After the 2020 Orroral Valley fire
The Orroral Valley fire burnt more than 80% of Namadgi. What visitors should still expect years later — and which corner Parks ACT says the fire missed.
By Ian Piggott · Farming Domains · Unofficial guide · ~10 min read
Updated · re-check Parks ACT before travel
Best for: Anyone using pre-2020 photos as a plan
Unofficial guide — always verify track conditions, closures, fees and safety with Parks ACT. Place photos are Wikimedia Commons / CC where credited — not official Parks ACT imagery and not live conditions.
Some stay, tour and gear links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Park entry (free) and official Parks ACT camping bookings are never affiliated.
Snow gums on Mount Ginini
Dfrg.msc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Parks ACT: in early 2020 the Orroral Valley bushfire burnt over 80% of the park (86,562 hectares), then intense rain caused flood damage. The park is in recovery for years. That is not a closure notice — it is the landscape you will walk in.
Pre-2020 Instagram is a poor map. Snow-gum woodland recovers slowly. Some infrastructure is still being rebuilt. Gibraltar Falls lookout is Status CLOSED until further notice on the current snapshot. Woods Reserve campground is closed until late Spring.
The park is open with listed alerts. Recovery is visible, not a reason to go off-track. Stay on the line. Do not widen muddy braids. Sphagnum bogs and threatened-species habitat are not photo sets.
What to do with that information
Snow gums on Mount Ginini
Dfrg.msc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Stay on tracks. Do not widen muddy lines. Sphagnum bogs and threatened species habitat (including corroboree frog context) are not photo sets. If the track is soup, walk the soup.
Check alerts. Some infrastructure is still being rebuilt. Gibraltar Falls lookout closed until later in 2026 on the snapshot. Woods Reserve campground closed 1 Nov 2025 until late Spring — August is not late spring.
Fire danger and total fire bans still apply in season. Use only designated fireplaces where allowed. Collection of wood in the park is illegal. Fuel stove preferred. BYO wood or buy at the Visitor Centre.
The corner the fire missed
Parks ACT notes Settlers Track / southern Boboyan country as untouched by the 2020 fire. That is heritage huts and a 6 km (or 9 km via Waterhole Hut) loop — not a reason to treat the rest of the park as “fine now.” Unsealed Boboyan Road. Ask at the centre. Last fuel in Tuggeranong.
Do not stack Settlers and Gingera. Do not assume every hut photo on the internet is this loop.
Camping and bookings after recovery
Orroral, Honeysuckle and Mount Clear are the official vehicle campgrounds. Book Parks ACT only. Phone 02 6237 5307 if the Parks ACT booking page fails. Per person per night. Typical 7-night maximum.
Mount Clear is remote-basic. Not a first-van night. Honeysuckle is also the current Booroomba walking access. Do not overflow onto heritage paddocks because a site looks “empty after the fire.”
What never to do
Do not leave the track to find a “better burnt tree.” Do not fly a drone over cultural sites. Do not treat closed lookouts as a dare. Do not collect firewood.
Do not use this article as a live fire-ban feed. Parks ACT alerts and ACT fire authorities own that. Screenshot them on Canberra Wi-Fi.
Pair this with a real plan
Print Orroral overnight if you want a valley night. Print Yankee Hat notes if culture is the point. Print Settlers Track only with a road briefing. Print Gingera only as its own alpine day.
Always verify live conditions. Recovery language on this site is a visitor briefing, not a scientific survey.
FAQ
Tap a question to expand the answer.
Is the park closed because of 2020?
No. It is open with listed alerts. Recovery is visible, not a reason to go off-track.
Was Settlers Track burnt?
Parks ACT notes that southern loop was untouched by the 2020 fire. Still verify roads and track status. Untouched is not “easy city walk.”
Can I use Woods Reserve instead of park camping?
Woods Reserve campground is closed until late Spring on the current snapshot (from 1 Nov 2025). Do not treat it as overflow. Book Orroral, Honeysuckle or Mount Clear official — or sleep in Canberra.
Is Gibraltar Falls a short add-on?
No. The lookout is Status CLOSED until further notice. Square Rock is the Corin-door walk. Do not invent access to a closed lookout.
More articles
Booroomba Rocks Road closed: Plan B from HoneysuckleParks ACT closed Booroomba Rocks Road until further notice (11 May 2026). How to still walk the granite from Honeysuckle — and when to switch to Square Rock instead.
Gingera is not a Canberra afternoon: overnight or skipMount Gingera is 6 hours from Mt Franklin Road or 8–9 hours via Stockyard Spur. Why a same-day CBD return after a late start fails — and what to print instead.
Ngunnawal Country and Yankee HatNamadgi is Ngunnawal Country. How to visit Yankee Hat — the ACT’s only publicly accessible rock-art site — without wrecking the paint.
Honeysuckle Creek and the Apollo-era dishHoneysuckle Campground sits near the former NASA tracking station that relayed Apollo 11. What visitors can still use — camp, walks, interpretation — without treating it as a working station.
Snow gums, sphagnum, and why you stay on the boardwalkNamadgi protects high-altitude sphagnum bogs that feed Canberra’s water and shelter threatened species. Operator notes for ridge days.
Free day-trip checklist
Printable packing, order of stops and official Parks ACT links — free direct download, no email required.
- Before-you-leave packing ticks
- Half-day vs full-day vs overnight decision
- What to skip when a road or booking fails
- Official Parks ACT links to verify conditions
Free direct download — no email required. Also available anytime from Maps & resources · Itineraries · Privacy.