Campground · Blue Mountains National Park
A remote tent camp beside Blue Gum Forest.
Overview
Blue Gum Forest is a historic patch of closed forest known for its tall Deane's blue gums. Bushwalkers saved it from clearing in the 1930s by pooling money to buy and preserve it. It remains a fine reason to make the hard walk into the valley.
Parkwolf’s verdictA forest worth protectingMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Blue Mountains Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Blue Mountains National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Blue Mountains audio tourRecorded for this place
Perrys Lookdown and Blue Gum Forest“Perrys Lookdown is coming up, where a short staircase gives you a view across Grose Valley to Mount Banks and the forest below. I'd stop for the panorama even if you aren't planning a hike.”
Plays as you drive up to Acacia Flat campground in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Acacia Flat is a remote walk-in campground in the Grose Valley Wilderness, with 30 unmarked, unpowered tent sites among rough-barked apple and stringybark trees. Nearby Blue Gum Forest is the draw. I'd choose it for an overnight walk into a quiet valley camp, not as a quick stop on a drive.
From Perrys Lookdown, the campground is 3.3 km one way; allow 3 to 4 hours to reach it. The Grade 4 track drops steeply down the cliff line, with many steps, and the climb back out with a pack is demanding. You can also reach the valley on foot from Pierces Pass.
Carry your tent, food, drinking and cooking water, and clothes for changeable weather. Toilets are provided, but the site has no power or listed drinking-water supply. Online bookings are available for up to 12 people or two sites. The Blue Mountains Heritage Centre in Blackheath lends personal locator beacons for free. Pack out everything you bring in.
The campsites are unmarked clearings, so this feels like a bush camp rather than a serviced campground. The park describes the setting as rough-barked apple and stringybark forest, with Blue Gum Forest close by. The spread-out clearings are part of the appeal if you want a night away from roads and facilities.
Acacia Flat is a base for overnight walks and birdwatching around the forest. Kestrels and wedge-tailed eagles often ride the thermals near the cliffs; listen for bell miners among the gums. The route itself has views across the Grose Valley, but the payoff here is staying long enough to explore on foot.
Wildlife
58 sightingsGrey KangarooMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
43 sightingsWombatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
18 sightingsRed-necked WallabyMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
53 sightingsSwamp WallabyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
23 sightingsBrushtail PossumMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
30 sightingsRing-tailed PossumMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Blue Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingPerrys Lookdown to Blue Gum Forest walking track5.3 km · 3.5 hr · 1.9 km awayDescend steeply to a forest bushwalkers saved from logging.
EasyAnvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave Walk0.7 km · 24 min · 2.7 km awayTwo short spurs pair a valley lookout with a sculpted cave.
ModerateHat Hill to Bald Head6.8 km · 2.8 hr · 2.8 km awayA rugged ridge walk to a wide Grose Valley view.
ModerateMount Banks Summit walk2.4 km · 2.5 hr · 3.9 km awayOpen ridge views make the steep climb to a wooded summit worthwhile.
ModerateMount Banks Road cycle route10 km · 4 hr · 3.9 km awayAn unsealed ridge road ends above the Grose ValleyChallengingBlue Gum Forest via Lockley Pylon11.8 km · 6 hr · 4.4 km awayPylon panoramas give way to a steep descent into blue gum forest.
ModerateCliff Top walking track6 km · 3.3 hr · 4.4 km awayA stepped cliff-edge walk with Grose Valley and waterfall views.
ChallengingGovetts Leap descent1.8 km · 1.5 hr · 4.4 km awayA steep 1.8 km return walk to the falls and back.Sight · 0.6 km awayBlue Gum ForestWalk into the grove bushwalkers saved from the axe in 1931.
Sight · 1.5 km awayLockley PylonA rocky summit with a full sweep across the Grose Valley.
Sight · 1.8 km awayPerrys LookdownBig Grose Valley views, with the Blue Gum Forest far below.
Sight · 2.6 km awayAnvil RockA real anvil, a real story, and a wide Grose Valley view.
Sight · 2.7 km awayPulpit Rock lookoutStep down the rock blade for wide Grose Valley views.
Sight · 2.8 km awayWind Eroded CaveA short stop for wave-shaped sandstone and a Grose Gorge view.
Sight · 3.3 km awayMount BanksA steep climb to a double-humped summit above Grose Wilderness.
Picnic area · 4 km awayMount Banks picnic areaQuiet tables at Mount Banks' base, with a steep summit walk beyond.Parkwolf’s Blue Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
