Parking
Park at Fortress Ridge Carpark on Mount Hay Road, about 8.7 km from the Great Western Highway at Leura. The approach road is unsealed.
Overview
About Fortress Rock Lookout Walk
Why go
- A short route to a close view of the orange sandstone walls.
Heads up
- The steep start and narrow, sloping finish need care.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Blue Mountains map
Full mapElevation850–932 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 Fortress Rock Lookout 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
Fortress Rock from Fortress Ridge Car Park0:00 / 0:30
“Up ahead is Fortress Ridge car park, where Fortress Rock makes a shorter outing of about three kilometres return and an hour and a half.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Walk to Lockley Pylon
- Water's Marks Inside the Stone
- The Cockatoo's Timber Lunch
- Read the Grade Before the Distance
- 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 Fortress Rock Lookout Walk
A short walk to the valley rimFortress Rock Lookout Walk is a 1.
Fortress Rock Lookout Walk is a 1.8-mile out-and-back from Fortress Ridge Carpark to a cliff-edge view over the Grose Valley. It follows the unpaved ridge track to the first fork, then branches west along a bush path to the lookout. Allow about 1½ hours for the return and time at the view; the walk back climbs out from the lower cliff edge. It’s a compact option if you want a close look at the sandstone walls without taking on the longer Fortress Ridge walk.
Take the right branchAt the first fork, follow the branch to Fortress Rock; continuing along the ridge leads to…
At the first fork, follow the branch to Fortress Rock; continuing along the ridge leads to longer walks. The steepest climbing comes near the start. The final stretch narrows and slopes down to the cliff rim, so take care there and stay back from the edge. The mapped route is about 1.45 km one way. A 1.5 km return figure describes the sidetrack from the fork; include the carpark approach on both ends for about 2.9 km return overall.
The sandstone viewAt the lookout, the orange walls of Arethusa Canyon and the Carne Wall rise across the forested…
At the lookout, the orange walls of Arethusa Canyon and the Carne Wall rise across the forested Grose Valley. Leave some of the valley below the cliff in a photo to show its scale. Dogs and other pets are not allowed in Blue Mountains National Park, except certified assistance animals.
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.
