It’s hard to believe that a place that feels this wild lies so close to Sydney, and is so easy to access. Walking in-between the towering gorge walls and then stopping for a dip off one of the sandy beaches has to be one of the most underrated experiences in the Blue Mountains!
On a warm sunny day Jellybean Pool will be heaving, when Glenbrook Gorge next door is completely empty! It’s a wonderful place to while away an afternoon in complete peace and serenity.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Glenbrook Gorge.
The Glenbrook Gorge Walk
The Stats
Distance: 1.6km each way (you can continue further if desired)
Elevation gained: 120m
Difficulty: Easy, but some slightly rough patches
Trailhead: Gorge Walking Track, Glenbrook
To reach Glenbrook Gorge it’s a short, but steep walk downhill, and within 15 minutes you’ll be in the gorge. The path to the gorge is all on well maintained steps, but after that it’s an off track adventure.
The further you go, the harder it gets (especially if recent rain has brought the water level up). Reaching the pools you can see in our photos does require a bit of rock hopping and there is also some debris to negotiate.
The walk down to the gorge
You start the walk from the first car park beyond the entry gate and head left along the paved road. After 50m you’ll see the sign for the gorge and the trail takes you immediately into the bush.
You begin heading downhill on a series of staircases until you reach the river 600m later. The path is in good condition to this point and it’s easy to get down.
However from the moment you get down to the river the path deteriorates and the severe floods of 2020 have left some debris along the trail.
If you don’t fancy hiking through the debris, which requires a little bush-bashing, you can walk along the rocky platform by the cliff for a few hundred metres and stop there.
You’ll still be in a fabulous part of the gorge. However, we highly recommend pushing on just a little further if you can!
Continuing on, the ‘trail’ does have some erosion and large debris which makes it a case of picking your way through along the path of least resistance.
I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but it’s fairly slow going and you do have to watch your footing.
We carried on along the ‘trail’ until we’d been walking for 1.3km. At this point we found a wonderful spot in one of the most dramatic parts of the gorge.
The section of river between the huge boulders and cascades made for an incredible place to relax in the water. Access was straight off the sandy beach making it so easy to get in without having to worry about any slippery rocks. However, whilst it’s spectacular, it’s not the best for actual swimming as there isn’t too much space between the boulders.
The pool beyond
If you’re up for walking further and want to visit a bigger swimming hole (the best we’ve found yet for a proper swim) you can carry on for another 250m.
The going is slow, but still relatively easy, hopping up and over the rocks and boulders along the route that looks easiest to you.
The scenery is stunning, and though slightly less dramatic than the first spot as you don’t have the huge boulders, the pool is much bigger and more suitable for swimming.
This pool (coordinates -33.7805925, 150.6307702) is much larger and deeper, and as we visited when the creek was quite low, the water was a shimmering emerald, not dissimilar to Royal National Park's Karloo Pool.
Swimming at Glenbrook Gorge pool two
Swimming in the gorge is glorious and it’s one of those rare spots you can visit on a sunny Saturday and still get it all to yourself!
Entry to the water is easy as you can just walk off the bank and straight into the sandy bottomed shallows. It's soon deep enough to swim off. The are a few rocks in the water at either end of the pool, but much of it is completely unobstructed and perfect for a leisurely swim.
You are surrounded by those glorious cliff walls and the scenery was so majestic, we couldn’t believe we were the only ones there! And as with the water further down the creek, relatively warm even in spring time.
When it comes to swimming in the gorge, It’s worth noting that when the creek is low, the water is as still as a millpond, but when it’s higher there can be strong currents. There are quite a few rapids at various points along the creek, so you’ll want to avoid those and choose a nice secluded area without fast running water.
Even if there’s a strong current and you can’t go for a proper swim, there is always plenty of room for a good plunge near the river banks where you can be fully submerged, but not have to go out of your depth.
The final pool
In terms of other spots along the gorge, we did continue to the next pool - Joe by rock hopping along the side of the creek on the left and me by swimming and traversing the rock walls on the right (both routes are easy enough). It’s about 150m away.
It's another beauty to look at, but much like the 'Look but don't touch pool' on Capertee River, the bottom of the pool is muddy and it dislodges and surrounds you when you try and swim.
Definitely not ideal and we turned around at this point.
Technically you can carry on up through the gorge all the way to the Nepean River - which we’d done years before - but the conditions aren’t as good as they used to be.
If you are up for it, it will no doubt be a fab adventure and offer even more great swimming opportunities. Walking further is generally easier when the water levels are lower.
The walk back up from the gorge
You’ll probably find the walk back towards the staircases easier than when you came in.
The eroded sections feel more stable going up than down and you also know which route to use through the boulders.
The staircases are fairly steep going back up to the car park, but it doesn’t take long, and it’s so worth it!
If you love Glenbrook Gorge and are looking for your next secluded swimming spot, try Erskine Creek. It’s another amazing pool and just down the road from Glenbrook Gorge.
Getting to Glenbrook Gorge
Glenbrook Gorge shares the same car park as Jellybean Pool. It’s just under an hour from Sydney. You will need to pay the $8 per day national parks parking fee if you use this car park. If you plan on visiting several NSW parks in a year, you will be better off buying the $65 annual park pass, which covers all the NSW parks except for Kosciuszko.
Alternatively you can park just outside the fee zone for free if you don’t mind walking a little further.
It is possible to get to Glenbrook Gorge by train and that’s how we did it the first time we ever visited. You need to to take the train to Glenbrook Station, from Central Station it takes 1 hour 10 minutes and is direct.
You then walk for approximately 1.5km to get to the car park. Be warned though - the walk from the train station is steep. It may seem ok going downhill at the start, but it’s a hefty hill back up once you’ve visited the gorge!
Glenbrook Gorge opening times
Unfortunately if you want to use the closest car park to the gorge you will have to drive through the gate which gets locked each day.
From the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April the park gates are open between 8.30am and 7pm. During the rest of the year the park gates are open between 8.30am and 6pm.
If you come by public transport or park outside the gate you can visit the gorge at any time.
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