Indicator 6.3b: Range and use of recreation/tourism activities available (2026)

• A wide range of recreation and tourism activities can be undertaken on forested land in Australia.
• The range and number of recreation and tourism activities and facilities available for public use in Australia’s forests is generally limited by the tenure of the land and the management intent of forests on that land.
• Publicly managed forests provide for the broadest range and largest number of activities and facilities for recreation and tourism in Australia’s forests.
• Demand for recreation and tourism in public forested areas has been increasing, including in national parks, state forests and commercial pine plantations.
• The availability of activities and facilities for recreation and tourism in privately managed forest is relatively limited compared to those available in publicly managed forests.

In public forests, some facilities are provided specifically for recreation or tourism activities, such as walking or riding tracks, picnic sites and campgrounds. Other facilities, such as roads and vehicular tracks, are provided for a range of forest management purposes but are also available for use for recreation and tourism activities.

In each state and territory, public forest management aims to provide a range of opportunities for recreational pursuits (such as walking, running, camping, mountain biking, cycling, bird watching, driving, climbing, fishing, hunting, canoeing, and other water sports) consistent with demand, resources, environmental concerns and management intent, as well as facilities appropriate for each forest setting.

Multiple-use public forests (for example, state forests), including commercial plantations, are generally open to the broadest range of public recreation and tourism activities available in Australia’s forests, including hunting and motorcycle trail riding. Greater restrictions on recreation and tourism activities are usually imposed in nature conservation reserves, due to nature conservation being the higher management priority.

Multiple-use public forests also provide a range of recreational opportunities generally available free-of-charge to the public, including access to roads and tracks for vehicular activities, and use of picnic and camping areas (with registration required and fees charged for overnight camping at popular camping sites). Some national parks, and some facilities in national parks, are accessed via an entrance gate with an entrance fee, and fees can be charged for overnight camping, with registration required to access popular camping sites and multi-day hiking tracks.

Organised events and eco-tourism activities in state forests and national parks are administered by permit (or licence) systems and are typically associated with a fee.

Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory had nearly 1,500 kilometres of walking tracks in nature conservation reserves in 2020–21, with most people visiting the reserves for walking, hiking, and cultural heritage and nature appreciation. The Australian Capital Territory also hosted 244 events or festivals in its nature conservation reserves, attracting about 20,000 visitors. This was in addition to about 15,000 overnight visitors camping at six dedicated camping sites.

Namadgi National Park is the largest and most frequently visited nature conservation reserve in the Australian Capital Territory, with forest covering much of the park. Camping and bushwalking are the main forms of recreation in Namadgi National Park. Recreational visitation is difficult to quantify in the park due to its size, remoteness, and position on a through road, with many vehicles passing through but not stopping to visit the park.

The commercial pine plantations of the Australian Capital Territory are also used and managed for recreational activities including walking, running, mountain biking, cycling, horse riding, motorcycle riding, four-wheel driving, picnicking, musical events and car rallies. These forests are popular for recreation due to their quality road and track infrastructure, and proximity to Canberra.

In 2020–21, the commercial pine plantations of the Australian Capital Territory had 410 kilometres of tracks available for riding horses, and 379 kilometres of tracks for mountain biking, all of which are also available for walking and running. A total of 452 kilometres of roads were available for driving, including for car rallies and four-wheel drive training, of which 162 kilometres of roads are open to the public year-round. The Australian Capital Territory hosted 157 events or festivals in its commercial pine plantations in 2020–21, attracting about 9,000 visitors. This was in addition to nearly 4,000 overnight visitors camping at two dedicated camping sites.

For more information, see Table 6.3b-1 and Table 6.3b-2 in the Supporting information for Indicator 6.3b.

New South Wales
Surveys of domestic visitors to New South Wales national parks every two years show a trend of increasing visitation. From 2020 to 2022, visitor numbers increased by about 5% to 53 million visitors in 2022. This was for all national parks, including forest and non-forest areas. Most domestic visitors were from New South Wales, with 13% from outside New South Wales. Bushwalking and running are the most popular activities in national parks, along with picnicking, sightseeing and water-based activities.

