CAMPERS and four-wheel driving enthusiasts are concerned they will be permanently locked out of Stockton Beach.
They have been banned from Stockton Beach by the National Parks and Wildlife Service after storms stripped millions of tonnes of sand from the dunes.
Currently, the public are only permitted to use the Stockton beachfront.
Brendan Seymour, editor of Australian 4WD Action magazine, said all he had heard from the service was "excuse after excuse" about when the site would be reopened to hobbyists.
With a continued lack
of information and communication, fans of the beach have organised a protest to get answers from the service.
Social media has helped fuel the debate and spread the message, with hundreds of campers, fishers, four-wheel-drivers and motorbike riders expected to converge at Stockton this Saturday to spread their message to reopen the beach.
"All we want is a clear date of when Stockton will be opened and we can get back out there," Mr Seymour, who is one of the protest's organisers, said.
"It [Stockton Beach] should be opened up for families to enjoy, not shut down.
"The sand dunes are always naturally changing - always have and will continue to. We can't just keep dragging this out."
Mr Seymour said he had visited Stockton Beach as a four-wheel-driving destination for 15 years.
He said it was aunique place for many different groups to gather, highlighting the need to rally together to ensure they could get back out there again.
■ The protest will be held this Saturday morning, February 2, at the Pitt Street Reserve, Stockton.
Protesters will then head out to the Cessnock Showgrounds, where guest speakers will put forward the case for ongoing public access to Stockton Beach.
