Lane Cove National Park

Lane Cove National Park New South Wales
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Upper Lane Cove River
Lane Cove National Park
Nearest town or city	Lane Cove
Coordinates	33°47′01″S 151°08′19″E
Established	1938 (1938)
Area	3.72 km2 (1.4 sq mi)
Managing authorities	NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
Website	Lane Cove National Park
See also	Protected areas of New South Wales

The Lane Cove National Park is a protected national park that is located within metropolitan Sydney, in New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 372-hectare (920-acre) national park is situated about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north-west of the Sydney central business district. The park consists of land near the banks of the Lane Cove River, which flows generally south-east into Sydney Harbour. It also extends to the outskirts of Pennant Hills and Wahroonga.

Features and location

The park includes areas of land which are part of Ku-ring-gai, Ryde, and Hornsby local government areas with small areas of the park in Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunter's Hill local government areas on the banks of the lower reaches of the river. The park is surrounded on all sides by developed suburban areas and except for the upper northwestern region is never more than a kilometre wide. Much of the park is of fairly rugged terrain on the slopes of the river valley and covered by dense bush. The characteristics of the bush vary depending upon soils and topography. Parts of the park are affected by weed infestations.

The central section of the park, between De Burghs Bridge on Ryde Road and Fullers Bridge, was set aside as a park in the 1920s and developed with picnic areas interspersed in the bush along the banks of the river. The majority of these picnic areas are located between the Fuller's Road bridge and the road that leads towards the Tourist Park. North of this point the area becomes more rugged and there are no picnic areas until the Tunks Hill (previously known as Tunks Farm) area which is away from the river behind the garden nursery on Lane Cove Road.

A weir was constructed in the 1930s near Fullers Bridge which converted the middle section of the river from tidal salt-water to a fresh-water area with constant water level suitable for recreational use in rowing boats and canoes. This area was managed by a trust and was called Lane Cove River Park. In 1982, the Government of New South Wales took over direct control of the park which was then called Lane Cove Regional Park. Various nearby areas of undeveloped government land near the river upstream and downstream from the central area including an area around Pennant Hills Park has also been added to the national park. It was then renamed Lane Cove National Park in 1992.

A fish ladder has been constructed next to the weir to enable Australian bass to access the freshwater breeding grounds upstream of the weir. Fishing is allowed in parts of the Lane Cove River as per restrictions managed by NSW Department of Primary Industries.

The Lane Cove National Park is very popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists as the road through the park (Riverside Drive) is generally only lightly used by vehicles and the only alternative road, Delhi Road is a steep narrow road with high speed traffic. The Lane Cove River Tourist Park, operated by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, is located within Lane Cove National Park.

The walking track along the bank of Lane Cove River forms part of The Great North Walk from Sydney CBD to Newcastle.

A rare mushroom Hygrocybe aurantipes was discovered in Lane Cove National Park in 1990.

See also

• Commandment Rock
• Devlins Creek
• Protected areas of New South Wales

External links

• Lane Cove River Tourist Park. Operated by National Parks NSW
• Lane Cove National Park Website (NPWS)
• Friends of Lane Cove National Park Inc
• Lane Cove National Park Community Group