The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will temporarily close all campgrounds, high visitation areas and historic sites across NSW until further notice, in response to tighter Australian and NSW Government health directives on social distancing and non-essential travel to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in the wider community.
National parks and reserves are special environmental, cultural and recreational places for the people of NSW and they will remain open to the community, but the health and safety of our visitors, staff and the wider community is our priority and these measures are important.
The following closures will take effect:
- Campgrounds closed in line with the Government Public Health Order from 26 March 2020
- Visitor centres, cafes and high visitation areas will be closed from 26 March 2020
- Historic sites will be closed from 26 March 2020 (except for permanent residents)
All visitors with bookings impacted by the closures will be contacted to arrange full refunds.
For a full list of impacted High Visitation Areas please visit nswparks.info/covid19.
All roads through national parks remain open.
Most walking tracks and trails will also remain open and visitors should observe necessary social distancing with others while using pathways and other facilities to maximise their safety.
Parks that are already closed due to fire impacts remain closed. Please check our NPWS Alerts page for details.
NPWS staff and volunteer led tours and events have been cancelled with full refunds.
As this is a rapidly changing situation, we ask visitors to check our website regularly for updates nswparks.info/covid19.
We know how important our national parks and reserves are as areas for conservation and recreation and we are committed to reopen these areas as soon as possible in line with government and health advice.
NPWS staff will continue to undertake environmental protection and maintenance work in our parks and reserves, subject to all government and health advice, including in areas where important bushfire recovery action is underway. Other NPWS staff will work remotely to continue delivering conservation, research, visitor information and education services.