Perrys Lookdown

Perrys Lookdown is a road-access lookout on the western side of Blue Mountains National Park, above Grose Valley near Blackheath. From the parking area, a short staircase leads to a broad view of Mount Banks, Banks Wall and Blue Gum Forest below. It’s a worthwhile quick stop for the valley view; make the forest walk a separate outing.

The sandstone face of Mount Banks and long cliff lines around Banks Wall frame a canopy of eucalypts on the valley floor. Blue Gum Forest looks like a green strip from here, but it is a rare stand of tall trees. Keep an eye out for yellow-tailed cockatoos and wedge-tailed eagles. For a photo that shows the drop, include both the cliff wall and the forest canopy below instead of cropping to the ridgeline.

In the early 1930s, bushwalkers raised money to buy Blue Gum Forest after it was threatened with clearing. Its protection is a local conservation story you can see from above: a small-looking patch of eucalypts preserved within a much larger sandstone valley.

The track from Perrys Lookdown to Blue Gum Forest is a Grade 4 walk, about 4 km return and 3–4 hours. It drops steeply past a swamp and cliff line to tall Deane’s blue gums; getting back means climbing the same route. Treat it as a separate outing, not a quick extension to the lookout.