A southern NSW national park will be temporarily closed. Photo: J.Yurasek/NPWS.
Damage from natural disasters has forced the partial closure of a popular southern NSW national park.
Repair works are underway for parts of Mimosa Rocks National Park, which is on Yuin Country in the NSW Far South Coast region near Bega.
In 2021 and 2022 the park was severely affected by flooding, with the NSW Government website stating that about 76 per cent of the campgrounds (60 sites) and multiple popular day visitor areas needed to be entirely or partially closed.
It means $6.5 million worth of works will be carried out this year, to improve the park’s resilience to extreme weather.
The first stage of the project kicked off this month, with works expected to last until late 2026.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Director Julie Peterson said the works would help the park thrive for years to come.
“These are once-in-a-lifetime improvements that will significantly protect the park into the future,” she said.
“We have decided to act now, during the off-peak season, so that next summer’s visitors will have a more comfortable experience knowing that the park’s infrastructure can withstand extreme weather.”
For the first stage of the project, parts of the park within Nelsons Beach precinct will be closed for several months.
Nelsons Beach Road and carpark, Moon Bay access and Wajurda Point Lookout will be closed from February until mid-2026.
This closure will allow for upgrades to the drainage system to minimise erosion, increased visitor parking and new fencing and signage.
The works are expected to last for several months. Image: National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Ms Peterson said that would represent the start of the works.
“Over the coming months we will also start work to future-proof the park’s popular campgrounds, Aragunnu, Gillards and Middle Beach,” she said.
“Today’s time and investment will reap rewards into the future as we make this very special protected area more resilient to a changing climate.”
A February 2026 project update states that these campgrounds will be temporarily closed when they are being revamped.
Further detail given in a NPWS alert notes this will start in late April, with Picnic Point (Mimosa Rocks National Park) and Hobart Beach (Bournda National Park) suggested as alternatives.
All other areas of Mimosa Rocks National Park will remain open to visitors during the project.
A worksite exclusion zone is in place around the construction area, and visitors are asked not to enter closed areas or go beyond signs and barriers.
Visitors can double-check closure dates by using the NPWS Alerts tool.
The work will be delivered in accordance with strict environmental and cultural heritage planning approvals.
The upgrades are being funded through the NSW and Australian governments’ Infrastructure Betterment Fund.
The program supports the repair and rebuilding of public assets directly impacted by natural disasters since 2019.
