Pristine beaches, national parks, stunning lakes – it’s little wonder the Barrington Coast region on NSW’s Mid North coast has been a favourite for generations of Aussie holidaymakers.
Stretching from the mountains of Barrington Tops to the sea, the area covers destinations including Pacific Palms, Myall Lakes, Forster, Tuncurry, Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest and Seal Rocks, and is ideal for families.
The Barrington Coast is great for lovers of the outdoors, from the mountains to the sea. Easy walks in its national parks take you to lookouts and hidden waterfalls, or you can paddle like an explorer on its rivers.
Riverside camping provides wonderful opportunities for swimming, lazing on inflatables or watching out for platypus, while its coastal lakes are ideal for kayaking, fishing, boating, swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, snorkelling and waterskiing.
Top towns to visit on the Barrington Coast, NSW
Forster-Tuncurry
The twin towns of Forster and Tuncurry sit either side of the entrance to Wallis Lake. The towns are defined by their unique triple lakes system – Myall, Wallis and Smith – and the seemingly endless opportunities they afford for fishing, boating, sailboarding, paddle-boarding, and kayaking.
Forster-Tuncurry also boasts several beautiful rivers, including the Wallamba, a popular waterway for waterskiers, and a treasure trove of white sandy beaches covering 40km of coastline and including surf beaches and secluded coves, as well as ocean baths and rock pools.
What to do
The crystal-clear turquoise and aqua waters surrounding the many islands of Wallis Lake are particularly popular for swimming and watersports. Wallis Lake is also an angler’s delight – especially for flathead. Bream, whiting, and tailor are all on the menu for beach fishermen and women.
Many of the towns’ beaches are patrolled, making them safe for swimming and great for young families. The most popular are Forster Main Beach and One Mile Beach, while the unpatrolled Pebbly Beach also gets the thumbs-up from surfers.
Where to stay
Centrally located between Main Beach, the river mouth and town centre, Reflections Holiday Parks Forster Beach is an idyllic spot for a family getaway.
Pacific Palms
Known for its stunning beaches, laidback villages and friendly locals, Pacific Palms is perfect for families. Blueys, Elizabeth and Boomerang comprise the trio of neighbouring surf beaches that attract keen boarders from all over Australia.
What to do
Consistent breaks mean a suitable wave can be found year ‘round, for everyone from beginner to pro. But you don’t have to be a surfer to chill out or indulge in adventure in Pacific Palms.
Elizabeth Beach is patrolled during summer and provides the perfect oasis for families, and at Smiths Lake enjoy waterside picnic amenities, a kids’ playground, and the Frothy Coffee Boatshed.
Where to stay
Enjoy the retro vibes at Bluey’s Motel, located in the heart of Bluey’s Beach village. It’s only a quick walk to the beach, and there’s also a mini supermarket, newsagent and bottle shop across the road.
Dog-friendly Tiona Holiday Park is located on the waterfront between Seven Mile Beach and Wallis Lake. Treehouse Glamping Tents provide a unique stay at this Barrington Coast holiday park.
Seal Rocks
The sleepy town of Seal Rocks is also a favourite spot for holidaying Australian fur seals. A short drive south from Pacific Palms along The Lakes Way, the village is known for its beautiful beaches and historic lighthouse.
What to do
Built in 1875 on the headland at the northern end of Myall Lakes National Park, the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse boasts an external staircase (one of only two in Australia) and is a great place from which to spot migrating whales as they journey along the coast. Boat Beach is also ideal for snorkelling.
Where to stay
The heritage Seal Rocks Lighthouse Cottages sleep up to twenty guests in total, but you can book just one (or two) of them for your Barrington Coast getaway. Built in 1875, each is fully furnished and self-contained with a full kitchen, bathroom and outdoor area with headland views.
Tea Gardens
Tea Gardens sits on the southern end of the protected wetlands of Myall Lakes, an immense, freshwater system comprised of three lakes – Myall Lake, Boolambayte Lake, and The Broadwater – together covering an area of almost 6,000 hectares and surrounded by Myall Lakes National Park.
What to do
An abundance of experiences await in the National Park, across diverse picnic spots like the popular boat access-only Black Oaks on the Myall River. Explore indigenous sites of significance to the Worimi people, like the 4,000 year old Dark Point Aboriginal Place. There are gentle waters ripe for kayaking and boating, and all manner of places to cast your fishing rod and beautiful sandy beaches for sunning and swimming.
Enjoy a beautiful meal at the water’s edge in Tea Gardens at eateries including Tea Gardens Boatshed, Mumm’s on the Myall, and Tillermans. Join the Yacaaba headland walking track, hire a kayak, or take a short ferry trip across to Nelson Bay, on the southern tip of the Port Stephens peninsula, for a great day out.
