Paddling in Cottan-Bimbang National Park

Cottan-Bimbang National Park sits on the eastern escarpment of the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales, straddling the transition between the Mid-North Coast and Southern New England regions.

The landscape drops sharply from high-country eucalypt forest into warm temperate rainforest, and the creeks that drain it reflect that gradient — steep, rain-fed, and shaped by the same geology that makes the Oxley Highway one of the longest mountain descents in Australia.

The park's map marks a canoe and kayak location, and Rocky Creek is the named water anchoring that designation. Stockyard Creek runs through the western picnic area as well.

These are mountain streams fed by rainfall rather than snowmelt, which means levels are tied directly to precipitation.

January is the wettest month and July the driest, so the window for paddleable flows on smaller creeks tends to open in the warmer months and close down over winter.

The park has recorded single-day rainfall events above 230 mm, which can bring these drainages up fast — and drop them just as quickly. The Cells River also runs through the park, with a picnic clearing and historic timber bridge near its banks.

The visitor information points to autumn as a good time to be there, when flows may still carry some of the summer rain. Access is almost entirely road-dependent — the Oxley Highway bisects the park, and Myrtle Scrub Road loops through the western section.

There are no commercial paddling operators listed for the park itself.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service manages Cottan-Bimbang; check with the Port Macquarie office before any trip for current conditions, closures, and any activity-specific requirements.

The park is formally closed to pets, and the broader NSW national parks rules apply throughout. For anything involving overnight stays or organised groups on the water, confirm permit requirements directly with the service before you load the boat.

The water here is not the main event the way it might be on a dedicated river corridor — but for paddlers who read maps closely and time their visits to the rain, the creeks coming off this escarpment are worth the detour.