Day Trip to The Grand Canyon In The Blue Mountains
Located in the town of Blackheath, just 2.5 hours away from Sydney. This short and breath taking hike will take you deep into the canyon. Immerse yourself in ancient worlds. Get amazed by the giant walls of the canyon illuminated by the glow of an early morning sun.
Recently I hiked the Grand Canyon track in Blackheath, Blue Mountains. A place I’ve been wanting to visit for many years. Let me tell you something, the photos you see on the internet don’t make any justice whatsoever even though they are really good. Not just that, there are certain unique areas than most hikers miss, keep reading for more ;)
This is a loop trail that you can start from Neates glen car park about 3km from Blackheath train station. The entire loop can easily be completed in about 4 hours or less.
How to get there
Catch an early train from Central station, I prefer the 05:24 am. By 07:45 am I arrive in Blackheath, then I get a taxi to the starting point or walk to it.
What you’ll see and do
- Be surrounded by giant ancient walls
- See incredible landscapes
- Experience the absolute peace early in the morning as you’ll have the entire canyon for yourself ;)
- Enjoy a unique breakfast in the middle of the canyon surrounded by the sheer beauty of the ancient walls.
- Explore each corner of the canyon. More on this down below ;)
- Finish the trail at a local café
The Traditional Track
I recommend starting from Neates Glen Parking area, so that way you enjoy a more spectacular second half including finishing at Evans Lookout
The second half of the hike
Once you cross the first half (if you started from Neates Glen Car Park), which is somewhat the “less” attractive half, you arrive to the bottom of the canyon to the point where you have to cross the creek to start heading back up towards Evans Lookout.
At that point, If you are as adventurer as I am, then you can follow the very old trail to the left, following the creek upstream instead of heading straight up to Evans Lookout. The entrance to the trail has been buried by several rock falls, giant fallen trees, etc. Scramble around, go over (carefully) over those rocks, find your way through, likely getting your feet a bit wet for the next 50 / 70 meters and then…
Breakfast time
I ended up spending 1.5 hours completely alone enjoying the peace that nature offers, these walls are something else, the sun glow suddenly showed up, there was a golden reflexion on the giant Canyon walls.
I improvised a chair using some logs and I sat down, I boiled the water and had the most heart warming tea I’ve ever had. It’s hard to describe the peace I felt.
Heading Back to Town
Hiked back to Blackheath town and I stopped at Bakehouse on Wenthworth bakery just a few meters away from Blackheath train station. I had one of the best chicken pies I’ve had here in Australia, it was really cold that day so I also smashed it with some boiling Earl Grey tea.
Heading back home
I catch the train back to the city at around 2pm and by around 4pm I am back at home chilling a bit.
Note: this can be a dangerous hike for less experienced hikers that are not used to rough terrain. Always check the alerts from the NSW National Parks. Sometimes there might have heavily rained recently and the creek can become a real hazard.
Hope you give this hike a go ASAP! and I hope you enjoyed this post!
Finally, if you enjoy exploration, adventure and travel as much as I do :) join me in my Instagram account for some great genuine content about all that :)
Au revoir!
