Googik Heritage walking track

Lake Innes Nature Reserve

Open, check current alerts 

Overview

Enjoy walking, hiking or cycling along Googik Heritage walking track in Lake Innes Nature Reserve while taking in some of the great sights of Port Macquarie.

Accessibility
Medium
Distance
2km one-way
Time suggested
30min - 1hr
Grade
Grade 3
What to
bring
Sunscreen, drinking water, hat
Please note

The walking opportunities in this park are suitable for experienced bushwalkers who are comfortable undertaking self-reliant hiking

There are few nicer ways to enjoy the sights that picturesque Port Macquarie has to offer than a hike or stroll along Googik Heritage walking track. Set in a pristine natural environment, the 2km walk starts at Lake Innes Nature Reserve on Lake Road and extends south all the way to St Columba Anglican School.

While making your way along this track, you’ll be keeping active as well as discovering some of the Port Macquarie area’s best-kept natural secrets.The track winds along gently undulating hills and, as well as the beautiful natural surroundings, allows you to see the local birdlife that call Lakes Innes Nature Reserve home, making it a lovely scenic journey for those who enjoy walking, cycling and birdwatching alike.

Take a virtual tour of Googik Heritage walking track captured with Google Street View Trekker.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Also see

  • Perch Hole picnic area, Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Photo: John Spencer/NSW Government

    Perch Hole picnic area

    Perch Hole picnic area, beside Lake Innes, is an idyllic spot for a family celebration, a romantic picnic, or to get away from it all and enjoy some solitude in the middle of nature.

  • Innes Ruins, Innes Ruins Historic Site. Photo: John Spencer

    Innes Ruins

    Innes Ruins at Innes Ruins Historic Site, near Port Macquarie, is closed until further notice due to the impacts of bushfires in October 2019.

  • Roto House, Roto House Historic Site. Photo: John Spencer/NSW Government

    Roto House

    Step back in time and explore the rooms of Roto House, a beautifully preserved, late-Victorian building in Port Macquarie. If you're lucky you might spot a koala in the surrounding trees.

Map


Map legend

Map legend

Current alerts in this area

There are no current alerts in this area.

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/walking-tracks/googik-heritage-walking-track/local-alerts

General enquiries

Park info

See more visitor info

Visitor info

All the practical information you need to know about Googik Heritage walking track.

Track grading

Features of this track

Distance

2km one-way

Time

30min - 1hr

Quality of markings

Clearly sign posted

Experience required

No experience required

Gradient

Gentle hills

Steps

No steps

Quality of path

Formed track, some obstacles: The walk is a 3.5m to 4.5m-wide track that follows hard-packed ground 4WD vehicle trails.

Getting there and parking

Get driving directions

Get directions

    Googik Heritage walking track is in the northern precinct of Lake Innes Nature Reserve. To get there:

    • From Port Macquarie CBD, follow Lake Road for approximately 3km.
    • The track starts on the left just before Chestnut Road

    Alternatively, if beginning from St Columba Anglican School:

    • From Port Macquarie CBD, head west on Gordon Street then continue on Oxley Highway.
    • Turn left at the roundabout onto John Oxley Drive
    • Turn left on Major Innes Drive 
    • Turn left into Braeroy Drive and then left again into Kyla Crescent
    • The track starts on the left after approximately 150m

    Parking

    Parking is available in the surrounding streets at both ends of the walking track.

    Best times to visit

    There are lots of great things waiting for you in Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Here are some of the highlights.

    Autumn

    Go birdwatching or enjoy wildlife-spotting around the lake and fire trails.

    Spring

    Enjoy cycling or hiking along Googik heritage walk or get out on the water canoeing, kayaking or fishing.

    Summer

    Cool down when the weather is hot by swimming on lovely Lake Innes or enjoying a relaxed picnic by the lakeside. Take in the gorgeous displays of Christmas bell in bloom along the Christmas Bell Plains.

    Winter

    Take a guided tour of Innes Ruins and learn about the area's intriguing history.

    Facilities

    Drinking water is not available in this area, so it’s a good idea to bring your own.

    Seats and resting points

    There are 2 wooden benches along the track. The benches are 1.3km and 1.7km from the start of Erics trail.

    Maps and downloads

    Safety messages

    Bushwalking safety

    If you're keen to head out on a longer walk or a backpack camp, always be prepared. Read these bushwalking safety tips before you set off on a walking adventure in national parks.

    Cycling safety

    Hundreds of cyclists head to our national parks for fun and adventure. If you're riding your bike through a national park, read these mountain biking and cycling safety tips.

    Mobile safety

    Dial Triple Zero (000) in an emergency. Download the Emergency Plus app before you visit, it helps emergency services locate you using your smartphone's GPS. Please note there is limited mobile phone reception in this park and you’ll need mobile reception to call Triple Zero (000).

    Accessibility

    Disability access level - medium

    Googik Heritage walking track is a 3.5m to 4.5m-wide track with gentle hills that follows hard-packed ground 4WD vehicle trails. 

    There are 2 benches along the track for resting.

    Prohibited

    Pets

    Pets and domestic animals (other than certified assistance animals) are not permitted. Find out which regional parks allow dog walking and see the pets in parks policy for more information.

    Smoking

    NSW national parks are no smoking areas.

    Learn more

    Googik Heritage walking track is in Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:

    Early settlement history

     Innes Ruins, Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Photo: John Spencer

    Lake Innes Ruins is the remains of the elaborate estate built in the 1830s-40s by convicts and free labour for Major Archibald Clunes Innes, an entrepreneur and important figure in the settlement of Port Macquarie. Innes was convinced that Port Macquarie would become the main gateway to the coastal area around the Hastings River and to nearby New England, so the extensive complex was an ambitious creation by one of the most influential of the early European settlers in the area. Sadly, the Depression of the 1840s brought Innes to near insolvency, prompting the family to leave the estate by the 1850’s and move to Newcastle where Archibald Innes was appointed Magistrate. Today, its ruins serve as an educational reminder of the area's early settlement history, and are a testimony to the ambition and tenacity of the early settlers.

    Fascinating wildlife and bird life

    Lake Innes, Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Photo: John Spencer

    Numerous local birds and wildlife call the reserve home. On your visit to the park, you're likely to spot, koalas, kangaroos, possums and gliders, as well as various reptiles and amphibians. Among the birds you might spot on or around the lake are ospreys, ducks and black swans, so be sure to have your binoculars handy for a spot of bird watching. The reserve also contains extensive wetlands, including the Innes Swamp, which supports a number of sedges and rushes. On the edges of Lake Innes lie swaths of endangered salt marsh and on the eastern edge of the reserve, you can see the Christmas Bell Plains - a mosaic of coastal heath and swamp that are gorgeous when in bloom in summertime.

    • Googik Heritage walking track Enjoy walking, hiking or cycling along Googik Heritage walking track in Lake Innes Nature Reserve while taking in some of the great sights of Port Macquarie.
    • Perch Hole picnic area Perch Hole picnic area, beside Lake Innes, is an idyllic spot for a family celebration, a romantic picnic, or to get away from it all and enjoy some solitude in the middle of nature.

    Get active

    Innes Ruins, Lake Innes Nature Reserve. Photo: John Spencer

    Lake Innes Nature Reserve provides opportunities for a number of fun recreational activities both on the land and lake. Enjoy fishing, swimming and kayaking in Lake Innes via Perch Hole picnic area. Go bushwalking and bird watching on the fire trails that run along the Christmas Bell Plains. Or, take a guided tour of the historic Innes Ruins and learn about Port Macquarie's early history.

    Education resources (1)