Booti 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. Day passes are available from the Manning Great Lakes Area Office, Bulahdelah Visitor Information Centre and the Hawks Nest Newsagency.

    Buy annual pass
See more visitor info