Parking
Use the road-end carpark on Anvil Rock Road, reached from Hat Hill Road. Both short branches leave from this shared access. Hat Hill Road has a long unsealed section before the final paved Anvil Rock Road.
Overview
About Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave Walk
Why go
- A valley lookout and a close view of sculpted sandstone in one stop.
- Very little walking for a broad Grose Valley panorama.
Heads up
- The remote access drive takes longer than the two short walks.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Blue Mountains map
Full mapElevation967–980 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Blue Mountains alerts
- ClosureRoads and tracks closed across Blue Mountains National ParkMany roads, fire trails and walking tracks across Blue Mountains National Park are closed; do not enter closed areas.Official details
- CautionPark-wide solid-fuel fire banA park fire ban is active across Blue Mountains National Park: campfires and solid-fuel barbecues and stoves are prohibited. - Gas and electric cookers are permitted, subject to safety rules.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Blue Mountains Tour Guide
Your drive to Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave Walk, narrated.
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 trailhead
Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave0:00 / 0:32
“You're nearing the shared car park for Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave. Allow twenty to thirty minutes for both short walks, with steps up to the lookout and an exposed cliff edge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Perrys Lookdown and Blue Gum Forest
- Hat Hill to Bald Head
- The Approach to Pulpit Rock Lookout
- Pierces Pass and the Rigby Hill Walk
- 188 audio storiesacross Blue Mountains’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grey Kangaroo, Wombat, Red-necked Wallaby, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 110 trails, 84 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave Walk
A quick two-stop walkAnvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave is a short paired walk from the road-end carpark.
Anvil Rock and Wind Eroded Cave is a short paired walk from the road-end carpark. The full visit is about 0.74 km (0.46 miles), counting both separate spurs out and back. Walk west to the shallow cave and return to the shared junction, then take the eastern path to Anvil Rock lookout and back. Allow about 20–30 minutes for both stops. The approaches are short and easy, though the lookout path has a brief steeper flight of steps.
The caveThe western branch ends at a broad, shallow sandstone overhang, pitted with small hollows.
The western branch ends at a broad, shallow sandstone overhang, pitted with small hollows. Think weathered rock wall rather than a deep cavern. This is the close-up stop: the hollows and layered sandstone make the cave more interesting at arm’s length than from the carpark.
Anvil Rock lookoutThe eastern path reaches a sandstone platform above the Grose Valley, with Mount Banks and…
The eastern path reaches a sandstone platform above the Grose Valley, with Mount Banks and Mount Hay in view. The anvil that gives the lookout its name was placed there in 1940. If you only have time for one branch, choose this one for the broad view. Put the anvil in the foreground with the cliffs beyond it to make the photo unmistakably Anvil Rock.
Reaching both branchesBoth paths start from the same carpark at the end of Anvil Rock Road.
Both paths start from the same carpark at the end of Anvil Rock Road. The drive is more of a commitment than the walking: Hat Hill Road has a long unsealed section before the final paved Anvil Rock Road. Dogs and other pets are not permitted in NSW national parks.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Blue Mountains
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.
