Wardell is now split by the Pacific Highway and the River and is known by its landmark lift span bridge which was built to replace the ferries and barges used to transport Australian red cedar (Toona ciliata) and sugar cane in the 1800s.

[citation needed] The river and its estuaries abound with marine wildlife and are used for recreational fishing and water sports.

[citation needed] Wardell was the birthplace of architect Alexander Stewart Jolly (1887–1957), who designed a number of buildings in the north coast area.

This event had a particularly severe impact on the Wardell and surrounding communities due to a combination of factors, including heavy rainfall, upstream flooding and extreme high tides.

[citation needed] The Flooding Event of 2022 has left a lasting impact on the community and the region as a whole:[citation needed] WardellCore officially known as the Wardell Community Organised Resilience Effort, is charity organisation registered following the 2022 Northern Rivers floods.