Northern NSW’s Wollumbin Summit Trail May Reopen By Mid-2027

NSW’s most controversial trail closure may soon be reversed after a surprise statement from the NSW Government in late 2025.

NSW’s Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe, has announced the extension of the closure of Wollumbin/Mt Warning in NSW’s Northern Rivers, along with a prospective reopening date of July 2027, ‘once practical safety and culturally appropriate options are resolved’.

Wollumbin/Mt Warning is the first place on Australia’s mainland to get the sun’s rays each morning, and the trail to the mountain’s peak has been a highly popular hike for locals and tourists, particularly at sunrise, with up to 100,000 people visiting each year.

The Wollumbin Summit Track has been closed since 2020, with Minister Sharpe citing public safety risks and consultation with the local Aboriginal community and other stakeholders as the cause.

The Wollumbin summit is a sacred place for the Bundjalung people, and became an Aboriginal Place in 2014. Since its closure in 2020, visitors have been asked to respect the Traditional Custodians wishes and not climb the mountain. Signs requesting visitors not to walk the track have been placed at the trailhead and chains that assist walkers to the summit have been removed.

Read more: 5 Lesser-Known Hikes in the Tweed Valley

The trail’s closure has continued to be extended over the last six years, causing major backlash from some sections of the public and lobbying of the NSW Government by groups such as Right to Climb. In 2021, Right to Climb’s spokesperson, Marc Hendrickx, obtained documents using a freedom of information act that revealed plans for the permanent closure of the mountain in 2022.

In late 2022, the NSW Government officially banned public access to the mountain, enforceable by fines.

In 2024, Libertarian politician, John Ruddick, gained over 10,000 signatures on a petition to have the track reopened and the issue debated in NSW parliament.

Minister Sharpe says the issue of safe access to the summit still needs to be addressed and the closure extension will allow the government to create a plan that ‘respects cultural responsibilities’ and ensures visitor safety.

Feature photo by @fungshuay