Marramarra Creek
Marramarra National Park, Nr Hornsby, Sydney, NSW
This is a beautiful secluded bushland swimming spot with several deep sections along Marramarra Creek near the campground. The water is slightly brackish due to it being tidal.
How To Get There: From Forest Glen, take the Old Northern Road north for around 5km. Turn right onto Canoelands Road and drive to the very end of the track, which becomes gravelly. Park and continue on foot past the gate and along the management trail. After around 3.5km with some steep sections you will come to the bottom of the last hill. Turn left for the main campground or right for the Orchard campground. There is also boat/canoe access via Berowra Creek.
Difficulty of access:5/10 – A hilly 3.5-4km walk or a fairly long paddle.
Opening Times/Seasons: All day/ All year but check here for park closures.
Entrance Fee: Free
Facilities Nearby: The campground is very basic (our favourite kind!). There are toilets and fire pits but apart from that there’s just a lot of bushes, trees and creek. You will need to bring in your own water, food and all the gear you need.
Other Activities: Canoeing on the creek.
Other Places of Interest Nearby: This is Darug country. Local aboriginal communities still have a strong connection here and any remaining evidence of their ancestors continues to have great significance for them. There are cave art, rock engravings, grinding grooves and middens still to be found in remoter areas of the park.
Wildlife: Marramarra National Park is a very diverse are, great for spotting birds and wildlife. According to the National Parks website, some of the rarer things you may spot include gang-gang, rails, glossy black cockatoos and red-crowned toadlets.
Places to Eat:
Where to Camp: There is walk-in or boat-in camping right here at Marramarra Creek.
Other places to Stay:
Nearby Towns: Sydney, Hornsby, Richmond, Blacktown.
Other Swimming Holes Nearby: Crosslands Reserve, Fishponds, Brooklyn Dam
Comments: Because of the walk in, there’s a fair chance you will have this beautiful swimming hole to yourself.
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2 Comments
Peter and Kim
We did this place on the 6th March 2016 and figured I’d add what we found here:
The place is called Marramarra National Park and the walk we did was from the carpark down to the Marramarra Creek Campground. This walk was around the four kilometre mark each way and has one fairly steep section dropping to the bottom of the valley. I noticed this on the way back up by the HT power lines that you see way up as you start the climb yet only a short time later you’re at the base of one of the stanchions. Other than this there are some considerable undulations along the way to soften you’re up.
Marramarra Creek is slightly brackish as it is tidal but apart from this it makes for great swimming in the numerous deep sections.
The place, due I suspect to the long and steep track, is vary rarely used so you’ll be almost guaranteed of having it to yourself.
Getting there from the entrance is fairly easy with the only trick being to not stop at the first carpark you see continue in the almost five kilometres to the gate at the top of the track.
The track surface requires footwear however the track’s lack of people requires little else. We had a sarongs ‘just in case’.
The campsite has fire pits, toilet and a visitors book and gravity to stop your tents from floating away. So bring your water food and anything else you need.
http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/Marramarra-National-Park
Rachel Lewis
Thanks for the comment and info guys! We’ve added the info above and glad to hear you’re out and about swimming :)