Info
walking distance: 23.9 kmduration: 0:00 h
walking: 0:00 h
elevation diff: m
location: Barrington Tops
driving distance: 255 km
driving time: 3:15 h
water available: yes
parking: -32.1102,151.4766
gps tracks
Max elevation: 0 m
Min elevation: 0 m
Total climbing: 0 m
Video
Track notes
In the northern part of New South Wales lies a unique top surrounded by snow grass plains and snow gums. The top is called Barrington, it has extensive plateau which is about 1500 m above sea level. Despite of being a remote area, Barrington Top remain as one of the most interesting place in Australia.
Wild animals are seen in the area including brumbies, dingoes and wild pigs. The plateau has lush sub-tropical forest on its slopes and a cool temperate forest near the top where you will get to see Antarctic beech trees and lyrebirds.
Access to the area is by driving to the Lagoon Pinch which has 700 m elevation. There is a small picnic area at the pinch which served as the starting point of the walk circuit.
Summary:
A 25.6 km medium grade walk that will take two days to complete.
Directions:
From the Lagoon Pinch’ picnic area, the road continues up the mountain.
After 4 km you need to take another climb that is about 700 m to 1400 m elevation.
The area is known as Corker. It served as the entry point to Barrington Tops National Park.
At the north side of Corker you need to take the 3 km climb and reach the jeep track junction which is about 7 km from the Lagoon Pinch.
At the left side lies a Careys Peak which is about 2 km from the Pinch and the Wombat Creek at the right which is about 400 m distant.
Follow the Gloucester Tops Track for just 300 m then fork left for 100 m to reach the Wombat Creek.
The creek has camp sites and fireplaces, it is also the best spot to take your lunch.
After lunch go back to the nearby junction and continue uphill north-west which is about 1 km towards Careys Peak to another jeep track junction.
The left fork is going to Careys Peak while the right fork leads to the Big Hole.
Go right (north-north-east) and continue to walk downhill which is about 3 km passing through the Black swamp to the Big Hole.
You will get to see a large deep-pool on the Barrington River filled with sub-alpine setting.
The area is an ideal spot for camping and swimming.
It is about 3 – 4 1/2 hours to reach the big hole.
The following day, a retrace to the Careys Peak should be done. First retrace 3 km and then turn right for about 1 km west.
For the 1 km deviation you need to go 700 m then fork left downhill to Careys Hut (an old tin hut) which is about 100 m away.
The hut is just at the saddle at the north-east side of Careys Peak summit.
There are two foot tracks in the area which is about 200 m long to the summit.
When the summit is reached you will get to see a sundial and panorama.
Take your time to enjoy the beautiful vegetation and a temperate forest in the south.
At the southern flank of the plateau is the beautiful Allyn River.
After the descent you may retrace the track back to the Wombat Creek for lunch.
After lunch, simply descend the jeep track passing through the lovely forest to go back to the Lagoon Pinch.
When to go:
Any season
Facilities:
Picnic area at the Wombat Creek
Well defined-tracks
Alerts
Barrington Tops National Park
Safety alerts: Williams Top Road closed
Williams Top Road has been closed by Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) due to a landslip. The closure affects access to the following areas in this park:
- Lagoon Pinch picnic area
- Williams Top picnic area
- Upper Rocky Crossing Walk
- Corker trail (Wombat Creek / Black Swamp campground, Careys Peak)
Alternate access via Chichester State Forest (Allyn River Rd) may be available but is subject to flooding and varied road conditions.
For information on access to visitor sites in Barrington Tops National Park contact the local NPWS office on 02 6538 5300 or Dungog Visitor Centre on 02 4992 2212.
Closed areas: 4WD Trail Closures
Most of the public-accessible 4WD trails in Barrington Tops National Park and State Conservation Area have now re-opened, after the annual season closure period.
However, the following 4WD trails remain closed, due to trail conditions:
- Tugalow trail
- Thunderbolts trail - between Barrington Tops Forest Road and Pheasants Creek Road
- Barrington Trail south past the Junction Pools Trail
This closure does not effect public vehicle access to the Barrington Tops plateau campgrounds.
Walkers and mountain bikers are still permitted to utilise the trail while it is closed to public vehicles.
Penalties apply for non-compliance. For more information call the local NPWS office on 02 6538 5300.
Closed areas: Phytophthora quarantine area - Barrington Tops National Park
Phytophthora is a mould that causes dieback in plants. It's been found on the plateau in Barrington Tops National Park, predominantly on the Watergauge trail between Beean Beean and Black Swamp. The affected area is under quarantine with absolutely no visitor access.
Phytophthora is readily spread by mud carried by walkers' shoes and mountain-bike tyres. There are boot wash stations across the plateau for walkers to use, to ensure their boots 'Start clean, Stay clean'.
Penalties apply for non-compliance. For more information, please contact the NPWS Gloucester area office on (02) 6538 5300.
Barrington Tops State Conservation Area
Closed areas: 4WD Trail Closures
Most of the public-accessible 4WD trails in Barrington Tops National Park and State Conservation Area have now re-opened, after the annual season closure period.
However, the following 4WD trails remain closed, due to trail conditions:
- Tugalow trail
- Thunderbolts trail - between Barrington Tops Forest Road and Pheasants Creek Road
- Barrington Trail south past the Junction Pools Trail
This closure does not effect public vehicle access to the Barrington Tops plateau campgrounds.
Walkers and mountain bikers are still permitted to utilise the trail while it is closed to public vehicles.
Penalties apply for non-compliance. For more information call the local NPWS office on 02 6538 5300.
This should not be on the internet.
The Big Hole, along with much of this area between the Black Swamp and Beean Beean, is closed to visitor access.
It has been closed since 2011 due to the presence of Phytopthora Dieback.
This is to prevent the further spread of this mould to other parts of the Tops.
PLEASE DO YOUR BIT TO SAVE THE BARRINGTONS AND DO NOT GO ON THIS TRAIL.
hi, you are totally right. this is not meant to be publicly visible as this is on my list of “places I want to visit one day” and it looks like google robots just managed to discover the page and added it to the index. I will look for a way to hide all my planned trips from google and make them inaccessible. that page shouldn’t be accessible anywhere on the website…