Wentworth Falls to Leura walk

This is a one-way 11 km walk from Wilson Park in Wentworth Falls village to Gordon Falls Picnic Area near Leura. Allow 5–7 hours for the first day of the Grand Cliff Top Walk. It links creekside paths, Wentworth Falls lookouts, the Overcliff–Undercliff cliff route and Pool of Siloam before a long stair climb at the end. Choose it for a full day of waterfalls and Jamison Valley views if you’re comfortable with repeated climbing and descending. The full Grand Cliff Top is a separate 19 km, two-day walk that continues from Gordon Falls to Katoomba; this route ends at the picnic area, not Leura station.

Cross the Great Western Highway from the village to Wilson Park and follow Darwins Walk beside Jamison Creek. Steps take you through the Wentworth Falls area, where Weeping Rock spills over a sandstone ledge and nearby lookouts frame the falls’ roughly 100 m drop into Jamison Valley. The steep Valley of the Waters and Conservation Hut branch is an optional side trip, not needed to reach Leura; take it only if you want more descent, climbing and time on the track.

The main route turns west onto Overcliff–Undercliff Track. One stretch passes beneath an arching sandstone wall, with stepping stones and creek crossings before the track climbs back to the escarpment. Shaded fern gullies alternate with open viewpoints over the valley. This is a formed Grade 3 walk, but the stairs and short, steep rises keep adding up through the day.

Past Empress Falls lookout, the route runs through eucalyptus forest and makes short road or street links near Fairmont Resort. Golf Links lookout opens the view toward the Three Sisters, then Pool of Siloam offers a small waterfall and stepping stones in a ferny pocket. From there, many steps climb to Gordon Falls Picnic Area. A short optional detour reaches Gordon Falls lookout for another Jamison Valley view; it adds a little distance after an already stair-heavy day.

NPWS calls the track clearly signposted, but walkers have repeatedly found the route markers easy to miss around junctions and detours. Keep an offline map handy. The official grade is 3 and requires some bushwalking experience; repeated stairs make this feel harder than a casual half-day walk. The route is one-way, so arrange a pickup or return journey first. Parking is limited at both ends. Wentworth Falls station is near the start, while Gordon Falls is about 1.8 km from Leura station. Cafes and restaurants are in the villages rather than along the track, and no reliable drinking-water refill point was confirmed on route. Toilets are available in the villages and at the picnic areas; Conservation Hut is a detour.

The walk is on Gundungurra Country, in a landscape of sandstone escarpments, creek gullies and pockets of fern rainforest. Wentworth Falls is named for William Charles Wentworth, one of the 1813 expedition party that crossed the Blue Mountains. Listen for lyrebirds, crimson rosellas and yellow-tailed black cockatoos; Wumbarrung is the Gundungurra name for the yellow-tailed black cockatoo, whose flight is used as the Grand Cliff Top’s walking symbol.