Bago State Forest, in the Snowy Valleys area of NSW, is an incredibly diverse forest including the native alpine ash forests of the Bago Plateau, historic plantation stands dating back to the 1920s and a large area of commercial radiata pine plantations.

Bago State Forest is popular with a broad range of visitors, from day trippers looking for nature-based activities such as bushwalks and picnics, through to dedicated campers seeking an immersive natural experience and overnight stays. Bago State Forest is also loved and well-used by recreational horse riders, with water readily available via Paddy’s River Dam and associated waterways.

Under the Stage Two of the Australian and NSW Government’s Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund (BLERF), Bago State Forest is receiving significant nature-based tourism enhancements at 5 key sites: Pilot Hill Arboretum, Paling Yards, Paddy’s River Dam, Sugar Pines 2.0 Walk and Picnic Area, and Lochinvar Rest Area.

Read the Bago State Forest – Snowy Valleys Tourism Upgrade Program Masterplan here. PDF, 50967.49 KB

The project will install new infrastructure, upgrade and construct designated trails designed to improve access for bushwalkers and recreational horse riders, develop and implement a program for remediation of sensitive Montane Peatlands & Swamp Endangered Ecological Communities, and enhance the visitor experience by providing dedicated wayfinding and interpretive signage.

Key partners in this project include:

• The Mulloon Institute
• Sculptures By The Sea
• Brungle-Tumut Local Area Land Council
• Snowy Valleys Council

Find out more about Bago State Forest

• The Sugar Pines Walk: Following the 2020 Dunn’s Road fire and destruction of the original Sugar Pines Walk, Forestry Corporation honoured this beloved landmark by asking visitors to share their stories and photographic memories via a competition, yielding hundreds of entries. This overwhelming response was humbling. As a result, a digital book of the top 60-70 images was published and is available on our website.
• Sugar Pines 2.0: Over 1,000 pine seedlings have started their decades-long journey to replace the iconic Sugar Pine Walk in Bago State Forest. These seedlings were propagated from seeds collected form the bushfire-devastated site. Read more on our website about this exciting new work.