Kangaroo Pool Walk in Royal National Park

Royal National Park, NSW

Kangaroo Pool Walk

A waterfall-fed pool at the end of a rough, unmarked track.

Length
5km
Time
2hr
Elev. change
102m
Difficulty
Moderate
  • No dogs
  • High point 231 m

Hear the audio tour

Waterfall Station and the Uloola Walk

Overview

About Kangaroo Pool Walk

Why go

  • A waterfall-fed pool sits beneath layered sandstone walls.
  • The station start is reachable by train.

Heads up

  • Unmarked, overgrown sections and a hard-to-find final descent.
Kangaroo Pool Walk is a 3.1-mile (5 km) out-and-back from Waterfall Station, down the Uloola Track stairs and along an informal path to a waterfall-fed pool on upper Kangaroo Creek. Allow about two hours for the walk, with more time if you want to linger at either pool. The reward is the main pool in a sandstone bowl; the tradeoff is a rough, informal route with no track markers. Its formal park access status could not be confirmed, so check current notices before setting out.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the walk for you?

Map & elevation

The route

Loading the Royal map
Full map
Elevation129–231 m
TrailheadWaterfall Station Uloola Track stairs-34.13497, 150.99565
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Start at Waterfall Station car park or arrive by train. Use the stairs beside the Uloola Track sign; on the lower path, pass the first left and take the later left onto Kangaroo Creek Track.

Safety

The informal, unmarked path has eroded footing, creek and rock crossings, and a steep loose-soil descent to the pool. Heavy rain can waterlog the track and raise creek levels. Formal public-access status is unconfirmed; check current park notices before going.

4 active Royal alerts

  • ClosureOvernight closures for deer-control operationsSpecified areas of Royal National Park are closed between sunset and sunrise from Monday to Thursday, excluding school holidays, through 18 December 2026 so NPWS can carry out deer-control operations.Official details
  • ClosureUnauthorised trail between East Heathcote and Waterfall closedThe unauthorised trail between East Heathcote and Waterfall is formally and physically closed; access is not permitted.Official details
See all 4 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Royal Tour Guide

Your drive to Kangaroo Pool Walk, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Royal 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.

Recorded for this area

Waterfall Station and the Uloola Walk
0:00 / 0:28
“You're approaching Waterfall Station, where the Uloola walking track starts behind the car park.”

Plays on the road 0.1 km from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Royal Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • The Goanna’s Scent Detector
  • National Falls Upper Cascade
  • Ancient Currents in the Sandstone
  • Forest Path at Southern Lady Carrington Drive
  • 43 audio storiesacross Royal’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Humpback Whale, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Koala, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 69 trails, 58 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!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
Download Parkwolf on the App StoreGet Parkwolf on Google Play

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Trail guide

Hiking Kangaroo Pool Walk

Take the later leftStart at Waterfall Station car park and go down the stairs beside the Uloola Track sign.

Start at Waterfall Station car park and go down the stairs beside the Uloola Track sign. Follow the flat, narrow path, pass the first left, then take the later left onto the Kangaroo Creek path, about 100 m farther on. The descent is gentle at first, then roughens into rocky, eroded gullies before a small creek crossing. A broad boulder is described as a way across, but the crossing can change after rain.

Cross the rock shelfAfter the creek, short overgrown stretches lead to a broad rock platform around 1.

After the creek, short overgrown stretches lead to a broad rock platform around 1.3 km from the station. Cross the shallow water and look for the worn path on the far side; descending beside the platform is a rougher scramble through debris. A short rocky spur reaches a smaller cascade pool. Back on the main track, continue through shaded bush and more rocky ground. Around 2.1 km in, hop across larger rocks and slabs; a brief spur above the waterfall looks down into Kangaroo Pool.

Find the pool, then retraceThe final turn is easy to miss: beside a tree, a path drops steeply on loose soil and a short…

The final turn is easy to miss: beside a tree, a path drops steeply on loose soil and a short rock slab. Kangaroo Pool sits below the waterfall between layered sandstone walls, with a flat rock at the water's edge. From the short lookout above, frame the falls with the pool and rock walls. Return the same way; the creek-side stretch just above the waterfall is the easiest place to lose the path on the way back. There are no facilities along the track; toilets are reported at the station. Pets are prohibited in the park except certified assistance animals.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Royal

All Royal wildlife maps

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Royal. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Kangaroo Pool Walk

See it all on the map

Trails that start nearby

Places near the trailhead

Parkwolf’s Royal ranking

Top-rated trails in Royal

All 69 trails
  1. 1The Coast TrackChallenging · 27 km
  2. 2Wattamolla to Eagle Rock and Curracurrong FallsModerate · 8.5 km
  3. 3Jibbon Loop TrackEasy · 5.2 km
  4. 4Palm Jungle Loop TrackChallenging · 8.2 km
  5. 5Curra Moors Loop TrackModerate · 10 km
  6. 6Wedding Cake Rock TrackModerate · 5.6 km

Take Parkwolf to Royal.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Download Parkwolf on the App StoreGet Parkwolf on Google Play