Limeburners Creek National Park

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Overview

Hidden between Crescent Head and Port Macquarie, you’ll find this idyllic coastal retreat. Escape to the beachside and enjoy walks, scenic views, and world-class surfing.

Read more about Limeburners Creek National Park

Hidden away between Crescent Head and Port Macquarie on the mid north coast, you’ll find this idyllic stretch of pristine coast. Get off the beaten track and enjoy this remote piece of beachside paradise.

Discover golden sandy beaches, amazing surf breaks, remote camping spots and fascinating Aboriginal cultural heritage. With options for swimming, fishing, walking or just lazing on the beach, it makes for a fantastic family holiday or a relaxing beachside retreat.

The sparkling coastline of heathlands, banksia and blackbutt forest and the rare rainforests of Big Hill provide habitat to an abundance of wildlife. You’ll see ospreys, pied oystercatchers, dingoes, koalas, quolls, and if you’re lucky, the rare ground parrot. You may even spot majestic black swans gliding over the waters of Saltwater Lake.

Current alerts in this area

There are no current alerts in this area.

Local alerts

For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://uat.nswparks.cloud/visit-a-park/parks/limeburners-creek-national-park/local-alerts

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Visitor info

All the practical information you need to know about Limeburners Creek National Park.

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Nearby towns

Crescent Head (12 km)

Crescent Head on the NSW North Coast is surrounded by some of the stunning natural environments in the State. As well as long stretches of coastline with fabulous beaches, there is a string on coastal national parks to explore. Go surfing, fishing, boating and bushwalking, enjoy bird watching or whale watching, spot dolphins, turtles and even koalas in the wild.

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Port Macquarie (12 km)

Vibrant Port Macquarie is surrounded by beautiful waterways - the Hastings River, canals, creeks, bays and the Pacific Ocean. The city also has a five-star collection of golden-sand beaches stretching from Port Macquarie Beach to Town Beach and north along the 16-km swathe of North Beach.

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Kempsey (32 km)

Kempsey is a historic river town close to national parks and majestic beaches. Kempsey is a convenient place for an overnight stop for anyone driving between Sydney and the North Coast.

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Learn more

Limeburners Creek National Park is a special place. Here are just some of the reasons why:

    Wildlife and bird watching haven

    Bird, Limeburners Creek National Park. Photo: Barbara Webster

    Limeburners Creek National Park is a hot spot for animals. Spotted tail quoll, dingos, butterflies, micro bats, giant pythons and even brolgas make their home here. Birdwatchers will also be in heaven. You'll see rare pied oystercatchers and little terns along beaches, osprey and other large birds of prey circling above and migratory seabirds on their journey north. You might also see the rare ground parrot out in the grass and heathlands.

    • Big Hill Rainforest walking track Discover lush rainforest, rocky headlands, spectacular views and abundant wildlife along Big Hill Rainforest walking track.
    • Multi-day pack free hike on NSW Mid-North Coast Journey through untouched, coastal landscapes on this 3-day, pack-free walk with Positive Energy Adventures and Retreats. You’ll walk 34km across the beautiful Limeburner’s National Park and Goolawah National Park.

    Strong Aboriginal cultural connections

    Plomer Beach, Limeburners Creek National Park. Photo: Michael van Ewijk

    The Dunghutti People from Kempsey and the Biripai people from Port Macquarie continue to have a strong connection with the area surrounding Limeburners Creek. Point Plomer and Big Hill in particular are Aboriginal sites of outstanding significance. Several sites and artefacts tracing Aboriginal settlement in this region back to at least 6,000 years have been found, including burial sites, shell middens, a quarry for stone tool production and axe grinding grooves in rock outcrops around Point Plomer.

    A place of historic heritage

    Coastal views from Point Plomer Headland, Limeburners Creek National Park. Photo: Barbara Webster

    Back in the early days of the Port Macquarie penal settlement, lime for building mortar was in great demand. They used to collect and burn enormous quantities of oyster shells from this area, giving the park its unusual name. Many of the landmarks in the park were named after some of the more colourful pioneers of the past. Barries Bay was originally a whaling station, named after the Barrie family who lived there for many years. Big Hill was named after Kevin Hill, reputedly a hermit who lived on the northwest side of the hill during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

    Plants and animals protected in this park

    Animals

    • An eastern ground parrot bird's green and yellow colouring camouflages it amongst grassland. Photo: Lachlan Hall © Lachlan Hall

      Eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus wallicus)

      The eastern ground parrot is a beautiful, ground-dwelling native bird that lives in low heathland habitat along the NSW North and South coasts and escarpments. It’s listed as a vulnerable species in NSW.

    Education resources (1)

    What we're doing

    Limeburners Creek National Park has management strategies in place to protect and conserve the values of this park. View the detailed park and fire management documents.

      General enquiries

      Contact

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      Things to do (3)

      Tours (2)

      Camping and accommodation (3)