Harrington Beach State Park covers 430 hectares from Harrington to Crowdy Head, while Manning Entrance State Park covers 450 hectares from the river entrance at Manning Point to the town of Old Bar.

They are now part of a network of 17 State Parks (as opposed to National Parks) in New South Wales, and managed on behalf of the NSW Department of Lands.

All involve Crown land, 10 of them along the NSW coast, and the remaining seven inland.

Other coastal parks are Coffs Coast, Bellinger Heads, Goolawah (between Crescent Head and Port Macquarie), Belmont Wetlands, Cronulla, Killalea, Jervis Bay and Wallaga Lake (the last three on the South Coast).

Inland State parks are at Copeton Waters, Lake Keepit, Lake Glenbawn, Lake Burrendong, Grabine Lakeside, Wyangala Waters and Burrinjuck Waters.

Billed as 'national treasures', all are in stunning locations which the government has set aside for the relaxation and enjoyment of present and future generations of NSW residents and visitors.

They provide a range of visitor accommodation from day trips to longer holidays.

In Harrington Beach State Park, accommodation is available at the Big4 Harrington Beach Holiday Park, while in Manning Entrance park, visitors can find accommodation at Lani's On The Beach Caravan Park, Old Bar.

State Parks have been declared to protect some of the most naturally beautiful locations for recreation, camping, water sports and bushwalking.

Manning Entrance park contains Crown lands at Old Bar, Mud Bishop's Reserve, Farquhar Inlet and park, and the Manning Point peninsula.

Included along with the Old Bar caravan park are a primitive campground, and Old Bar's sporting fields and historic airstrip.

The foreshores of its coastal beaches and the southern entrance to the Manning River provide an array of year-round recreation and tourism opportunities, while the now protected tracts of littoral rainforest and other significant native vegetation provide habitat for many species of native flora and fauna.