Lane Cove National Park

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Lane Cove National Park
Hygrocybe aurantipes, a rare mushroom, which was first discovered in Lane Cove National Park in 1990
Type	National park
Location	Lower North Shore Sydney, Australia
Coordinates	33°47′01″S, 151°08′19″E
Size	6 km² (2.3 sq mi)
Opened	24 April 1992
Operated by	New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service
Status	IUCN category: V

Lane Cove National Park is a small national park located within metropolitan Sydney. The park is located about ten kilometres (6 mi) north-west of the Sydney CBD. The park consists of land near the banks of the Lane Cove River, which rises near Hornsby and flows generally south-east into Sydney Harbour.

The park includes areas of land which are part of Ku-Ring-Gai, Ryde, and Hornsby local government areas with small areas of the park in Willoughby, Lane Cove and Hunter's Hill local government area on the banks of the lower reaches of the river. The park is surrounded on all sides by developed suburban areas and it is nowhere more than a kilometre (3,000 ft) wide. Much of the park is of fairly rugged terrain on the slopes of the river valley and covered by forest. The characteristics of the forest vary depending upon soils and topography, historical logging and clearing and accessibility. Parts of the park are affected by weed infestations.

The central section of the park, between de Burgh's Bridge on Metroad 3, and Fuller's Bridge, was set aside as a park in the 1920's and developed with picnic areas interspersed in the forest along the banks of the river. A weir was constructed near Fuller's Bridge which converted the middle section of the river from tidal salt-water to a fresh-water area with constant water level suitable for recreational use in rowing boats and canoes. This area was managed by a trust and was called Lane Cove River Park. In 1982, the NSW Government took over direct control of the park which was then called Lane Cove Regional Park. Various nearby areas of undeveloped government land near the river upstream and downstream from the central area of the park were added to the park. It became a National Park in 1992.

A section of Lane Cove National Park was recently excavated (and then re-covered and landscaped) to make way for the new Chatswood to Epping Rail link, which is due to run under the corner of the park nearest to Fullers Bridge.