Sight · Blue Mountains National Park
A steep climb to a double-humped summit above Grose Wilderness.
Overview
Map
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
Mount Banks: Ridge Views and Monkey Gums“Mount Banks picnic area is coming up, where you can have lunch among eucalyptus trees or start the summit walk. The climb takes two to three hours return, with steep steps and unfenced cliff edges.”
Plays as you drive up to Mount Banks in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
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“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
Mount Banks is a 1,062 m, double-humped peak in the Mount Wilson area, known for its basalt cap and wide views over the Grose Wilderness. It suits a visitor looking for a proper climb without a long distance commitment: the summit route is only 2.4 km return, but it climbs steeply. Allow 2 to 3 hours.
The walk starts at Mount Banks Picnic Area. The Grade 3 route climbs to the summit; for a longer outing, the return can be extended to 4.7 km by joining the Mount Banks Road cycle route. This is a steep bushwalk, not a drive-up lookout.
The reward is a broad view across Grose Wilderness, with the mountain’s distinctive double hump easy to recognize from farther away. The summit is unfenced, so take care near the edge and supervise children closely.
Mount Banks’ basalt cap formed from lava about 12 to 17 million years ago. The harder basalt protected sandstone beneath it while softer sandstone eroded away, helping shape Grose Valley and its rocky escarpments.
Tall monkey gums grow on the basalt cap. Early European explorers gave them that name after mistaking resident gliders in the trees for monkeys.
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
ModerateMount Banks Summit walk2.4 km · 2.5 hr · 0.9 km awayOpen ridge views make the steep climb to a wooded summit worthwhile.
ModerateMount Banks Road cycle route10 km · 4 hr · 0.9 km awayAn unsealed ridge road ends above the Grose Valley
ChallengingPerrys Lookdown to Blue Gum Forest walking track5.3 km · 3.5 hr · 2.6 km awayDescend steeply to a forest bushwalkers saved from logging.
EasyAnvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave Walk0.7 km · 24 min · 3.2 km awayTwo short spurs pair a valley lookout with a sculpted cave.
EasyWalls Lookout Track2.5 km · 1 hr · 3.3 km awayA short out-and-back to big Grose Valley views.
ChallengingPierces Pass to Blue Gum Forest walking track16 km · 7 hr · 3.4 km awayA steep Grose Valley descent to rainforest, river and Blue Gum Forest.
EasyRigby Hill walking track1.2 km · 1 hr · 3.4 km awayA short ridge walk ends above the Grose Valley.
ChallengingPierces Pass to Grose River4.9 km · 3 hr · 3.5 km awayA steep track to the river, then every step back up.
Picnic area · 1 km awayMount Banks picnic areaQuiet tables at Mount Banks' base, with a steep summit walk beyond.
Sight · 2.5 km awayPerrys LookdownBig Grose Valley views, with the Blue Gum Forest far below.Sight · 2.6 km awayBlue Gum ForestWalk into the grove bushwalkers saved from the axe in 1931.
Sight · 2.9 km awayAnvil RockA real anvil, a real story, and a wide Grose Valley view.
Sight · 3.1 km awayWalls LookoutA short rocky walk opens onto a huge Grose Valley panorama.
Sight · 3.2 km awayWind Eroded CaveA short stop for wave-shaped sandstone and a Grose Gorge view.
Campground · 3.3 km awayAcacia Flat campgroundA remote tent camp beside Blue Gum Forest.
Sight · 3.4 km awayRigby Hill lookoutA short ridge walk to a broad Grose Valley panorama.Parkwolf’s Blue Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
