Active project record

Originally reported: 2022
Last reviewed: 21 July 2026
Current status: Approved visitor infrastructure program under construction

This page records the development of visitor infrastructure within Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area and its status when last reviewed. It is not maintained in real time. Significant later developments may be covered through Keep It Wild Australia’s Protected Areas Tourism Watch reports.

The original proposal

Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area was formally gazetted in May 2022 as part of a $49.5 million NSW Government program intended to protect the area’s natural and cultural values while establishing it as a major recreation and tourism destination near Lithgow. The 28,322-hectare reserve was created from Newnes State Forest and parts of Ben Bullen and Wolgan state forests, alongside additions to Gardens of Stone and Wollemi national parks. (Environment and Heritage)

The project was proposed as a broad visitor infrastructure program rather than a single development. Early plans included a multi-day walk through the pagoda landscape, mountain-bike trails, new campgrounds, lookouts, day-use areas, road upgrades, visitor facilities and a touring circuit for four-wheel drives and motorcycles. (Environment and Heritage)

When Keep It Wild Australia first reported the project, the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area plan of management had recently been adopted. At that time, there was concern that the multi-day walk might eventually involve privately built accommodation or commercial walking packages extending into Wollemi National Park.

The final planning documents now provide a clearer picture. The current official program is centred on publicly accessible walking tracks, campgrounds, lookouts, roads, mountain-bike trails and day-use infrastructure. No private lodge development or exclusive commercial accommodation concession has been announced.

Current status

The Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area plan of management was adopted on 7 November 2022. The final visitor infrastructure master plan was completed in March 2025 following public exhibition, environmental and geotechnical investigations, community information sessions, consultation with Aboriginal custodians and targeted stakeholder engagement. (NSW Planning Portal)

Major project works are now underway across the reserve. As at mid-2026, construction or planning was continuing at Lost City North Lookout, the Bungleboori precinct, Broad Swamp, State Mine Gully Road, Forest Campground and along the new Pagoda Walk. (Environment and Heritage)

The current program includes:

  • the Gardens of Stone Pagoda Walk;
  • accessible lookouts and pathways;
  • mountain-bike trails;
  • upgraded and new camping facilities;
  • picnic and day-use areas;
  • road and parking improvements;
  • visitor information and wayfinding; and
  • a managed four-wheel-drive and motorcycle touring network. (Environment and Heritage)

The Gardens of Stone Pagoda Walk

The multi-day walking route is now being delivered as the Gardens of Stone Pagoda Walk. Earlier project material also referred to the broader concept as the Wollemi Great Walk.

Section One involves approximately 12 kilometres of publicly accessible walking track and an associated camping area within Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area. Much of the route follows a former unauthorised motorcycle track, with some sections realigned following ecological and Aboriginal cultural heritage investigations. (NSW Planning Portal)

Sections Two and Three add approximately 13 kilometres of new track connecting Section One to Glow Worm Tunnel Road. The works include natural-surface track construction, carved stone steps and ramps, elevated structures, timber steps, vegetation clearing and visitor signage. The environmental assessment determined that the project could proceed subject to conditions and did not require an environmental impact statement or species impact statement. (Planning Portal NSW)

The NSW Government expects the completed Pagoda Walk to open in early 2027. Stage One was scheduled to reopen to visitors in July 2026 while work continued on the wider route. (Environment and Heritage)

Lost City and other visitor precincts

The Lost City precinct remains one of the most visible components of the wider development program.

Work is underway on an accessible lookout at Lost City North, including an accessible pathway, parking, seating, picnic tables and a level viewing area suitable for wheelchairs. Completion was scheduled for the end of August 2026. (Environment and Heritage)

Construction is also progressing or planned at several other locations:

  • Bungleboori picnic area, with accessible parking, visitor amenities, pathways and signage;
  • Broad Swamp car park, with more than 40 spaces, visitor seating and an information shelter;
  • State Mine Gully Road, including staged safety and access improvements;
  • Forest Campground, where planning continues for a family campground; and
  • vehicle-access points, where gates are being installed to manage unauthorised use and protect park infrastructure. (Environment and Heritage)

These works are substantial in scale, but the current official descriptions are of public visitor infrastructure rather than privately operated tourism facilities.