Visitation in 2020 and 2022 was impacted by major widespread disruptions, including natural disasters (e.g. bushfires and floods) and the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019–20 bushfires impacted about 37% of the New South Wales national park system. Many parks were closed or had restricted access from December 2019 through to March 2020, with some areas closed for longer periods for repair work following the fires.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted access to New South Wales national parks with closures or restrictions from March to December 2020. This included campgrounds, accommodation, visitor centres, tours and events.

New South Wales had about 45,000 kilometres of tracks in multiple-use public forests available in 2020–21 for activities including walking, running, mountain biking, cycling, and horse riding. About 45 camping sites and 35 huts or houses were maintained for overnight stays in multiple-use public forests in New South Wales in 2021.

For more information, see Table 6.3b-3 in the Supporting information for Indicator 6.3b.

Northern Territory
Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory has large areas of forest cover. Kakadu recorded its highest visitor numbers in 13 years in 2022 with 208,056 visitors to the park. This followed disruptions to the tourism industry from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Domestic tourism was a key driver of visitation to Kakadu National Park in 2022, with almost half of all visitors coming from Victoria (20%), New South Wales (18%) and Queensland (10%). Some of the most popular activities at Kakadu National Park included rock art viewing, bushwalking, wildlife spotting and boat cruises.

Litchfield National Park also has large areas of forest cover and receives about 250,000 visitors each year. Litchfield National Park’s proximity to Darwin (a 90-minute drive) means it’s an attractive day trip location, with camping also available and popular.

There are no multiple-use public forests in the Northern Territory.

Queensland
Queensland’s national parks and multiple-use public native forests are used extensively for recreation and tourism. Permitted activities in multiple-use public native forests (for example, state forests) include those enjoyed in national parks, plus others generally excluded from or restricted in national parks in Queensland – such as four-wheel driving, motorcycle riding, fossicking and recreational prospecting (Indufor & Natural Capital Economics, 2022). Permits are required for some activities in some locations.

No published data are currently available on total visitor numbers or revenues for recreation and tourism specifically within state forests in Queensland (Indufor & Natural Capital Economics, 2022).

Queensland has about 310,000 hectares of ‘State plantation forests’ owned and managed by HQPlantations under a 99-year plantation licence with the Queensland Government. These plantations grow on public land owned by the Queensland Government. The public is generally allowed to access ‘State plantation forests’ for recreation and tourism, but a permit may be required depending on the activity and where it is performed.

HQPlantations maintains 1,345 kilometres of formed roads. These roads are available for public use, but they are not maintained or signed specifically for the purpose of public use. Users of these roads must be licenced and be driving registered vehicles. Driving or motorcycle riding on unformed roads is not permitted. HQPlantations does not manage facilities or sites for tourism or recreation and does not record general visitor numbers or level of use. HQPlantations issued permits for 86 events in 2020–21, which attracted nearly 11,000 visitors.

South Australia
National parks in South Australia are available for the same range of activities as national parks elsewhere, including walking, camping, picnicking, and cultural heritage and nature appreciation. Mountain biking, horse riding and walking dogs is also permitted in specified areas. Hunting waterfowl is also allowed under permit at ten specified game reserves during a gazetted open season. All participants must pass the Waterfowl Identification Test before they can be issued with a permit and then complete a survey on species populations and distribution 30 days after the close of the season.

ForestrySA reported 630,000 visitors in 2023–24 to the 32,300 hectares of multiple-use plantation forest and native forest reserves managed by ForestrySA in the Mount Lofty Ranges and Green Triangle areas. This included:
•    about 10,000 people attending 491 community events
•    4,617 students attending 74 camping trips
•    8,843 permits issued for camping, horse riding, fossicking and adventure caving.
Several dedicated mountain biking areas and a commercial TreeClimb operation are also maintained within forests managed by ForestrySA (ForestrySA, 2025).

