Have Your Say on the Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk Environmental Review

Now’s your chance to have your say on the proposed $22 million Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk, with feedback on the master plan and review of environmental factors open to the public.

The Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk is a proposed four-day, 46km rainforest hike, which will traverse the Great Dividing Range, through rainforests and past waterfalls in NSW’s Northern Tablelands.

The NSW Government announced the trail in 2022, to be built on the land of the Gumbaynggirr people, near the town of Dorrigo, in northern NSW. The project is intended to increase tourism, job opportunities, and stoke an awareness and enjoyment of the natural environment in the area.

The trail will pass through five suspension bridges and 14 viewpoints, starting at the proposed new Dorrigo Arc Rainforest Centre in Dorrigo National Park and finishing at the Bindarray Picnic Area in Bindarri National Park.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has proposed several amenities along the way for hikers, such as bunk-style accommodation huts, communal gathering shelters, tent platforms, and toilets.

To have your say, take a look at the draft master plan for the walk and review of environmental factors, and make your submission via the online form on the NSW Government website. NPWS is particularly looking for feedback with additional information they should be aware of, any errors they should address in the plan, and any potential environmental impacts and recommended solutions they should consider to mitigate these.

‘This proposed multi-day walk would be a practical way to help ensure that the region can sustainably manage an increase in visitors into the future, while minimising impacts on environmental and cultural values of these national parks’, said Russell Madeley, Director North Coast, NPWS.

‘Public input will help make this Great Walk breathtaking and ensure that the landscape can be sustainably managed and enjoyed for generations to come’, he said.

Submissions are open until the 24th of February 2025, so have your say today.

Feature photo by Leah Furey