Cudgen Lake picnic area
Cudgen Nature Reserve
Overview
Cudgen Lake picnic area is located on the shores of Cudgen Lake near Cabarita Beach. It’s a peaceful spot for a barbecue or picnic lunch after kayaking or canoeing.
Cudgen Lake picnic area allows drive-in access to the water’s edge. It’s the perfect base for a day of kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, swimming or canoeing.
Set up on one of the picnic benches under the shade of the paper bark trees with the sound of lapping water as your backdrop.
Watch for some of the abundant bird life that call Cudgen Lake home, including osprey, black swans and wood ducks.
Nearby
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Cudgen Lake
Cudgen Lake, near the coastal villages of Cabarita Beach and Bogangar on the Tweed Coast, is perfect for kayaking, swimming, picnicking and birdwatching.
These maps give a basic overview of park attractions and facilities, and may not be detailed enough for some activities. We recommend that you buy a topographic map before you go exploring.
Map
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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/picnic-areas/cudgen-lake-picnic-area/local-alerts
Park info
- in Cudgen Nature Reserve in the North Coast region
Cudgen Nature Reserve is always open but may have to close at times due to flooding or high fire danger.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about the Cudgen Lake picnic area.
Maps and downloads
Learn more
Cudgen Lake picnic area is in Cudgen Nature Reserve. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
A birdwatcher's paradise
Cudgen is home to plenty of birdlife, making it a great spot for bird watching. The lake and surrounding wetlands are a great place to see black swan and waterbirds like the Australian white ibis or the white-faced heron. You'll also see shorebirds including pied oystercatcher, osprey and sea eagles.
- Cudgen Lake Cudgen Lake, near the coastal villages of Cabarita Beach and Bogangar on the Tweed Coast, is perfect for kayaking, swimming, picnicking and birdwatching.
Good things come in small packages
For a modest reserve, there is certainly an enormous variety of vegetation, ranging from coastal dunes to heath, swamp forests to rainforests, and the beautiful wetlands on Cudgen Lake and surrounding estuaries. Much of the reserve is listed as an Endangered Ecological Community (EEC), including swamp oak, swamp melaleuca forest, littoral and lowland subtropical rainforest, and freshwater wetlands. Cudgen Nature Reserve also provides a great viewing point and stopover point en route to the magnificent rainforest in the World Heritage-listed Wollumbin National Park.
Water sport playground
With the great expanse of Cudgen Lake, nearby creeks and Cabarita Beach all included in Cudgen Nature Reserve, you'll find loads of water sports to enjoy. Go sailing on the lake, or explore by kayak, canoe or paddleboard. Enjoy swimming on the lake or head to Cabarita Beach for swimming, surfing and fishing in the ocean.
- Cudgen Lake Cudgen Lake, near the coastal villages of Cabarita Beach and Bogangar on the Tweed Coast, is perfect for kayaking, swimming, picnicking and birdwatching.