ForestrySA reported 1,700 kilometres of fire trails in 2020–21 available for walking (including with dogs), running, riding horses and cycling, and another 331 kilometres of dedicated walking tracks. ForestrySA forests are closed to the public for motorised vehicle access.

Tasmania
Tasmania’s state forests, national parks and other reserves are used for recreational activities including bushwalking, mountain biking, camping, climbing, abseiling, caving, nature observation, photography and 
swimming. Hunting continues to be allowed on Permanent Timber Production Zone (PTPZ) land and on some reserve classes: game reserves, conservation areas and regional reserves. Fishing is also permitted on PTPZ land and in most reserve types. Horse riding is authorised on specified tracks and some fire trails within some reserve types. Major investment in mountain bike facilities in forested environments has occurred in recent years in Tasmania.

The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service records visitor numbers at 14 selected parks and reserves, many with substantial areas of forest cover. Visitors to these parks and reserves totalled about 1.4 million in 2023–24, a steady increase in visitors in the years since closures due to COVID-19 in 2020-21 when 1.0 million visitors were counted (Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service 2025).

Victoria
Multiple-use forests and nature conservation reserves are generally available for recreation and tourism in Victoria. Facilities available for recreation and tourism activities in multiple-use forests in Victoria increased between 2011–12 and 2020–21 (see Table 6.3b-4 in the Supporting information for Indicator 6.3b). This included an increased number of kilometres of tracks for riding or walking animals, mountain biking, and tracks dedicated to walking or running. It also included an increased number of sites available for camping, picnicking, fishing and cultural heritage appreciation.

Facilities available for recreation and tourism activities in forests in nature conservation reserves in Victoria include a relatively small number of kilometres of tracks for riding or walking animals and mountain biking or cycling, and a very large number of kilometres of tracks dedicated to walking or running. Victoria also hosts a large number of events in nature conservation reserves and has many sites available for picnics, nature appreciation, camping, and water-based activities.

In 2020–21, about 15.9 million people are estimated to have visited Victoria’s multiple-use forests and 50 million people are estimated to have visited Victoria’s nature conservation reserves, including reserves with forest and non-forest vegetation.

For more information, see Table 6.3b-4 and Table 6.3b-5 in the Supporting information for Indicator 6.3b.

Western Australia
A diverse range of recreation activities are available in public forests in Western Australia, particularly in the south-west, including bushwalking, mountain biking, camping, picnicking, rock climbing, caving, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, four-wheel driving on designated roads and tracks, and horse riding in designated areas.

Annual visitation to recreation sites in public forests managed by the Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in the southwest of Western Australia totalled 12.4 million visitors in the 2020–21 financial year. This was 28% higher than the visitation of 9.7 million in the 2013–14 financial year (Conservation and Parks Commission, 2019).

Public access for recreation and tourism to forests on private land is generally restricted or not permitted, and little information is available on permitted uses. If access is required, it would be on application to the private landowner or manager for permission to undertake certain activities, unless specific commercial arrangements are advertised (for example, a wildlife park). The same applies for native forests on leasehold land, most of which is privately managed under long-term pastoral leases that grant the lessee rights of custody of the land — these leases impart a level of responsibility for the management of the land.  

South Australia has about 80,000 hectares of plantation forests on public land in the Green Triangle region under leasehold to OneFortyOne, a private forest manager. The public is generally allowed to access these forests for recreation and tourism during daylight hours, but a permit may be required depending on the activity and where it is performed, for example, cave exploring, cave diving, and horse riding. Plantation access may be limited at times for operational, safety or environmental protection reasons.

Conservation and Parks Commission (2019). End-of-term review of performance of the Forest Management Plan 2014–2023. Conservation and Parks Commission, Perth.

ForestrySA (2025). ForestrySA Annual Report 2023-24. ForestrySA, Meadows.

Indufor and Natural Capital Economics (2022). Assessing the net benefits of multiple use native forest management in Queensland. Project report prepared for the South & Central Queensland Regional Forestry Hub, September 2022.

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (2025). Visitors to Selected Parks and Reserves, Tasmania – 2019-20 to 2023-24. Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, Hobart.