If there’s one thing we truly, truly love (besides good old wine times), it’s some outdoorsy adventure antics close to Sydney. And we’ve found the ultimate weekend day-trip for you, so you can soak up maximum fresh air with minimum time on the road.
For those who frequent the Blue Mountains often, the Blue Pool Walking Track (not to be confused with this track by the same name in Budderoo National Park), may not be a new discovery. It’s a popular place to hit on the weekends when you’re short for time but desperate to get that big dose of nature.
Haven’t checked it out yet? Here’s everything you need to know about the Blue Mountains’ Blue Pool Walking Track.
Need To Know
The first thing you need to know about the Blue Pool Walking Track is that it’s located within Blue Mountains National Park in Glenbrook.
The World Heritage-Listed Blue Mountains National Park is part of the Great Dividing Range and spans some 2,700 square kilometres. Before Europeans invaded the area, the Blue Mountains region was home to two main Indigenous tribes— the Gundungurra and Darug. It was also partially inhabited by the Burra Burra tribe near the Jenolan Caves.
There are six major areas to know about in this national park including Katoomba, Blackheath, Glenbrook, Lower Grose Valley, Mount Wilson and the Southern Blue Mountains.
How To Get There
You’ll be able to access the Blue Pool Walking track via Glenbrook. This guy is basically your eastern gateway to the Blue Mountains National Park and it’s filled with some really brilliant camping spots, natural swimming pools, mountain biking trails and lots of Indigenous rock art.
There’s a lot of helpful signage on the Great Western Highway which will lead you to the official entrance of the Blue Pool Walking Track (so as long as you follow these, you’ll be right). The main entry point is in Glenbrook on Ross Street, and then Bruce Road. There’s parking available at the Glenbrook entrance which is just a short walk from the track.
Things To Do
The beauty of the Blue Pool Walking Track is that it’s a short, albeit steep, one. Stretching only about half a kilometre, this trail should only take you around 30 minutes to finish.
The route will take you on a climb to an incredible, glowing swimming hole—and yes, you can swim here. This pool is also known to be home to a few turtles during the warmer part of the year. If you’re keen to hang around for a while, you can set up on the sandy shore of the pool’s natural little beach. We suggest loading up beforehand on all the baked goods from Glenbrook’s famous Cafe 2773 for a picnic at this pitstop (card games are also a good idea).
It’s also worth checking out Mount Portal lookout while you’re in the area. This vantage point gives you an insane panoramic view of Glenbrook Gorge and the Nepean River (and note—it has a wheelchair-accessible path).
Have more time to spare? These are the 5 best places to road trip to in NSW.
Editor's note: The first version of this article featured an image of Jenolan Caves Blue Lake and has now been corrected.
Image credit: Gary Hayes via Flickr, Cafe 2773