Blue Mountains National Park

Blue Mountains National Park is one of New South Wales best known parks, and at over 247000 ha is also one of the biggest. It is just 50km to the west of Sydney, and is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area which protects over a million hectares of land. It offers much to both the keen bushwalker and the casual tourist. The edge of the park is relatively developed in areas with information centres constructed walking tracks and picnic areas. Yet in the interior there is a huge amount of rugged, relatively unexplored country with spectacular gorges and canyons, soaring cliffs and forested ridges. Opportunities abound for bushwalking mountain biking canyoning abseiling climbing and caving in the park.


Access

The shape of the park is such that there are many access points to its edge, and a number to well inside. Bells Line of Road is the major access to the northern section of the park, and to the north side of the Grose Valley. The Great Western Highway gives access to all of the towns along the main ridge, including Katoomba, and there are many fire trails off to the north and south of it. The south western side of the park is accessed via the Colong to Oberon Stock Route, and on the south side access is available along Wombeyan Caves Rd.

The towns on the Great Western Highway can also be reached by train, although it may be a bit of a walk from the station to the cliffs where most walks begin. Some larger towns such as Katoomba and Blackheath may have bus services that can get you closer to the starts of walks.