The Lane Cove National Park is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

national park that is located within metropolitan Sydney, in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The national park is situated about north-west of the Sydney central business district and features various vegetation types, such as, wet and dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

forest,

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s and

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s. The park consists of land near the banks of the

Lane Cove River The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding thro ...

, which flows generally south-east into Sydney Harbour. It also extends to the outskirts of

Pennant Hills Pennant Hills is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Pennant Hills is located 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsb ...

and

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. ...

at its northern boundaries.

Features and location

The park includes areas of land which are part of

Ku-ring-gai Kuringgai (also spelled Ku-ring-gai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) (,) is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilar ...

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

, and Hornsby

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...

with small areas of the park in Willoughby,

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

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, such as

Fiddens Wharf ''Fiddens Wharf'' or ''Killara Wharf'' was a former wharf on the Lane Cove River in Sydney, Australia. Named after the convict Joseph Fidden, the wharf was primarily used for the transport of timber and supplies to and from Sydney in the 19th ce ...

and

Fairyland Fairyland (''Faerie'', Scottish ''Elfame'', c.f. Old Norse '' Álfheimr'') in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French (Early Modern English ) referred to an illusion or enchantment, the land ...

. The central section of the park, between

De Burghs Bridge De Burghs Bridge is a road bridge that carries the Lane Cove Road, part of the A3, across the Lane Cove River in Macquarie Park, Sydney, Australia. The bridge stretches from Macquarie Park in the south to West Pymble in the north. History T ...

on Ryde Road and

Fullers Bridge Fullers Bridge, officially called the Fullers Creek Bridge, is a road bridge that carries Delhi Road to Millwood Avenue across the Lane Cove River, in , Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The concrete beam bridge is located northwest of the ...

, 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 Lane Cove Road is a major suburban arterial road in Sydney, Australia. It forms part of A3 and is located in the Ryde local government area. The southern end of Lane Cove Road connects with Devlin Street at Blaxland Road at Top Ryde, about ...

. 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 The Australian bass (''Macquaria novemaculeata'') is a small- to medium-sized species of primarily freshwater (but estuarine spawning) fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia. A member of the genus '' Macqua ...

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 Department of Primary Industries.Sydney Harbour and Northern beaches recreational fishing guide
The Lane Cove National Park is popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists. The

Lane Cove River Tourist Park Lane Cove River Tourist Park is a caravan park and campground in the Australian state of New South Wales located in the suburb of Macquarie Park within the boundaries of the Lane Cove National Park and about north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. ...

, operated by the

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the protected areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the ...

, is located within Lane Cove National Park. The main walking track along the

forms part of the

Great North Walk The Great North Walk is a walking track which runs from Sydney to Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. The main track, in length, runs between the Obelisk in Macquarie Place in Sydney to Queens Wharf in Bicentennial Park in Newcastle and ...

from Sydney CBD to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. This track incorporates a number of old tracks that were, in many cases, old logging trails.

Flora

Common native plant species throughout the park include grass-trees, smooth-barked apples, old man banksias, flannel flowers, scribbly gums, and Wonga Wonga vines.

Fauna

The park is home to a variety of native bird species, including brushturkeys,

kookaburra Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

superb fairywren The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of sex ...

crimson rosella The crimson rosella (''Platycercus elegans'') is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The ...

sulphur-crested cockatoo The sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita'') is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being ...

rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. S ...

s, and

eastern whipbird The eastern whipbird (''Psophodes olivaceus'') is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia. Its whip-crack song is a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more ofte ...

s. Non-native birds such as common mynas and

red-whiskered bulbul The red-whiskered bulbul (''Pycnonotus jocosus''), or crested bulbul, is a passerine bird native to Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical are ...

s also occupy the park. Common reptiles include the

Eastern Water Dragon The Australian water dragon (''Intellagama lesueurii''), which includes the eastern water dragon (''Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii'' ) and the Gippsland water dragon (''Intellagama lesueurii howittii'' ) subspecies, is an arboreal agamid species ...

and

lace monitor The lace monitor or tree goanna (''Varanus varius'') is a member of the monitor lizard family native to eastern Australia. A large lizard, it can reach in total length and in weight. The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species ...

s, whilst common mammals include

swamp wallabies The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Q ...

and

echidnas Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the ...

Urban issues affecting the Park

The park's position in the middle of a major metropolis necessitates compromises between the social desire for maintaining a pristine environment, and the need for urban development. Two examples of this compromise are: # The

M2 Hills Motorway The Hills Motorway (also known as the Hills M2 Motorway, M2 Motorway or simply M2) is a tollway in north-western Sydney, Australia, owned by toll road operator Transurban. It forms majority of Sydney's M2 route and part of the 110 km Sy ...

crosses the National Park at Epping and is clearly visible for kilometres to bushwalkers traveling along Terry's Creek. # In 2014 Sydney Water began rebuilding a 3.3 kilometre section of wastewater pipe located beside Terrys Creek, and running through bushland between Forrester Park,

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station **Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the Ph ...

and Browns Waterhole in the Lane Cove National Park, South Turramurra. This involved upgrading access tracks to the pipeline.

References

External links

Lane Cove National Park Website (NPWS)

Friends of Lane Cove National Park Inc

Lane Cove River Tourist Park. Operated by National Parks NSW
{{Authority control National parks of New South Wales Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in Australia Lane Cove, New South Wales Lane Cove River