Lyrebird walking track

New England National Park

Open, check current alerts 

Overview

Lyrebird walking track in New England Park is a great place for birdwatching and enjoying a bushwalk in a Gondwana rainforest environment.

Accessibility
No wheelchair access
Distance
5.1km loop
Time suggested
2hrs 30min - 3hrs 30min
Grade
Grade 3
What to
bring
Drinking water, hat, sunscreen, suitable clothing
Please note
  • The weather in this area can be extreme and unpredictable, so please ensure you’re well-prepared for your visit.
  • Remember to take your binoculars if you want to birdwatch

Lyrebird walking track is a 5.5km circuit walk through New England National Park that takes walkers through an enchanting range of environments, including eucalypt forest and cool temperate rainforest, along basalt cliffs and past babbling brooks, historic signposts, waterfalls and colourful heath. Marvel at a constantly changing feast of expansive views. At dawn, valley-mist swirls like a white lake between the higher peaks and rises to embrace early morning walkers.

Immerse yourself in the ancient Gondwana where the calls of the superb lyrebirds may be heard echoing up and down the valleys, especially in winter when the males' mating calls reach a crescendo. King parrots and crimson rosellas swerve through the treetops whilst yellow-tailed black cockatoos screech into the valleys below. Rufous and grey fantails are also intriguing to watch as their tails are splayed and angled to manoeuvre quickly after flying prey.

If you’d prefer a shorter walk, return to Banksia Point via Tree Fern Valley (1.5km). This walk also links to Snow Gum walk (1km) or Wrights lookout walking track and Cascades walking track (9.3km).

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

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/lyrebird-walking-track/local-alerts

General enquiries

Park info

See more visitor info

Visitor info

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

Track grading

Features of this track

Distance

5.1km loop

Time

2hrs 30min - 3hrs 30min

Quality of markings

Clearly sign posted

Experience required

Some bushwalking experience recommended

Gradient

Gentle hills

Steps

Occasional steps

Quality of path

Formed track, some obstacles

Getting there and parking

Lyrebird walking track is in the Point lookout precinct of New England National Park. To get there:

  • Turn onto Point Lookout Road from the Waterfall Way halfway between Armidale and Dorrigo.
  • Continue for approximately 13km.
  • Turn right at the sign to Banksia Point, 1km before Point lookout.

Road quality

  • Unsealed roads

Vehicle access

  • 2WD vehicles

Weather restrictions

  • 4WD required in wet weather

Parking

Parking is available at Banksia Point.

Best times to visit

There are lots of great things waiting for you in New England National Park. Here are some of the highlights.

Autumn

Enjoy the fresh air walking during the day, and cosy nights by the fire at Toms Cabin.

Spring

Climb up to Wrights lookout and see the colourful display of wildflowers.

Summer

Immerse yourself in the cool air and vibrant green of the Antarctic beech rainforest covered in moss.

Weather, temperature and rainfall

Summer temperature

Average

10°C and 24°C

Highest recorded

32.8°C

Winter temperature

Average

1°C and 12°C

Lowest recorded

-7.1°C

Rainfall

Wettest month

January

Driest month

June

The area’s highest recorded rainfall in one day

286.1mm

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.

If you’re bushwalking in this park, it’s a good idea to bring a topographic map and compass, or a GPS.

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).

River and lake safety

The aquatic environment around rivers, lakes and lagoons can be unpredictable. If you're visiting these areas, take note of these river and lake safety tips.

Accessibility

Disability access level - no wheelchair access

Permitted

You’re encouraged to bring gas or fuel stoves, especially in summer during the fire season.

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

Lyrebird walking track is in New England National Park. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:

Aboriginal cultural heritage

Point lookout, New England National Park. Photo: Shane Ruming

The park straddles the traditional boundaries of the Dunghutti, Anaiwan and Gumbaynggirr People, and covers an area of great spiritual and cultural significance to local Aboriginals. Point Lookout in particular is a sacred location, known to Aboriginal people as 'Berarngutta', which roughly translates as 'prohibited area'. It is considered a men-only place, and today many Aboriginal women choose to continue this tradition and avoid visiting the area.

  • Point lookout Point lookout is a must-see destination for visitors to New England National Park, offering panoramic views across World Heritage rainforest to the ocean in the distance.

Amazing wildlife

Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), New England National Park. Photo: Jim Evans

The park's altitudinal range, from 150m above sea level to 1563m, makes it a superb habitat for a diversity of wildlife. You might see kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, possums and the inquisitive spotted-tailed quoll. Adults and children alike will love watching the resident lyrebird at Banksia Point. Yet with over 100 species of birds in the park, there are plenty of opportunities for birdwatching. You might spot white-throated tree creepers and rufous fantails in the open forests, while in winter flowering banksias attract Lewins honeyeaters and eastern spinebills.

