Cascade National Park
Overview
Cascade National Park, only an hours’ drive from Coffs Harbour, is ideal for a day trip. Rainforest, walking tracks, car touring and excellent cycling opportunities await.
Read more about Cascade National Park
Cascade National Park is a magical environment. Made up of temperate and subtropical rainforest, its 3,700ha is home to plants and wildlife of all kinds. The elegant lyrebird lives here, as do several types of rare frogs who inhabit the forest leaf litter.
A great day trip from Coffs Harbour, visitors usually begin at the village of Cascade, at the park’s centre. From there, you can go walking and cycling along trails through the rich rainforest environment, go car touring or birdwatching, or view the historic remains of the logging tramways.
The natural beauty of Cascade National Park is sure to inspire and charm the entire family, so pack a picnic and spread out a blanket for a relaxing day out. Moonpar Forest drive is a great way to combine the sights of Cascade National Park with nearby Nymboi-Binderay National Park.
Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/cascade-national-park/local-alerts
Contact
- in the North Coast region
Cascade National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
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Coffs Harbour office
02 6652 0900
Contact hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm. - 4/32 Edgar St, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
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Email: npws.coffscoast@environment.nsw.gov.au
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Coffs Harbour office
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Cascade National Park.
Map
Map legend
Getting there and parking
Get driving directions
From Dorrigo:
- Head north via Hickory Street and Vine Street
- Follow the signs to Megan (14km) via Coramba Road
- Continue onto Megan–Briggsvale Road
- Turn left just before Megan Hall and continue along Megan–Briggsvale Road for another 7km before arriving at Cascade
By bike
Check out the Bicycle information for NSW website for more information.
By public transport
Cascade National Park is not accessible by public transport.
Best times to visit
There are lots of great things waiting for you in Cascade National Park. Here are some of the highlights.
Autumn
Mild conditions are great for walking, and you'll see brightly coloured fungi everywhere.
Spring
Conditions are dry and perfect for mountain biking through the forests.
Summer
The wettest time of the year and a great opportunity to see the rainforest at its best, with fungi and fruits on show.
Winter
It's cool, but rug up for walks through the misty rainforest with hardly anyone else around.
Weather, temperature and rainfall
Summer temperature
Average
17°C and 29°C
Highest recorded
28.3°C
Winter temperature
Average
5°C and 22°C
Lowest recorded
4.2°C
Rainfall
Wettest month
March
Driest month
August
The area’s highest recorded rainfall in one day
388.2mm
Maps and downloads
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.
Nearby towns
Dorrigo (17 km)
Dorrigo is a serene country town and the gateway to Dorrigo National Park. Its close to the edge of the escarpment above the Bellingen Valley.
Bellingen (45 km)
Bellingen is a laid-back, tree-lined town with a New Age vibe. It's set in a luxuriant valley beside the Bellinger River.
Coffs Harbour (59 km)
Coffs Harbour is a coastal city on the North Coast, packed with things to do. It's surrounded by lush forests and national parks.
Learn more
Cascade National Park is a special place. Here are just some of the reasons why:
Rich with biodiversity
The rainforest in Cascade is busy with birds and animals, both day and night. During daylight hours, you may see lyrebirds, brush turkeys, and bowerbirds to name a few. The brightly feathered wompoo fruit dove, with its green belly blends, camouflages itself within the forest canopy. Wallabies can be seen early and late in the day. And rare species including sphagnum and pouched frogs, spotted-tailed quolls and red-legged pademelons also call Cascade National Park home.
- Box Ridge walking track The short, gently undulating Box Ridge walking track, just an hours’ drive from Coffs Harbour, shows the diversity of the rainforest, including huge brush box trees and wildlife including lyrebirds and wallabies.
Get active, or simply relax
For those who like mountain biking, get yourself to Cascade ride. If walking is more your style, take a walk beneath the ancient trees on either Box Ridge or Mobong tracks. There's also a driving route that traverses both Cascade and the southern reaches of Nymboi-Binderay national parks. And be sure to bring your binoculars for birdwatching, and a picnic for when you're ready to relax. There's a full range of adventures, from the gentle to the more active, in Cascade National Park.
- Cascade mountain bike trail Enjoy a scenic cycling route through the rainforest on Cascade mountain bike trail, only an hours' drive from Coffs Harbour, and spot lyrebirds, reptiles and other wildlife along the way.
Cascade's logging past
At the beginning of the 20th century, all over Dorrigo Plateau, the land was being opened up for dairy farming and cropping. Soon after, red cedar and hoop pine was targeted by loggers. A rail line was opened in 1924 to Glenreagh, and a network of tramlines carried timber from the forests to the mills at Cascade. Although logging no longer takes place here, the four rail lines and logging relics can be seen in Cascade National Park and nearby Nymboi-Binderay and Dorrigo national parks, in particular, around Cascade village and along Moonpar Forest drive.
- Mobong walking track The delightful walk along Mobong walking track, only an hours' drive from Coffs Harbour, takes in magnificent rainforest, a historic logging tramway and picturesque waterholes.
A natural palette of colours
Cascade National Park combines warm temperate and subtropical rainforest filled with coachwood, crab apple, booyong and even hoop pine. Antarctic beech can also be found within its boundaries. In December, Dorrigo waratah blooms, showing off its spectacular red flowers. In the wet eucalypt forests, brush box, tallowwood and Sydney blue gums flourish.
- Box Ridge walking track The short, gently undulating Box Ridge walking track, just an hours’ drive from Coffs Harbour, shows the diversity of the rainforest, including huge brush box trees and wildlife including lyrebirds and wallabies.
Education resources (1)
What we're doing
Cascade National Park has management strategies in place to protect and conserve the values of this park. View the detailed park and fire management documents.