Also available:
Bird watching
Walking
There are opportunities for remote-area bushwalking and backpack camping. Walkers will need to be equipped for difficult and isolated conditions and carry sufficient water and survival gear. Most of the park is a declared wilderness area, so no vehicles or horses are permitted and cycling is only permitted on the Boundary and Dingo trails.
Cycling
Cycling on tracks and trails is a great way to experience the remarkable diversity of nature and magnificent landscapes found in parks.
There are literally thousands of kilometres of management trails open to cyclists criss-crossing parks in NSW. For the adventurous, exhilarating mountain bike single-track and multi-track experiences are available in certain national parks. For more information on cycling opportunities in the national parks of NSW go to our cycling home page. Please take time to find out about some simple Rules of the trail and safety when cycling in parks before setting out.
Cycling opportunities in the park are very short but form loops off the Western Distributor, a long unsealed road through Yadboro State Forest. Within the park, cycling is permitted only on Long Gully Road and the Boundary and Dingo Trails.
Places to visit
Long Gully campground
Long Gully campground, like Budawang in general, is one for experienced travellers. Located on a grassy flat beside Yadboro River, surrounded by blackbutt trees and rising steeply on the northern side, this is a place you come to get away from everything. Facilities are minimal – pit toilets and picnic tables, with no marked sites – but the sort of person who comes here is self-sufficient and hardy. Plus, the scenery is spectacular.
Bring the tent, firewood, and enough food to last (water can be collected from the river and boiled), then settle down in scenic solitude. The remoteness of Long Gully means your closest neighbours are likely to be goannas and wallabies, though there is an adjacent picnic area. Avid bushwalkers will want to pack their hiking boots and compass as well for an exhilarating walk in the Budawang backcountry. The arduous trek to the Castle also begins from here, suitable for well-equipped adventurers only.
Wherever you end up, return to a refreshing splash in Yadboro, though better swimming opportunities can be found in nearby Clyde River. Don’t forget your towel.
Activities: walking, motor vehicle use, swimming, birdwatching, picnics and barbecues
Getting there: Long Gully campground is at the northern end of Budawang National Park. To get there from Milton:
- Follow the signs to Pigeon House Mountain Didthul
- Rather than turning onto Pigeon House Road, continue on Yadboro Road and cross Clyde River, merging onto the Western Distributor.
- Turn right onto Long Gully Road and continue to the campground
Road access: Unsealed road/trail - 2WD (no long vehicle access). Dry weather only.
Facilities: non-flush toilets, picnic tables, carpark, trackhead/access point
Bookings: Bookings are not available for this campground. For more information, contact the Fitzroy Falls Visitor Centre on (02) 4887 7270.
Long Gully picnic area
An entrance to Budawang National Park but much more besides, Long Gully picnic area is your first glimpse of the wilderness within. Facilities are basic, but all you need for a terrific picnic is a packed lunch and an appreciation for nature. This is a remote and secluded spot for people wanting to break away from civilisation for a day. The nearby campground lets you stretch it out to a long weekend if you’d prefer.
Settle down beneath a blackbutt tree and watch the wallabies go by, foraging in the undergrowth. Bring a ball and take advantage of the open space beside Yadboro River.
This is also a good jumping-off point for the advanced hiking opportunities into the Budawangs area of Morton National Park, including the Castle; the trail leaves from here. Day walks in the national park should only be attempted by well-equipped, experienced walkers. Don’t forget to tell somebody where you’re going.
Activities: walking, motor vehicle use, swimming, birdwatching, picnics and barbecues
Getting there: Long Gully campground is at the northern end of Budawang National Park. To get there from Milton:
- Follow the signs to Pigeon House Mountain Didthul
- Rather than turning onto Pigeon House Road, continue on Yadboro Road and cross Clyde River, merging onto the Western Distributor.
- Turn right onto Long Gully Road and continue to the campground
Road access: Unsealed road/trail - 2WD (no long vehicle access). Dry weather only.
Facilities: picnic tables, carpark, trackhead/access point, non-flush toilets
Roads, tracks and trails
Mount Budawang trail
- 4km each way (one-way route)
Walking (hard, 4 hours each way)
General information
Pull on your hiking boots and get ready to sweat: this day walk, to the summit of Mount Budawang, is more taxing than its modest distance of 4km suggests. Threading through a diverse range of environments – grassy woodland, wet gullies, montane forest and grassland at the top – you’re exposed to a terrific cross-section of what makes Budawang National Park wilderness. The rare Budawang wallaby grass, for example, is only found on the summits of Mount Budawang and Currockbilly Mountain.
You should be fit and well-prepared, with lots of water and a map. Bring binoculars for birdwatching, too – crescent honeyeaters and olive whistlers are known to frequent higher areas of the park. The ascent is about 430m up a steep-sided mountain range, but the scenic views from the top are tremendous, with 360-degree views of the surrounding area. To the north, along the Budawang Range, are the Castle and Pigeon House Mountain Didthul. To the east are Durras Mountain and the NSW coast. Down below is the forested Clyde River valley, and further afield west you can see all the way to Braidwood’s Mount Gillamatong.
This is bushwalking at its best for those with a keen sense of adventure.
Plant communities: rainforests
