As crystal clear water tumbles from the rugged peaks, it breathes life into our land; for this is the Barrington Coast – a place where the leaves touch the waters, from the mountains to the sea. With the top five experiences suggested below, we invite you to indulge your curiosity, seek the road less travelled and take delight in the wonders of our region.
The Barrington Coast spans over 10,000 km² on the mid north coast of New South Wales, Australia. That’s almost three times the size of metropolitan Sydney and stretches from the world heritage wilderness of Barrington Tops to the golden sands of the glittering Pacific Ocean.
Our destination is named after its highest point, the Barrington Tops plateau, which is the highest point of the Australian mainland outside the Snowy Mountains and gets a regular dusting of snow each winter. This provides one of our unique visitor experiences: you can make a snow man and a sandcastle on the same day, without leaving our destination. No other local government area in NSW can make this claim.
We’re renowned for our lakes, rivers, beaches and extensive parklands, evidenced by our 15 national parks, 63 state forests, nature reserves and conservation areas, 38 rivers, 40 beaches and 190km of stunning Pacific Ocean coastline.
Water is ever-present on the Barrington Coast and provides more unique attributes that make us famous:
- The Manning River delta is the only double delta in the southern hemisphere.
- Ellenborough Falls is NSW’s tallest single drop waterfall at 200 metres.
- Myall Lakes National Park holds NSW’s only coastal lakes system protected by the Ramsar international environmental convention for globally significant wetland habitats.
These beautiful attractions are extraordinary enough in their own right but as destination attributes they’re important because they contribute to the transformative experiences of our visitors.
We invite you to discover something new, try something different, expand your thinking or even change your outlook.
Are you curious yet? Read on, and come blaze your own trail in the Barrington Coast.
1. Seek adventure:
- Paddle your kayak or canoe like an explorer on our rivers, lakes, estuaries and inlets
- Jump aboard Forster Dive Centre or Dive Forster at Fishermans Wharf to dive with grey nurse sharks, turtles and cow rays at Forster and Seal Rocks
- Jump into epic gravity-fed mountain bike trails at Barrington Bike Park or take to the single flow trails at Kiwarrak Mountain Bike Trail
- Discover the remote beauty of Ramsar-protected Myall Lakes National Park
- Go gravel-grinding on our country back roads
- Land your biggest snapper or kingfish from a deep sea fishing charter with Reel Ocean Adventures, Crowdy Bay Charters or Foster Fishing Charters.
- Free-fall from 15,000 feet above the Manning Valley with Skydiving NSW Drop Zone Taree or simply admire those views aboard Scenic Flights Manning Valley
2. Get lost:
- Explore the vast wilderness of Barrington Tops and walk with dinosaur ghosts in deep Gondwana rainforests and ponder the missing planes lost for decades
- Camp at high altitude and be spellbound star gazing at the Milky Way
- Invigorate your inner being in one of our top 10 waterfalls
- Gaze across endless shades of green and blue from our best lookouts (some you can drive up to)
3. Connect with nature:
- Make friends with the tallest tree in NSW: The Grandis
- Enjoy the spray from the tallest single drop waterfall in NSW at Ellenborough Falls
- Accompany the kangaroos on the beach at Crowdy Bay National Park
- Go wild swimming at a remote cascade
- Join Epic Surf Adventures for a high speed cruise from Forster to watch the whale migration up close
- Take a leisurely sail around Wallis Lake to spot pods of dolphins playing.
4. Connect with loved ones:
- Do some ‘first time’ moments: see snow at Barrington Tops; make a snowman and a sandcastle on the same day; pan for gold at Copeland Tops heritage gold mining precinct hidden in a rainforest; cuddle a Tasmanian devil joey at Aussie Ark conservation facility in Barrington Tops
- Learn to surf at Old Bar or Boomerang Beach with Saltwater Surf School or Great Lakes Surf School
- Compare your balancing skills e-foiling on Myall Lake with Glide Time
- Camp with your furry best pal at dog-friendly campgrounds
- Ride your horse along Diamond Beach or Nine Mile Beach
- Watch the morning colours from an ocean pool swim at dawn at Forster or Black Head
5. Taste something new:
- Savour the botanicals of multi award-winning gins from The Farmers Wife Distillery and Wharf Street Distillery
- Rate the hops and malt in the craft beers in the tap room of The Coastal Brewing Company
- Try to describe the umami taste of Sydney rock oysters grown in Wallis Lake and Manning River delta, you can join Wallis Lake Oyster Tours for a guided shucking tour, stay overnight on an oyster farm with the Mad Shuckers from Brighton Oysters, or buy oysters direct from the growers, from fish co-ops and at good restaurants around the region
- Enjoy a tasting flight of wines of every colour from wineries scattered across our region: Great Lakes Paddocks, Old Inn Road, Mograni Creek Estate, Faulls Ridge, Gap Hill and Gloucester River Winery.
