Dorrigo


The eastern gateway to the picturesque Waterfall Way, Dorrigo is a timber town located on the edge of the Dorrigo Plateau.

Where is it?: Dorrigo is 72 km west of Coffs Harbour; 576 km north of Sydney via the Pacific Highway and 730 m above sea level.

Dorrigo sits near the edge of the New England escarpment and is only a few kilometres from the steep mountain road which descends into the Bellinger Valley. It is a timber town located on the edge of the Dorrigo Plateau. The Plateau offers visitors a range of activities including trout fishing, four wheel driving, bush walking, and self-drive scenic tours.


Lookouts: located on the edge of the escarpment and offering outstanding views of the Bellinger Valley, Griffiths Lookout offers spectacular views to Pacific Ocean on a clear day. It is one of the most impressive lookouts on the eastern coast of Australia.

Things To See and Do


Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum has the largest collection of railway rolling stock in the Southern Hemisphere, which includes 55 locomotives, 280 carriages and wagons, 13 railmotors and a Silver City Comet set. It is not yet opened to the general public but if you drive down Tallowood Street you get a good idea of the vast amount of equipment which has been accumulated by this unusual museum, that has become a railway graveyard.

Dangar Falls

Just 2 km from the town centre, Dangar Falls are well worth a visit. There is an attractive picnic spot which offers excellent vantage points. It is possible to get down to the banks and walk along the river below the falls.


Dorrigo Rainforest Centre is situated 2 km east of Dorrigo near the top of the escarpment, within Dorrigo National Park. The Centre has experienced staff who will not only explain the flora and fauna of the rainforest but also provide detailed information on the walks available. The park is approximately 8,000 hectares of rainforest and incorporates subtropical rainforest, warm and cool temperate rainforests and dry rainforest. In the National Park are impressive stands of sassafras, red cedar, coachwood and yellow carabeen. There are also over 60 species of bird including the satin bower-bird, the rufus scrub bird, the brush turkey and the lyrebird.



Surrounding Area

Ebor Falls

Dorrigo marks the eastern end of The Waterfall Way, a tourist drive through national parks, nature reserve, flora reserves and state forests which abound with waterfalls. In among these are some excellent walking trails for all levels of fitness. Ebor Falls, not far from Dorrigo, is where the Guy Fawkes River drops 115 m over columned basalt rock. There are toilets, barbecues, tables and running water and three viewing platforms with sweeping views of the falls and the Macleay Valley.


Wollomombi Falls is Australia's longest single drop falls. Here the Wollomombi River plummets 220 m over the cliff to the gorge below (after local rains) with Chandler Falls doing likewise nearby. Situated at 1160 m above sea-level there are gorge rim walks (including a wheelchair track) which take you to two outstanding lookouts, and a track, for the fit, that takes you down the gorge to the Chandler River where you can swim if the weather is apposite. The falls are on the road between Dorrigo and Armidale, and 40 km east of Armidale.


New England National Park, located between Armidale and Dorrigo, is a world heritage listed wilderness area of varying habitats reflecting dramatic differences of altitude. Ecosystems range from snow gum woodland and Antarctic beech rainforest to subtropical rainforest, including wet and dry eucalypt forest, subalpine heath and wetlands.

Clearly marked bushwalks lead through mossy beech forests and fern gullies. Point Lookout, situated 1562 m above sea-level, has spectacular views down over the almost vertical escarpment into the Bellinger River Valley and beyond to the ocean.


The landforms, vegetation and temperatures of Cathedral Rock National Park are quite different to those experienced in New England National Park. There are easily accessible wetlands, gully rainforest, wet and dry eucalypt and wet heath. Wallabies and kangaroos tend to congregate around the marshlands at dusk. There are also plenty of wildflowers in summer and birdwatchers will find the park rewarding.

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