Parking
Start and finish at Springwood Station; a station car park is available. The street approach to Sassafras Gully Road and the return through Fairy Dell are part of this mapped loop. Parking at the gully entrance was not confirmed.
Overview
About Sassafras Gully, Victory Track and Magdala Gully Loop
Why go
- Fern-lined sandstone gullies and two waterfalls
- Station start and finish with no shuttle
Heads up
- Rock hopping, fallen trees and rough tread slow progress
- Falls can run low after dry spells
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Blue Mountains map
Full mapElevation167–376 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 Sassafras Gully, Victory Track and Magdala Gully Loop, 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
Smoke Gives a Seed Its Cue0:00 / 0:29
“Some seeds can wait in the soil for years before a fire gives them their cue to grow. Burning vegetation produces chemicals called karrikins.”
Plays on the road 0.8 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Blue Mountains Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Parkes Came Home to Faulconbridge
- Two Voices in One Magpie
- The Tail That Keeps Wriggling
- Standing on a Dimple
- 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 Sassafras Gully, Victory Track and Magdala Gully Loop
The loopThis 10.2 km (6.33 mi) circuit starts and finishes at Springwood Station.
This 10.2 km (6.33 mi) circuit starts and finishes at Springwood Station. It drops through Sassafras Gully to Perch Ponds, then climbs Magdala Gully past Martins Falls and Magdala Falls before returning through Fairy Dell. Allow about four to five hours: the reward is a string of cool, ferny gullies, but this is a long, rocky bushwalk with creek crossings, not a stroll.
Follow this lineThe mapped route includes the street approach from the station to Sassafras Gully Road and the…
The mapped route includes the street approach from the station to Sassafras Gully Road and the return from Fairy Dell. It follows the Sassafras and Victory tracks to Perch Ponds, then Magdala Gully to Springwood. A separate Sassafras circuit uses Wiggins Track; its line and distance are different, so don't mix its junctions with this station loop. At the gully forks, follow signs for Perch Ponds and Springwood Station, not the Faulconbridge branch.
UnderfootExpect uneven rock, sandstone overhangs, creek edges and several crossings where you'll need to…
Expect uneven rock, sandstone overhangs, creek edges and several crossings where you'll need to pick your way across stones. Fallen trees have made parts of the tread slow and faint, so keep checking the route through those sections. The walk descends into the gullies early, then climbs back out toward Springwood. Wet weather brings more creek flow, but also slippery rock and leeches.
Perch Ponds and the fallsPerch Ponds is a quiet creekside clearing with no toilets or treated drinking water; creek…
Perch Ponds is a quiet creekside clearing with no toilets or treated drinking water; creek water needs treatment. The climb up Magdala Gully passes Martins Falls and Magdala Falls. They flow best after rain and can shrink to a trickle in a dry spell. The main-track view of Magdala Falls is screened by foliage; reaching its base means an optional off-track scramble over boulders and logs.
Look and listenThe best photographs are in the shaded sandstone gullies: frame the pink rock overhangs with…
The best photographs are in the shaded sandstone gullies: frame the pink rock overhangs with tree trunks and ferns for scale. Lyrebirds are often heard along the walk; echidnas and eastern water dragons have also been reported, though wildlife sightings are never guaranteed.
Access and rulesSpringwood Station is the mapped start and finish, so you don't need a shuttle.
Springwood Station is the mapped start and finish, so you don't need a shuttle. A station car park is available; current rules and capacity weren't verified. Pets aren't permitted on this route through Blue Mountains National Park. There are no treated-water stops on the bush section.
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.
