Part of Kosciuszko National Park will temporarily close from 4 April. The closure is to ensure public safety during essential operations for feral animal control. This includes the use of aerial shooting.
The section to be closed is limited to 20% of the park. The winter resort areas are unaffected and remain open for the season.
Seasonal closures occur each year in the northern section of Kosciuszko National Park and vehicle access is restricted over winter every year, starting at the June long weekend, and reopening at the October long weekend. This is because many parts of the park are inaccessible during the winter season.
This closure extends the normal winter closure.
National park closures for aerial shooting of feral animals are routine. Every year, sections of Kosciuszko National Park are temporarily closed for aerial shooting of feral animals including deer and pigs.
This temporary closure is in the northern part of the park. During the closure, feral animal control operations will be undertaken to reduce the population of deer, pigs and wild horses.
Northern closure details
Location: Please refer to the map which shows the detailed area of the park that will be closed:
Map of northern Kosciuszko National Park closure area April to October 2024 (PDF 845KB)
Duration: The closure will commence on April 4, 2024, and continue until 4 October 2024
The area north of the Snowy Mountains Highway and west of the Goobarragandra Powerline Road will be closed.
This includes all tracks, trails, campgrounds, huts, picnic areas and accommodation in this area, with the exception of Kiandra Courthouse and Delanys Hut, which remain open.
Campsites within the affected areas will be temporarily closed. Anyone who made a booking has already been informed and refunded.
The temporary closure of parts of the park has been timed to start after Easter to limit the impact on visitors and two businesses which operate in the park. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service staff have been working with those businesses to minimise the impact.
Areas remaining open
All major ski resorts and tourism areas remain open including:
- Mount Kosciuszko
- Alpine resorts (Perisher, Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, Selwyn Snow Resort)
- Yarrangobilly Caves
- Sections of the recently completed Snowies Alpine Walk
This northern closure follows a recent closure in the southern parts of Kosciuszko National Park. Those areas have reopened.
The decision to implement these closures is necessary to meet the NSW Government's legal requirement under the 2021 Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to reduce the population of wild horses in the Park to 3,000 in retention areas by mid 2027.
All feral animal control operations are carried out in accordance with the highest animal welfare standards. In relation to the control of wild horses, this includes compliance with standard operating procedures that have been developed with input from independent vets and the RSPCA NSW.
