Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track
Wollumbin National Park
Overview
Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track and Aboriginal Place remains closed. Decisions about the future of the summit track will be made by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in accordance with the wishes of Aboriginal custodians.
- Where
- Wollumbin National Park in North Coast
- Distance
- 8.8km return
- Time suggested
- 5 - 6hrs
- Grade
- Grade 5
- Please note
- Wollumbin is highly significant to Aboriginal people, particularly the Bundjalung nation. Visitors are asked to respect their wishes and not climb the summit track.
- Border Ranges National Park and Nightcap National Park provide some of the best photo opportunities of Wollumbin in all its glory.
Wollumbin (Mount Warning) Summit track is located 12km south-west of Murwillumbah, in Wollumbin National Park. The summit of Wollumbin is a sacred place to the Bundjalung People, and was declared an Aboriginal Place in 2014.
View the Environment and Heritage webpage for more information about Wollumbin National Park management.
Also see
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Lyrebird track
Lyrebird track is a short walk in Wollumbin National Park. It leads from Mount Warning Road across Breakfast Creek to a lookout surrounded by rainforest.
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/wollumbin-mount-warning-summit-track/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 Wollumbin National Park in the North Coast region
Wollumbin National Park is open, but may have to close at times due to perceived risk. The gate on Mount Warning Road entrance may also be closed from 5pm in winter and 6pm in summer (during daylight savings) and will reopen at 7am the following morning.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track.
Track grading
Features of this track
Distance
8.8km return
Time
5 - 6hrs
Quality of markings
Sign posted
Experience required
Some bushwalking experience recommended
Gradient
Very steep and difficult
Steps
Many steps
Quality of path
Formed track, some obstacles
Getting there and parking
Wollumbin National Park is located 12km south-west of Murwillumbah, off Kyogle Road.
From Murwillumbah:
- Take the Kyogle Rd towards Uki
- Around 10km from Murwillumbah, before you reach Uki, turn right into Mt Warning Road
- Continue 3.5km to the end of Mt Warning Rd, where you’ll reach Breakfast Creek carpark in the national park
Road quality
- Mount Warning Road is subject to rapidly rising floodwaters, even during localised storms.
- Sealed roads
Parking
- Limited parking is available at Breakfast Creek carpark. Not suitable for longer vehicles including coaches, caravans, and camper trailers.
- This is a high-risk area for theft, please don’t leave valuables in your car.
- Please make sure you don’t obstruct the emergency vehicle parking zone.
Facilities
- Toilet facilities are located at Breakfast Creek carpark.
- There are no toilets or rubbish facilities on the summit track. Please bag and carry out all waste, including toilet waste, to protect park environments and animals.
Maps and downloads
Accessibility
Not wheelchair-accessible.
Prohibited
Adventure activities including rock climbing and abseiling are prohibited in Wollumbin National Park.
Camp fires and solid fuel burners
Camping
Camping is not permitted in Wollumbin National Park. Camping and accommodation is available near the park on Mt Warning Road, and in Murwillumbah or Uki.
Generators
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
Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track is in Wollumbin National Park. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
Green rooms of the world
Wollumbin National Park is a Gondwana Rainforest of Australia. Gondwana rainforests include the world's most extensive areas of subtropical rainforest, large areas of warm temperate rainforest and Antarctic beech cool temperate rainforest. Luckily, you don't have to go far to experience some of these environments, which are practically in your backyard.
- Lyrebird track Lyrebird track is a short walk in Wollumbin National Park. It leads from Mount Warning Road across Breakfast Creek to a lookout surrounded by rainforest.
- Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track and Aboriginal Place remains closed. Decisions about the future of the summit track will be made by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in accordance with the wishes of Aboriginal custodians.
Sacred summit
Captain Cook named it Mount Warning, but to the Aboriginal community it's a sacred place known as Wollumbin. The Wollumbin summit was declared an Aboriginal Place by the NSW Government in 2014, formally recognising the cultural connection of this place to Aboriginal people. Wollumbin is of great significance to many Aboriginal communities across Australia, particularly the Bundjalung and Githabul Nations. The Traditional Custodians and Aboriginal communities associated with Wollumbin continue to care for and manage Country, as well as their sacred spiritual sites and places.
- Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track and Aboriginal Place remains closed. Decisions about the future of the summit track will be made by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in accordance with the wishes of Aboriginal custodians.
Voices of the forest
Can you hear the pouched frog? It’s a very quiet ‘eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh’. Did you know that the sound of the eastern whipbird is a duet? The first long note comes from the male and then the female joins in with her whip crack response. From the high canopy down to the forest floor live a huge variety of animals and birds to see and hear. Though some, like the carpet python, land mullet, eastern small-eyed snake, lace monitor, black-bellied marsh snake and long-nosed potoroo, are very quiet creatures. Plant species in Wollumbin seem varied to the extremes. There are prettily-named ones such as maidenhair, silkpod, watervine, wait-a-while, tree fern, wilkiea and red apple. These live alongside Wollumbin zieria, with its warty and felted branchlets, the prickly shield fern, stinging nettle, flooded gum, giant spear lily, dogwood, turpentine and, most disconcerting, giant stinging tree.
- Lyrebird track Lyrebird track is a short walk in Wollumbin National Park. It leads from Mount Warning Road across Breakfast Creek to a lookout surrounded by rainforest.
Plants and animals protected in this park
Animals
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Albert's lyrebird (Menura alberti)
The Albert’s lyrebird is much rarer than the superb lyrebird. Distinguished by its richer brown plumage and less elaborate tail feathers, it’s protected as a threatened species in NSW.
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Fleay's barred frog (Mixophyes fleayi)
The Fleay’s barred frog is an endangered species restricted to rainforest stream habitats in north-east NSW and south-east Queensland.
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Lace monitor (Varanus varius)
One of Australia’s largest lizards, the carnivorous tree-dwelling lace monitor, or tree goanna, can grow to 2m in length and is found in forests and coastal tablelands across eastern Australia. These Australian animals are typically dark blue in colour with whitish spots or blotches.
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Rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens)
The vulnerable rufous scrub-bird is a small, ground-foraging bird that lives only in isolated rainforest areas of south-eastern Australia.
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Wompoo fruit-dove (Ptilinopus magnificus)
The wompoo fruit-dove is a marvellously multi-coloured pigeon that makes its home in rainforest along coastal ranges from mid-north NSW to southern Queensland. It’s protected as a vulnerable species in NSW.
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Australian brush turkey (Alectura lathami)
The Australian brush turkey, also known as bush or scrub turkey, can be found in rainforests along eastern NSW. With a striking red head, blue-black plumage and booming call, these distinctive Australian birds are easy to spot while bird watching in several NSW national parks.