Parking
Start at Mount Banks picnic area; its car park holds about 10 vehicles. From Bells Line of Road, turn left at the signed picnic-area turn roughly 7 km after Mount Tomah. The access road is unsealed.
Overview
About Mount Banks Road cycle route
Why go
- Banks Wall opens onto a broad Grose Valley view
- A real unsealed ridge-road outing through heath and woodland
Heads up
- Several steep sections, rough footing, rocks and fallen timber
- Small car park at the picnic-area start
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Blue Mountains map
Full mapElevation852–892 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 Mount Banks Road cycle route, 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
Mount Banks: Ridge Views and Monkey Gums0:00 / 0:23
“Mount Banks picnic area is coming up, where you can have lunch among eucalyptus trees or start the summit walk. The climb takes two to three hours return, with steep steps and unfenced cliff edges.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Owl's Leftovers
- Walls Lookout over the Grose Valley
- Pierces Pass and the Rigby Hill Walk
- Perrys Lookdown and Blue Gum Forest
- 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 Mount Banks Road cycle route
The full out-and-backMount Banks Road cycle route is a 10 km return walk or ride from Mount Banks picnic area around…
Mount Banks Road cycle route is a 10 km return walk or ride from Mount Banks picnic area around the mountain's base to the cliff edge above Banks Wall. The unsealed route runs through open heath and woodland, with Mount Banks on your right. Walkers should allow three to five hours; the terrain has several steep sections. This is the longer ridge-road outing, separate from the uphill Mount Banks Summit walk.
A rough road through heathExpect an undulating gravel road and track, not a smooth bike path.
Expect an undulating gravel road and track, not a smooth bike path. Rocks, fallen trees and overgrowth can slow you down, and the steep pitches make the return feel longer than the map suggests. Spring and summer are the main wildflower season. Wedge-tailed eagles and peregrine falcons may circle on the valley thermals.
Banks Wall and the longer optionThe route's main payoff is a view across the Grose Valley toward the Grose River, Govetts Leap…
The route's main payoff is a view across the Grose Valley toward the Grose River, Govetts Leap and Blue Gum Forest. Keep well back from the escarpment edge. To continue, follow the narrowing clifftop track about 1.1 km farther one way to a second, unfenced lookout; the longer return is about 12.2 km, with views toward Lockley Pylon and Mount Hay. From the main lookout, include the valley below from a safe distance rather than edging toward the drop for a photo.
Why Mount Banks has two humpsMount Banks' double-humped profile comes from lava laid down about 12 to 17 million years ago.
Mount Banks' double-humped profile comes from lava laid down about 12 to 17 million years ago. The hard basalt cap helped protect the softer sandstone below it as erosion cut the Grose Valley. The dark summit above the pale cliff bands is the same contrast that makes the Banks Wall viewpoint so distinctive.
Start at the picnic areaThe start is Mount Banks picnic area, with picnic tables and non-flush toilets; the car park…
The start is Mount Banks picnic area, with picnic tables and non-flush toilets; the car park has room for about 10 vehicles. From Bells Line of Road, turn left at the Mount Banks picnic-area sign roughly 7 km after Mount Tomah. The access road is unsealed. Groups in Grose Wilderness are limited to eight people.
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.
