Paddling in Mount Jerusalem National Park

Mount Jerusalem National Park sits in the hinterland of northern New South Wales, where the outer rim of the ancient Tweed Caldera catches rainfall and funnels it into three river systems: the Tweed, the Brunswick, and the Richmond.

The park's steep ridges, shaded gullies, and subtropical rainforest make this creek and headwater country — intimate, rain-fed, and shaped by the same geology that built the caldera some 21 million years ago.

The Brunswick River and its tributaries, including Coopers Creek and Smiths Creek, are the waters that run through the park.

These are headwater streams, not big-volume runs — the kind of country where flow is tied directly to rainfall and conditions can shift quickly after a storm.

The park's official map marks both canoe/kayak locations and canoe/kayak routes, which tells you that paddling is a recognised use here, but also that it is site-specific rather than open-ended.

Check the map before you go and plan around those marked access points. Being inside a NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service-managed area shapes how you move through it.

The park sits within the Nightcap Range Important Bird Area — home to the largest known population of Albert's lyrebirds — and that conservation weight is real. Treat access corridors and riparian margins with care.

For current rules on what is permitted on the water, contact the NPWS Tweed Byron office directly; regulations in protected areas can change, and the park is the authoritative source. Spring is when these creeks are most alive.

Rain pushes water through the drainage lines, the waterfalls run, and the creek-fed rainforest is at its densest and greenest. Come in a dry spell and some of these runs may not be worth the carry-in. Read the rainfall, not just the calendar.

This is paddling that asks you to pay attention — to the weather, to the access markers on the map, and to the country you're moving through.