There are ten national parks and reserves within this region including
1. Berowra Valley Regional Park
2. Blue Mountains National Park
3. Cattai National Park
4. Dharug National Park
5. Marramarra National Park
6. Parr State Conservation Area
7. Rouse Hill Regional Park
8. Scheyville National Park
9. Wollemi National Park
10.Yengo National Park

1. Berowra Valley Regional Park
Berowra Valley Regional Park is a bushwalkers' paradise. The Great North Walk passes through the park on its way from Sydney to the Hunter Valley and there are plenty of other interesting tracks and fire trails. Backpack camping is permitted at approved locations along the Great North Walk. Due to the threat of bushfires, gas fires (rather than wood) are preferred throughout the park. Close to Sydney, Berowra Valley is an ideal place to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon picnicking or visiting the spectacular lookouts.

There are several historically significant sites in the park, including the historic quarry and steps, and the single lane bridge spanning Tunks Creek at Galston Gorge.

2. Blue Mountains National Park
More than three million people come to Blue Mountains National Park each year. For many it's enough just to find a lookout and gaze across the park's chiselled sandstone outcrops and hazy blue forests. Others walk or cycle along the cliff-tops and in the valleys, following paths that were created for Victorian-era honeymooners, or discovered by Aboriginal hunters many thousands of years ago. Over 140 km of walking tracks of all grades (some accessible for people with a disability) in diverse settings make the Blue Mountains a bushwalker's paradise.

This park, which is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, protects an unusually diverse range of vegetation communities. There are rare and ancient plants and isolated animal populations tucked away in its deep gorges. The Greater Blue Mountains Drive links a vast and spectacular world heritage landscape and a number of national parks to the regions that surround it.

3. Cattai National Park
Highlights: The Cattai Farm area, originally a land grant to First Fleet assistant surgeon Thomas Arndell, features Arndell's 1821 cottage, historic grain silos and ruins of a windmill believed to be the oldest industrial building in NSW. In a separate section, nearby Mitchell Park features a variety of plant communities, including rare riverine rainforest.

Activities: Cattai Farm has grassy picnic areas, barbecues and shelter sheds beside the Hawkesbury River, and car-based camping is available year round (bookings essential). Mitchell Park has an extensive network of walking tracks, and there are picnic areas with barbecues beside scenic Cattai Creek.

Access: 55 km north-west of Sydney, 13 km north of Windsor off the Cattai-Wisemans Ferry road (unpaved sections).

4. Dharug National Park
Steeped in history and abounding in natural wonders, Dharug National Park's multi-coloured sandstone landscape protects vital clear-water tributaries. The historic Old Great North Road is an intact and spectacular example of early 19th century road-building as well as a lesson in planning gone wrong. Abandoned even before it was finished, it took the toil and sweat of convicts to quarry, dress and shift the huge sandstone blocks that form the road's striking retaining walls and bridges. You can also experience the park's natural beauty on one of its many great walking tracks.

Phytophthora (dieback) disease is present on the Simpsons Track.  Please follow the directions on any signage in relation to wash down methods for bikes and footwear to help us prevent the spread of this disease.  Please avoid using this track in wet, muddy conditions as it is easily spread by water.

5. Marramarra National Park
Marramarra National Park is a great place to go canoeing, camping, bushwalking, picnicking or birdwatching. It's at the junction of Hawkesbury River and Berowra Creek, on the northern outskirts of Sydney, and features great wetlands, views of the Hawkesbury and the largest area of mangroves on the Central Coast. This park has been left in its natural and undeveloped state, and is mainly the preserve of experienced bushwalkers.

6. Parr State Conservation Area
This is a rugged and little known area of steep gorges, cliffs and rock outcrops, adjoining Yengo National Park. It conserves the Webbs Creek Catchment and is named after William Parr, one of the earliest explorers of northern routes out of Sydney.

Discovery walks, talks and tours (including 4WD) are conducted throughout the park and at Pierces Valley environmental education area.

7. Rouse Hill Regional Park
In recent years the landscape surrounding historic Rouse Hill House, built between 1813 and 1818, has been gradually transformed from paddock to parkland, designed around existing features such as Second Ponds Creek, farm dams and remnant woodland.

You can have a picnic or barbecue and enjoy a bushwalk. The park contains cycling, walking and rollerblading tracks, as well as adventure play equipment for toddlers and teenages.

The park has two pavilion areas which you can hire for weddings and other group events.

8. Scheyville National Park
This park north-west of Sydney near Windsor is rich in the history of European occupation. Today, evidence of Scheyville's many phases of European occupation can still be seen in the farm relics and remnants of the past that were used for agriculture, military training and immigration.

The park was created in 1996 and helps conserve the endangered ecologicial communities and species of the Cumberland Plain and Hawkesbury River catchment. Although it once covered much of western Sydney, the woodland ecosystems of this area is now threatened, mainly by urban expansion.

9. Wollemi National Park
Highlights: This is the largest wilderness area in NSW and forms part of the recently declared Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area — a maze of canyons, cliffs and undisturbed forest.

Activities: Descend to the Colo River on Bob Turners Track (4 km, 200 m descent, some steep sections) and enjoy the beaches in one of the state's longest and most scenic gorges. There are historic ruins at Newnes, across the Wolgan River from the camping area. The Glow Worm Tunnel is part of the old railway that serviced the area; access is from Clarence on the Bells Line of Road. Dunns Swamp has easy walks and plenty of opportunities for canoeing. Car-based and small-caravan camping is available at Dunns Swamp, Coorongooba and Newnes on the western side of the park, and Wheeney Creek (short walk from carpark) on the eastern side. Backpack camping is permitted throughout the park. Bookings and permits for camping are not required.

Access: 100-250 km north-west of Sydney. Dunns Swamp is 20 km from Rylstone along Narrango Road; Newnes is 47 km north of Lithgow along Wolgan Road; and Bob Turners track starts off Putty Road 15 km north-west of Colo. Coorongooba is accessed from Glen Davis 35km north of Capertee. All roads are unpaved.

10. Yengo National Park
Stretching over 70 km from Wisemans Ferry to the Hunter Valley, Yengo National Park is a wild area of steep gorges and rocky ridges. The area is rich in Aboriginal and cultural heritage. Yengo, especially Mount Yengo, is significant to local Aboriginal communities.

The historic Old Great North Road, a fantastic, intact example of early 19th century convict road-building, follows the south-east boundary of the park.

Yengo National Park is a very special place and is recognised for its natural and cultural significance. Included as part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage, the area also includes the Mt Yengo Aboriginal Place and much of the reserve is declared wilderness.