Comprehensive Guide Collection for Cottan-Bimbang National Park Protected Landscapes

Rugged wilderness of old-growth eucalypt forest and temperate rainforest on the New South Wales eastern escarpment

Cottan-Bimbang National Park

Cottan-Bimbang National Park represents one of the more significant wilderness protection areas in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, preserving a substantial block of relatively unmodified forest landscape in a region where extensive land clearing has occurred. The park occupies a strategic position on the eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range, where elevation changes create diverse microclimates and vegetation communities. Tall old-growth eucalypts dominate the higher ridgelines and exposed slopes, while dense temperate rainforest fills the protected gullies and lower valley floors where moisture accumulates. This mosaic of forest types supports a correspondingly diverse community of wildlife species, from arboreal marsupials like koalas and yellow-bellied gliders to ground-dwelling amphibians in the moist rainforest understory. The park provides a rare example of intact wilderness character in northern New South Wales, with visitor facilities concentrated at a few key locations including Stockyard Creek along the Oxley Highway and the Myrtle Scrub Road circuit through the western sector.