Royal National Park, Heathcote National Park and Garawarra State Conservation Area plan of management

Dedicated in 1879, Royal National Park includes the first area of land to be reserved as national park in Australia. The park encompasses ocean coastline and estuarine foreshore, heaths and woodlands on Hawkesbury sandstone, rainforest on Narrabeen shale and along a number of rivers and streams.

Heathcote National Park, reserved in 1943, lies to the west of Royal National Park, in the Woronora River catchment. It offers spectacular Hawkesbury sandstone ridge and gully landscapes and open forests.

Garawarra State Conservation Area, reserved in 1987, adjoins the township of Helensburgh to the south of Royal National Park. An important purpose of this area is to protect rainforest in the upper catchment of the Hacking River as a link between the rainforests of Royal National Park and those of the Illawarra Escarpment and the water catchment areas to the south and south-west.

The plan maintains a focus on the protection and conservation of the natural beauty, ecological richness and cultural heritage values of these parks. It also ensures that these parks provide sustainable opportunities for people to enjoy these iconic parks and gain an appreciation of their special values.

This plan of management was originally adopted on 21 December 2022. It was amended in June 2026.

This report should be read in conjunction with the Royal National Park, Heathcote National Park and Garawarra State Conservation Area Planning Considerations.

Other planning documents

• Audley Masterplan (2006)
• Royal National Park Coastal Cabins Areas Conservation Management Plan (2005)

Maps

Larger versions of the maps that are published in plan of management can be downloaded separately.

• Figure 1 Map showing the location of the parks (PDF 700KB)
• Figure 2 Map of Royal National Park, Heathcote National Park and Garawarra State Conservation Area (PDF 1.2MB)
• Figure 3 Map of the visitor management zones (PDF 731KB)