  • Point lookout walking track It only takes 20 minutes to negotiate the easy Point lookout walking track, but the views from this sealed track, within New England National Park, are truly stunning.
  • Wrights lookout walking track Wrights lookout walking track takes you through a lush world of ferns and wildflowers to a rocky plateau with spectacular panoramic views looking down to Bellinger River.

Historic heritage

Point lookout, New England National Park. Photo: S Leathers

In 2010, New England National Park celebrated its 75th anniversary as one of NSW's most iconic parks. Its history is a testament to the vision and dedication of several influential New Englanders, notably Philip A Wright and his son Peter. They were deeply impressed by the beauty and grandeur of Point Lookout and recognised the value of the area as a sanctuary for plants and animals. After you see the spectacular views at Point Lookout, take a moment to learn about the history of the park and the visionary people behind its conservation.

Volcanic landscape

Tea Tree Falls walk, New England National Park. Photo: J Evans

The steep cliffs of the plateau edge at New England National Park are the result of at least 5 basalt lava flows from the Ebor volcano, forming a rim over 300m thick. Active until about 18 million years ago, this massive volcano was centred around The Crescent, a semi-circular ridge in the Bellinger Valley, visible from Point Lookout. Subsequent erosion has created the dramatic profile of the escarpment we see today. The Banksia Point circuit provides a close-up view of a basalt flow, and you can see the layers of cliffs north from Point lookout.

  • Point lookout Point lookout is a must-see destination for visitors to New England National Park, offering panoramic views across World Heritage rainforest to the ocean in the distance.
  • Tea Tree Falls walking track Roam through eucalypt forest and beneath hanging moss on Tea Tree Falls walking track, linking Thungutti campground and Toms Cabin in New England National Park.

World Heritage rainforests

Wrights lookout, New England National Park. Photo: S Ruming

The rainforests in New England National Park are part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area; the most extensive strip of diverse rainforest anywhere on earth. The World Heritage Area is a direct window into the past and the future, providing a link to the ancient pre-human world and a stunning and irreplaceable record of life on our planet. Discover the ancient Antarctic beech forests below the escarpment edge on trails like Lyrebird walking track.

  • Snow Gum walk Snow Gum walk in New England National Park offers a scenic stroll through World Heritage rainforest. Just 1km and suitable for all ages, it’s ideal as a quick family outing.

Plants and animals protected in this park

Animals

  •  Superb lyrebird, Minnamurra Rainforest, Budderoo National Park. Photo: David Finnegan

    Superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)

    With a complex mimicking call and an elaborate courtship dance to match, the superb lyrebird is one of the most spectacular Australian animals. A bird watching must-see, the superb lyrebird can be found in rainforests and wet woodlands across eastern NSW and Victoria.

  • A male satin bowerbird with black plumage and blue eyes stands in a bower made of brown twigs. Photo: Peter Sherratt © Peter Sherratt

    Satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)

    With vibrant blue-violet eyes and curious antics, the satin bowerbird is a favourite for bird watching and easy to spot as it forages for food in open forest. Relatively common across eastern Australia, in NSW they’re found in coastal rainforests and adjacent woodlands and mountain ranges.

  • Profile view of a rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens) standing on a mossy rock. Glen Trelfo © Glen Trelfo

    Rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens)

    The vulnerable rufous scrub-bird is a small, ground-foraging bird that lives only in isolated rainforest areas of south-eastern Australia.

  • A spotted-tailed quoll walks across a moss-covered forest floor at night. Photo: Lachlan Hall © Lachlan Hall

    Spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus)

    The spotted-tailed quoll is the largest remaining carnivorous marsupial on the Australian mainland. It’s protected as a vulnerable species in NSW.

Plants

  • Blueberry ash. Photo: Jaime Plaza

    Blueberry ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus)

    The blueberry ash is a rainforest shrub which produces blue olive-shaped berries and spectacular bell-shaped flowers, which often appear on the plant together. It is a tall slender shrub or small tree found in rainforest, tall eucalypt forest and coastal bushland in eastern NSW, south-east Queensland and Victoria.

  • Wonga Wonga vine. Photo: Barry Collier

    Wonga wonga vine (Pandorea pandorana)

    The wonga wonga vine is a widespread vigorous climber usually found along eastern Australia. A variation of the plant occurs in the central desert, where it resembles a sprawling shrub. One of the more common Australian native plants, the wonga wonga vine produces bell-shaped white or yellow flowers in the spring, followed by a large oblong-shaped seed pod.

  • Coachwood flower. Photo: Michael Van Ewijk

    Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum)

    Coachwood trees are Australian native plants that grow in warm temperate rainforests along coastal NSW. Also known as scented satinwood, the mottled grey bark of the coachwood has horizontal markings and a delicate fragrance.

Environments in this park

Education resources (1)

School excursions (1)