Where to stay
Tea Gardens Hotel is a great place for families to eat and stay. Rooms are comfortable and modern, with a kettle and fridge. Pet are welcome here too and the bistro is fantastic.
National Parks on the Barrington Coast
Myall Lakes National Park
With its four coastal lagoons, 40km of sweeping surf beaches, coastal campsites and offshore Broughton Island, Myall, which means ‘wild’ in the local Worimi language, is the Mid North coast’s most varied park.
Myall Lakes National Park can be explored by kayak and on lazy houseboating weekends, launching from Bulahdelah. For those with younger children, there are safe, shallow swimming spots, like those beside Neranie campground.
Other attractions include the state’s tallest tree, the 400-year-old, 76m-high ‘Grandis’, the Bombah Point car ferry linking the park’s southern and northern sections (8am-6pm daily) and Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, overlooking Seal Rocks.
Walking tracks
The 21km Mungo walking track threads behind the coastal sand dunes, taking in areas of Aboriginal significance like Dark Point. Several shorter trails, including the Treachery Headland track to the Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, provide more bite-sized walks, while the flat, 20km-long Mining Road to Old Gibber Rd cycling trail is excellent for families on bikes.
Where to camp
Camping options range from rustic seaside spots like Yagon, remote lakeside locations like Shelly Beach, to larger sites such as Mungo Brush, sandwiched between the lakes and mountainous coastal dunes.
Booti Booti National Park
Booti Booti takes in several enviable beaches, including the long sweep of Seven Mile Beach, family-favourite Elizabeth, with its usually gently rippling waves, and secluded, clothes-optional Shelly.
Occupying a thin peninsula between oyster-filled Wallis Lake and the sparkling Tasman Sea, south of the resort town of Forster, it’s bookended by chunky headlands – to the north by Cape Hawke, and to the south, by Charlotte Head, overlooking popular surfing spot, Boomerang Beach.
Walking tracks
At Cape Hawke, a trail leads uphill to an elevated lookout with dramatic coastal views. In the southern section, a lovely 7.3km loop walk climbs up steep steps from Elizabeth Beach, running along the clifftops and down to Seven Mile, before returning via an easy trail beside Wallis Lake.
Where to camp
For longer visits, The Ruins campground, tucked behind Seven Mile Beach, has unpowered sites (with power points available in the amenities), toilets and showers.
Crowdy Bay National Park
‘League after league the headlands curve up the coast of the continent’, wrote author Kylie Tennant (1912-1988) of Crowdy Bay, ‘the white fingers of the sea play on them, each bluff giving out its unique note, making its own unique music’.
Inspired by the coastal setting, Tennant lived in a hut here during WWII, writing the novel Man on the Headland about her experience. Her legacy lives on in the relocated hut, set in a clearing, a clifftop lookout, and the calm Kylie’s Beach and its adjacent family-friendly campground, where koalas and kangaroos are regular visitors.
The headlands, heaths, rivers, and beaches that makeup Crowdy Bay provided a bountiful supply of food to the Birpai people, with campsites and shell middens dating back 6000 years found throughout the park.
Where to camp
Kylie’s Beach is one of four drive-in camping areas within the 10,000ha park, which hugs the coast, south of Port Macquarie. Two others, at Diamond Head and Indian Head, are linked by a 4.8km loop walk, which runs through the forest, coastal heath, and traverses the 100m cliffs, affording views of a craggy shoreline full of rock formations like the Arch, assailed by the sea.
Hat Head National Park
Reaching north from the surfing resort of Crescent Head to Smoky Cape, with its 1891 lighthouse, Hat Head is a narrow coastal national park, comprising long spans of empty beach backed by wetlands, creeks, heath, and littoral rainforest.
Over thousands of years, this area supported one of the coast’s largest Aboriginal populations, the Dunghutti people roaming these shores and river valleys, feasting off fish and shellfish and plentiful land-based food. These days, Hat Head provides the perfect environment in which to introduce children to the Australian bush,
Walking tracks
Coastal walking trails range from 600m to the 6km loop Connors Track, which winds through forested gullies to two secluded beaches. Views from that trail, and from the shorter Korogoro track (3.2km loop), include the shimmering coastline and, in spring, wildflower shows and, out to sea, migrating humpback whales.
Other excellent vantage points, at Smoky Cape, are Captain Cook’s lookout and the lighthouse – worth climbing on a tour.
Where to stay
With safe swimming in Korogoro Creek and campgrounds at Hungry Head and Smoky Cape, Hat Head invites a longer stay.
More Barrington Coast National Parks
Explore the rural landscapes of the Manning Valley, including Ellenborough Falls and Potoroo Falls in nearby Tapin Tops National Park, and the forests perched atop the Lansdowne escarpment and Coorabakh National Park in the north.
Opening image: An aerial view of Forster-Tuncurry. Credit: Destination NSW
Content contributors: Angela Saurine, Elisa Elwin
