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Central Coast Bushwalk

Boardinghouse Dam (0.8km)

A 0.8km family friendly circuit walk with hidden tall fern walls, a swimming spot and picnic area at Boardinghouse Dam.

At a glance

Distance
800m
Ascent
30m
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Drive to Start

Soothing autumn light

Hidden in the tall fern walls

Here there be fairies

A great walk for families, with a swimming spot and only a short walk. You'll feel revived and alive after this walk. It is magic. There is also a picnic area at the top.

Walk directions

  1. Start, Boardinghouse Dam Picnic Area: -32.99812438623789, 151.40550179478146 Google Maps Link
  2. Turn right or left, it's a circuit so both are fine: -32.998927300453204, 151.40512819501058 Google Maps Link
  3. This is a shallow swimming spot at the end, there are stairs down: -33.00035, 151.40494 Google Maps Link
Towering rainforest canopy and buttressed tree roots at Boardinghouse Dam
Bush track past a fallen mossy log near a wooden footbridge
Small cave like opening beneath a moss covered sandstone boulder
Narrow forest track running beside a long mossy sandstone wall
Lace monitor resting on a sandy track at Boardinghouse Dam
Tall timber boardwalk zigzagging down through a fern filled gully
Track descending past worn timber steps toward a creek bridge
Mossy log with delicate fern fronds along the Boardinghouse Dam track
Tea coloured creek pool framed by moss covered boulders and ferns
Sandy path between a mossy rock wall and slender spotted gums
Reddish mushroom growing from a mossy hollow in a tree trunk
Cluster of pale bracket fungi fanning out from a forest tree
Shaggy capped mushroom emerging from moss and fern covered bark
Tiny bright red pixie's parasol fungi scattered across the leaf litter
Mossy sandstone steps climbing the track at Boardinghouse Dam
Timber footbridge stretching through the forest at Boardinghouse Dam
Close up of soft green moss with new fern shoots
Waterfall spilling over a rocky spillway with ferns near the bridge
Timber steps leading down to the tannin stained creek pool
Reflections of the forest canopy in the tea coloured swimming hole
Still tannin dark dam behind a concrete spillway wall
Hiker with a backpack pausing on the dam wall above the pool
Timber bridge crossing the creek beneath a sandstone bluff
Fern lined creek winding past mossy boulders at Boardinghouse Dam
Wooden steps beside the sandstone overhang leading to the swimming spot
Close reflection of trees rippling across the amber creek water
Ferny creek bank leading down to the Boardinghouse Dam pool

Dog Walks

Pearl Beach Arboretum

Strickland Arboretum

The cover of A Cornucopia of Central Coast Walks: watercolour wildflowers, including a waratah and orchids, on a bright yellow background

The book

15 waterfall walks in the book

A Cornucopia of Central Coast Walks has a waterfall section with 15 walks, including Somersby Falls, Gap Creek Falls, Strickland Falls and Kariong Brook Falls. Each one has a map and numbered directions, alongside over 100 other walks on the Coast.

See the book
The cover of The Bush Wee: a girl with red bunny ears and a starry blue dress peeks out from behind a tree beside a waterfall

A picture book

A picture book with a waterfall in it

In The Bush Wee, a little explorer swings on a vine, splashes through a waterfall and climbs a great big tree, then realises there is no toilet for miles. It is my read aloud picture book for children aged 2 to 7, set in the Central Coast bush.

See the picture book
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This walk is on Darkinung country. Good Architect acknowledges the Darkinung people as the Traditional Custodians of this land and we pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. Darkinjung Land Council.