Budds Mare to Riverside Walking Track

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Warning
This journey requires significant bushwalking experience, specialised equipment and navigation skills.
Please ensure you and your group well prepared and equiped for this journey.

Safer Bushwalks Tips on staying safe on track
Before you start any bushwalk ensure you;
• Tell someone you trust where you are going and what to do if you are overdue
• Have adequate equipment, supplies, skills & knowledge for the whole journey
• Consider the impact of weather forecasts, park/track closures & fire dangers
• Can respond to emergencies & call for help at any point
• Are healthy and fit enough for this journey
If not, change plans and stay safe. It is okay to delay and ask people for help.

Getting There Transport options and directions

Start	(-30.9793219,151.9686848)
Mode	Car
Directions	From Fitzroy Street, B56 Turn on to Middle Street then drive for 930 m Turn right onto Jamieson Street and drive for another 130 m Continue onto Emu Creek Road and drive for another 6.5 km Turn right onto Moona Plains Road and drive for another 20.3 km Continue onto Moona Plains Road and drive for another 5.7 km Turn left onto Bukeiro Road and drive for another 9.4 km Turn right and drive for another 10 m

Track Notes Turn by turn instructions & maps

Turn map	Directions & comments
	Start.
	After another 490 m continue straight.
	After another 85 m turn left. After another 10 m pass the "Budds Mare" (10 m on your right). Then pass the toilet (50 m on your left). After another 50 m come to the camp site (10 m on your right). After another 25 m come to the "Budds Mare Lookout" (15 m on your left).
	After another 1.5 km continue straight.
	Continue another 3.8 km to find the end. Then turn around here and retrace the main route for 6 km to get back to the start. About 20 m past the end is "Riverside". About 40 m past the end is a toilet. About 100 m past the end is "Day visit".

Terrain Know the Hills, grading & facilities

Budds Mare to Riverside Walking Track

Grading

	Class 5/6 Very challenging
Length	11.9 km
Time	5 h to 7 h

Quality of track	Rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely (4/6)
Gradient	Very steep and difficult rock scrambles (5/6)
Signage	Clearly signposted (2/6)
Infrastructure	Limited facilities (such as cliffs not fenced, significant creeks not bridged) (4/6)
Experience Required	Moderate level of bushwalking experience recommended (4/6)
Weather	Foretasted & unexpected storms and severe weather may impact on navigation and safety (4/6)

Some facilities on route

Camp site: There are 2 on route, on average they are 4 km apart with the largest gap of 5.9 km.

Toilet: There are 2 on route, on average they are 4 km apart with the largest gap of 5.9 km.

Order of key facilities on route

Item	From Start	Name & link to notes
Toilet	580 m	[toilet]
Camp site	630 m	[camp site]
Camp site	6 km	Riverside
Toilet	6 km	[toilet]

Weather & Alerts Check forecasts & closures
Weather Forecast
- Walcha Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
  
  Thursday 3 July
  
  7°C
  Shower or two.
  50% chance of rain
  
  Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower on and west of the ranges, becoming less likely this morning. Near zero chance of rain elsewhere. Damaging winds possible. Winds westerly 25 to 35 km/h. Daytime maximum temperatures between 8 and 17.
  
  UV Alert: Sun protection 11:00am to 12:40pm, UV Index predicted to reach 3 [Moderate]
  
  Friday 4 July
  
  -2°C → 11°C
  Morning frost. Partly cloudy.
  20% chance of rain
  
  Cloud clearing. Areas of frost and the chance of fog in the morning, mainly on and west of the ranges. Winds west to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h becoming light in the middle of the day. Overnight temperatures falling to between minus 2 and 6 above zero with daytime temperatures reaching between 12 and 19.
  
  Saturday 5 July
  
  -2°C → 15°C
  Morning frost. Mostly sunny.
  10% chance of rain
  
  The chance of morning fog. Areas of frost in the morning, mainly on and west of the ranges. Sunny day. Light winds becoming north to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day. Overnight temperatures falling to between minus 1 and 6 above zero with daytime temperatures reaching between 15 and 20.
  
  Sunday 6 July
  
  0°C → 14°C
  Shower or two.
  70% chance of rain
  0 → 3mm
  
  Partly cloudy. High chance of showers on and west of the ranges, medium chance elsewhere. The chance of a thunderstorm in the south. Winds northwest to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h becoming northwesterly 15 to 25 km/h during the morning. Overnight temperatures falling to between 2 and 10 with daytime temperatures reaching between 14 and 21.
  
  Monday 7 July
  
  0°C → 11°C
  Partly cloudy.
  30% chance of rain
  0 → 1mm
  
  Partly cloudy.
  
  Tuesday 8 July
  
  -3°C → 12°C
  Morning frost. Mostly sunny.
  10% chance of rain
  
  Morning frost. Mostly sunny.
  
  Wednesday 9 July
  
  0°C → 10°C
  Morning frost. Sunny.
  20% chance of rain
  
  Morning frost. Sunny.
  
  Forecast data thanks to © Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Alerts
- Oxley Wild Rivers National Park alerts
  Closed areas: Halls Peak campground and picnic areas are closed due to flood damage repairs
  Halls Peak picnic area and campground will be closed from Tuesday 17th June 2025 and reopening Monday 14th July 2025 due to flood damage repairs.
  Penalties apply for non-compliance. For more information, contact the Armidale NPWS office on 02 6738 9100.
  
  Closed areas: Budds Mare and Riverside trail and campground closed for track works
  Budds Mare campground and picnic area and Riverside campground and picnic area will be closed from 2PM Sunday 27 April until 2PM Monday 18 August 2025 due to major track works on the Riverside Trail.
  Vehicle access along the Riverside Trail is strictly prohibited during this time. The hike along Riverside Trail between Budds Mare and Riverside campground is also closed. Penalties apply for non-compliance.
  For more information, contact the Walcha NPWS office on 02 6777 4700.
  
  Alert kindly provided by © NSW Nataional Parks and Wildlife Service

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