Get to know: Belford National Park
… for visitor photographers and wildlife enthusiasts and 15 minutes travel from the Around Hermitage Wine and Food Trail and accommodation venues.
Belford National Park is located between Maitland and Singleton with an area of 294 hectares. Belford National Park protects a significant stand of remnant vegetation on the Hunter Valley floor, including two endangered ecological communities which are regionally significant and poorly reserved. It also provides habitat for eight threatened fauna species and other species of regional significance, including several migratory birds.
It is part of the traditional country of the Wonnarua Aboriginal people and prior to reservation as a National Park was Belford State Forest.
It contains:
•Remnant vegetation on the predominantly cleared Hunter Valley floor
•Central Hunter Ironbark – Spotted Gum – Grey Box Forest endangered ecological community, which is regionally significant, poorly reserved and threatened by clearing
•Central Hunter Swamp Oak Forest which is regionally significant, restricted, and poorly reserved
•Hunter Lowlands Red Gum Forest endangered ecological community, which is regionally significant, poorly conserved and threatened by clearing
•Threatened and regionally significant flora and fauna
There are no visitor facilities and the walking tracks are the perimeter fire trails, with entry points from the New England Highway and Kirkton Road. Kirkton Road is a public road bisecting the reserve and you need to park on the roadside as there is no visitor parking.
There are trails on each side of the road and are an easy walking gradient – we’ve walked both trails and have seen some of the threatened species this Park houses.
Please respect the wildlife and the area, make sure that you follow the safety guidelines for exploring National Parks .