Picnic area · Blue Mountains National Park
Two very different walks start at this small Grose Valley picnic stop.
Overview
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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.
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Pierces Pass and the Rigby Hill Walk“You're nearing Pierces Pass picnic area, where I'd choose the Rigby Hill walk for a valley view without a long descent. It's one point two kilometres return, about an hour, with a gentle climb, steps and uneven rock.”
Plays as you drive up to Pierces Pass picnic area in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
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Guide
Pierces Pass picnic area is a small roadside stop at the end of Pierces Pass Road, off Bells Line Road between Mount Wilson and Mount Banks roads. Parking, toilets and picnic facilities are listed here, though visitors report limited room to picnic. The approach is unsealed, with 2WD access listed by the park agency. Treat it as a trailhead and simple break.
Rigby Hill is the short option: an easy 1.2 km return walk, about an hour, to a lookout over the Grose Valley, Perrys Lookdown and the Grose River. The lookout edge is unfenced, so keep children close and stay back. The longer Blue Gum Forest track is 16 km return and takes 6–8 hours; it is Grade 4, very steep, rough and stepped. Save it for experienced walkers with sturdy shoes, navigation and water.
The Blue Gum Forest route drops from the pass through dense rainforest before reaching towering blue gums. Coachwood, sassafras, epiphytes and orchids are some of the forest's distinctive details, and the Grose River is protected as a Wild River. The return climb makes this a full-day outing, not a casual extension of the picnic stop.
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
EasyRigby Hill walking track1.2 km · 1 hr · At the trailheadA short ridge walk ends above the Grose Valley.
ChallengingPierces Pass to Grose River4.9 km · 3 hr · At the trailheadA steep track to the river, then every step back up.
ChallengingPierces Pass to Blue Gum Forest walking track16 km · 7 hr · At the trailheadA steep Grose Valley descent to rainforest, river and Blue Gum Forest.
EasyWalls Lookout Track2.5 km · 1 hr · 0.7 km awayA short out-and-back to big Grose Valley views.
ModerateMount Banks Road cycle route10 km · 4 hr · 2.7 km awayAn unsealed ridge road ends above the Grose Valley
ModerateMount Banks Summit walk2.4 km · 2.5 hr · 2.7 km awayOpen ridge views make the steep climb to a wooded summit worthwhile.
EasyAnvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave Walk0.7 km · 24 min · 2.8 km awayTwo short spurs pair a valley lookout with a sculpted cave.
ChallengingPerrys Lookdown to Blue Gum Forest walking track5.3 km · 3.5 hr · 3.3 km awayDescend steeply to a forest bushwalkers saved from logging.
Sight · 0.5 km awayRigby Hill lookoutA short ridge walk to a broad Grose Valley panorama.
Sight · 0.6 km awayWalls LookoutA short rocky walk opens onto a huge Grose Valley panorama.
Picnic area · 2.6 km awayMount Banks picnic areaQuiet tables at Mount Banks' base, with a steep summit walk beyond.
Sight · 2.7 km awayBaltzer LookoutA ridge walk ends at an unfenced view over the Grose Valley.
Sight · 2.8 km awayWind Eroded CaveA short stop for wave-shaped sandstone and a Grose Gorge view.
Sight · 2.8 km awayAnvil RockA real anvil, a real story, and a wide Grose Valley view.
Campground · 3.1 km awayBurra Korain Flat campgroundListen for cockatoos as evening settles over the remote Grose Valley.
Sight · 3.4 km awayPerrys LookdownBig Grose Valley views, with the Blue Gum Forest far below.Parkwolf’s Blue Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
