Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track

Moderate

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An 8.8km return NPWS track to the summit of Wollumbin/Mount Warning, currently closed with the closure extended to 30 June 2027 pending resolution with Bundjalung custodians, confirmed on the NSW NPWS and environment.nsw.gov.au sites.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

9.96 km

Est. time

2 hr 46 min

Elevation gain

413 m

Route type

Out & back

Steepest stretch: +51m over ~300m (around the 7.5km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Wollumbin National Park, Northern Rivers. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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About this hike

Wollumbin/Mount Warning is the eroded central plug of an enormous shield volcano that was active around 23 million years ago, and its summit is famous as one of the first places on the Australian mainland to catch the sunrise each morning. The 8.8km return NPWS track to the top has been a popular, if demanding, day walk for generations, but it's currently closed, with the closure extended to 30 June 2027 while NSW works through a resolution with the mountain's Bundjalung custodians, who regard the summit as sacred and have long asked visitors not to climb it. Wollumbin sits within the wider Tweed Volcano caldera, one of the largest and best-preserved erosion calderas in the world, and the mountain is visible from much of the surrounding Northern Rivers and Gold Coast hinterland. Until the closure lifts, the summit views are only accessible from a distance, from lookouts across neighbouring parks like Border Ranges and Springbrook.

Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

IsoglossaDocumented on this trail

Isoglossa eranthemoides

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, NSW: Endangered▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, NSW: Endangered

Isoglossa is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It includes 78 species native to tropical Africa, Yemen, the eastern Himalayas, southern China, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and New South Wales.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Wollumbin National Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 2022) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Acanthaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Isoglossa

Durobby (Rose Apple)

Syzygium moorei

Vulnerable (EPBC Act)▾

Vulnerable (EPBC Act)

A rare rainforest giant of the volcanic soils around Mount Warning/Wollumbin, growing up to 40m with an unusual habit for an NSW myrtle: flowers and fruit sprout straight from the trunk and older branches rather than from new growth.

How to spot it

Unusually large, blunt-tipped leaves (8-20cm); grey, fawn or reddish bark; pink-to-orange flower clusters growing straight off the trunk (ramiflory) from November to February, followed by large white or pale green berries up to 6cm across around Easter.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Syzygium moorei

Photo: Poyt448 (Peter Woodard) (Public domain) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Land Mullet

Bellatorias major

Notable — one of Australia's largest skinks▾

Notable — one of Australia's largest skinks

One of Australia's largest skinks, reaching up to 60cm long, found in rainforest from the Hawkesbury River in NSW north to the Conondale Range in south-eastern Queensland. Explicitly recorded among the reptile fauna of Wollumbin National Park.

How to spot it

Glossy black-to-brown, heavily built, with a pale eye-ring and an auburn-to-white belly; juveniles show cream lateral spots. Found basking near fallen logs on shaded rainforest floors.

Family Scincidae · Source: Wikipedia: Land mullet; Wikipedia: Wollumbin National Park

Chujoslaw, CC BY-SA 4.0