Find your perfect picnic spots of the Barrington Coast

Helping end your search for that special place for an alfresco meal.

What makes a great picnic? A grassy patch for your rug or a picnic table? A barbecue and toilet facilities?

Is it the stunning view, a shady tree, or the food and drinks you bring?

For many people, it's the occasion. That overdue quality time with the kids, or a quiet place to reconnect with your significant other. How about something special for that proposal you’ve been planning?

Every town and village in the Barrington Coast offers a park or two that’s suitable for alfresco dining. Some are quick pit stops and some entice you for a longer stay with plenty of facilities.

In fact, family-friendly parks are a specialty here, you’ll find oodles of them in our major centres. They feature easy parking, toilets, picnic shelters, free barbecues, water bubblers, amazing playgrounds, skate bowls and more.

Forster has awesome beachside and lakeside parks, big and small for every occasion (try Pebbly Beach Park, Burgess Beach Reserve and Gregory Reserve Pelican Boardwalk); Gloucester’s riverside District Park looks like a film set and Billabong Park is a leafy winner too; Taree’s many riverside parks offer the unbeatable majesty of the Manning River (try Queen Elizabeth Park, Apex Lookout and Harry Bennett Park).

Check out the best of the big range of our parks here. Visit any of them and you’ll discover why our residents just love it here.

But for this guide, let’s find a few of those out of the way picnic spots…

Picnic spots at Headland Reserve in Black Head.

Where to find great picnic spots

About to ask the Big Question? Maybe you’re just fussy, so whatever your motivations, let’s assume you’d like something special. Also not too busy and with at least a picnic table for your luxe picnic spread. (Yes, always luxe, here’s how.)

The word itself derives from French pique nique, (translating to “to pick small things”). So it’s fair to say that delicious small things are the centrepiece of any good picnic.

Technically, that means you can have a picnic in your backyard. But with all the beautiful places in the Barrington Coast to spread your picnic rug, why settle for just your familiar patch?

For this guide, we’re looking for the minimum facilities to be a picnic table and a pretty patch of grass. Afterall, is a roadside table beside a busy highway really your ideal picnic spot?

But wait a minute… first, what to pack?

Picnics by sea at Boat Beach in Seal Rocks.

Out of the way picnic spots in the Barrington Coast

Here’s just a taste of what you can find here. Let us know if you have a fabulous favourite you reckon should be featured here.

Boat Beach, Seal Rocks

Good for: picnics by the beach; coastal views; beach access; nearby walks to Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse; small weddings.

Brimbin Nature Reserve, Brimbin

Good for: forest picnics with riverside walks and birdwatching.

Cobark Lookout, Barrington Tops

Good for: mountain picnics with a view; the scenic drive to get there.

Devils Hole Lookout, Barrington Tops

Good for: mountain picnics; easy walk to lookout; nearby Thunderbolts Lookout and Honeysuckle Forest Walk.

Ellenborough Falls Reserve, Elands

Good for: mountain picnics with a big view; nearby walks to bottom of Ellenborough Falls.

Picnics by Wallis Lake at Coomba Park Foreshore Reserve.

Foreshore Reserve, Coomba Park

Good for: country picnics by the lake; easy access to Wallis Lake for your water toys.

Headland Reserve, Black Head

Good for: picnics by the beach with a view; easy access to beaches and ocean pool; nearby walk to whale watching platform; small weddings.

Hearts Point Picnic Area, Bungwahl

Good for: picnics by the lake; easy access to Myall Lake for your water toys.

Picnics with a view of Gloucester at Mograni Lookout.

Mograni Lookout, Tugrabakh

Good for: country picnics with a big view; a stunning stopover on your way into Gloucester.

Muir Park, Crowdy Head

Good for: picnics by the beach with a view; nearby Crowdy Head Lighthouse and Crowdy Bay beach; small weddings.

Newbys Lookout, Coorabakh

Good for: mountain picnics with a big view; nearby walks to Newbys Creek cave and Starrs Creek.

Rocky Crossing Reserve, Barrington

Good for: country picnics by the river; access to Barrington River for your water toys.

Sailing Club Picnic Area, Booti Booti

Good for: picnics by the lake; flat sandy access to Wallis Lake for your water toys.

Saltwater Picnic Area, Saltwater

Good for: picnics by the lagoon; access to Saltwater Beach and Khappinghat Creek; nearby Headland Walk and Five Islands Walk.

Picnics by the beach at Santa Barbara picnic area at Tiona.

Santa Barbara Park, Tiona

Good for: picnics by the beach; big grassy area with Seven Mile Beach just over the dunes.

Silo Hill Reserve, Stroud

Good for: country picnics with a view; nearby historic Stroud walks and buildings; small weddings.

Sunset Park, Elizabeth Beach

Good for: sunset picnics by the lake; Wallis Lake views; small weddings.

Winda Woppa Reserve, Hawks Nest

Good for: picnics by the beach; picnics by the river; easy access to Myall River for your water toys; nearby beach access to stunning Jimmys Beach.

Picnics near the white sands of Jimmys Beach at Winda Woppa Reserve.

Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse

The historic Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, at the northern end of Myall Lakes National Park offers coastal views and is a top spot for whale watching.

Santa Barbara Park

Nestled behind the sand dunes of Seven Mile Beach near Forster, Santa Barbara picnic area is a grassy spot that’s popular with surfers, families and day trippers visiting Booti Booti National Park.

Rocky Crossing

A scenic picnic spot with swimming at the Barrington River near Gloucester.

Newbys Lookout

Newbys lookout, on the edge of the Landsdowne escarpment, offers scenic views over Manning Valley as well as opportunities for birdwatching and picnicking.