Parking
The mapped route starts at Blackheath Station and finishes at Mount Victoria Station. Use rail or arrange a car shuffle between towns; no separate trailhead car park is part of the stored route.
Overview
About Blackheath to Mount Victoria via Grose Valley
Why go
- A true station-to-station traverse through the historic Blue Gum Forest.
- The valley, river and sandstone escarpments give the long walk real variety.
Heads up
- Nearly 30 km with about 1,450 m of both climbing and descending.
- Remote and strenuous enough that many walkers split it over two days.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Blue Mountains map
Full mapElevation333–1,068 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 Blackheath to Mount Victoria via Grose Valley, 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 area
Baltzer Lookout and Hanging Rock0:00 / 0:26
“You're approaching the Ridgewell Road access for Baltzer Lookout and Hanging Rock. From the gate, it's a ten kilometre return walk of about four hours, mostly along a broad fire trail with the big view saved for the end.”
Plays on the road 0.6 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Shipley Plateau: Hargraves and Mount Blackheath
- The Surveyor Behind the Leap
- Blue Mountains Heritage Centre
- A Seed Glued to a Branch
- 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 Blackheath to Mount Victoria via Grose Valley
A station-to-station traverseThis is an 18.1-mile (29.
This is an 18.1-mile (29.2 km) point-to-point walk from Blackheath Station to Mount Victoria Station. It descends into the Grose Valley, reaches Blue Gum Forest, follows the river corridor toward Victoria Falls, then climbs back to Mount Victoria. Expect about 1,436 metres of ascent and 1,457 metres of descent; the mapped route estimate is about 12 hours on foot. This is a long, hard walk for experienced bushwalkers. Many walkers spread it over two days.
Down into the GroseFrom Blackheath, the route drops from the escarpment into the Govetts Creek side of the valley.
From Blackheath, the route drops from the escarpment into the Govetts Creek side of the valley. Blue Gum Forest is the big change of scene: tall blue gums growing on fertile ground beside the Grose. The descent and climb back out demand more than the distance alone suggests, so give yourself time for the steep sections.
River and fallsThe valley leg follows the Grose River from the forest toward Victoria Falls, before the final…
The valley leg follows the Grose River from the forest toward Victoria Falls, before the final climb to Mount Victoria. At Victoria Falls Lookout, the wide view takes in the forested valley and sandstone walls; it's a good place to stop and see how much ground the traverse has covered.
Why the forest mattersBlue Gum Forest is more than a pretty grove.
Blue Gum Forest is more than a pretty grove. In the 1930s, bushwalkers pooled their money and bought the forest to prevent it being logged. Its tall trees on the valley floor are a living reminder of one of the Blue Mountains' defining conservation campaigns.
Make the logistics workThis is one-way between two stations, so use the train or arrange a car shuffle between towns.
This is one-way between two stations, so use the train or arrange a car shuffle between towns. The route is remote; the park service recommends carrying water, navigation tools and a locator beacon for walks in this valley. A two-day itinerary can use an overnight stop in the valley. 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.