What has changed

The project has progressed considerably since the earlier Keep It Wild Australia article.

The plan of management is now final, the visitor infrastructure master plan has been completed, environmental assessments for sections of the Pagoda Walk have been determined, and construction is underway across several precincts. (Environment and Heritage)

The most important change is the clearer definition of the accommodation component. Earlier concerns that the multi-day walk might include private built accommodation, possibly within Wollemi National Park, are not supported by the current project documents reviewed for this update.

Section One of the walk includes an associated camping area within Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area. The broader project also includes Forest Campground and other public camping facilities. No private huts, commercial lodges or exclusive operator-controlled camps have been confirmed. (NSW Planning Portal)

The latest official material also places the current walking-track works within Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area. While the wider tourism vision refers to links with Wollemi National Park and the Glow Worm Tunnel, the reviewed environmental assessment for Section One states that all works covered by that assessment occur within the state conservation area. (NSW Planning Portal)

Commercial tourism implications

The project is being delivered by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service as a publicly funded visitor infrastructure program.

Commercial tourism is part of the broader policy context. The government has repeatedly described the reserve as an ecotourism destination intended to encourage longer stays, increase visitation and support the Lithgow economy. Licensed guiding, mountain-bike tours and packaged walking experiences may use the completed infrastructure. (Environment and Heritage)

That is different, however, from granting a private company control over accommodation or reserving part of the walk for an exclusive commercial product. No such arrangement has been identified in the current official material.

The project therefore remains relevant to Protected Areas Tourism Watch because of its scale, tourism objectives and potential to support future commercial products. Its present model is nevertheless closer to substantial public recreation infrastructure than to private lodge development inside a protected area.

Why this project matters

Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area protects an extensive landscape of sandstone pagodas, elevated swamps, eucalypt forests, Aboriginal cultural sites and habitat for numerous threatened species. The government identifies at least 16 threatened ecological communities and more than 80 rare or threatened species within the reserve. (Environment and Heritage)

The scale of the investment will substantially change how people access and move through this formerly less-developed landscape. New tracks, mountain-bike networks, roads, lookouts, parking areas, campgrounds and managed vehicle routes will establish the reserve as a structured regional tourism destination.

It is also a useful case study in distinguishing between two different forms of tourism development in protected areas. Large publicly funded visitor projects can create significant environmental and recreational change without necessarily involving private accommodation or exclusive commercial use.

The project should remain under observation, particularly for any future decision about commercial tour allocations, booked camps, private operation of facilities or expansion of the multi-day walking product into neighbouring national parks.

Confirmed

Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area was created in May 2022.

The NSW Government committed $49.5 million to the reserve’s establishment, conservation and visitor infrastructure program.

The plan of management was adopted in November 2022.

The visitor infrastructure master plan was finalised in March 2025.

The project includes a multi-day walk, mountain-bike trails, campgrounds, lookouts, day-use facilities, road works and managed vehicle touring routes.

Environmental assessments have allowed the assessed sections of the Pagoda Walk to proceed subject to conditions.

Major works are underway, and the completed Pagoda Walk is expected to open in early 2027. (Environment and Heritage)

Not yet confirmed

The final booking arrangements and fees for the Pagoda Walk and associated camps.

Whether independent walkers and commercial operators will have equal access to overnight facilities.

Whether any campgrounds or visitor services will later be privately operated.

Whether commercial operators will receive reserved allocations or exclusive access.

Whether the broader Wollemi Great Walk concept will eventually extend infrastructure into Wollemi National Park.

The final cost and completion date for the entire visitor infrastructure program.

Sources and documents

  • NSW Environment and Heritage: Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area project page
  • Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area Plan of Management
  • Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area Visitor Infrastructure Master Plan
  • Gardens of Stone Multi-Day Walk Section One Review of Environmental Factors
  • Gardens of Stone Pagoda Walk Sections Two and Three Review of Environmental Factors and determination
  • NSW Planning Portal: Gardens of Stone Pagoda Walk Sections Two and Three