The swimming hole at Googong Cascades is surrounded by steep granite rocks which wouldn’t look out of place in Kosciuszko National Park. It’s the sort of place we’d normally hike for hours to reach, yet here it is just outside Canberra and only a five minute walk! The water is clean and clear and somehow despite visiting in the Christmas holidays, we were the only ones there!
It’s definitely one of the best swimming spots in Canberra and a must visit on a hot summer’s day.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Googong Cascades.
The walk to Googong Cascades
The stats
Distance: 310m each way (extra 60m for the lookout)
Elevation gain: 40m
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Cascades Parking Area, Googong Dam
The walk
From the car park (full details below) the walk heads downhill on the narrow gravel path and comes out at an old parking area 150m later (a gate now prevents you parking here).
You’ll head right, along the car park and see a sign post for ‘river access’. Follow this path which will fork at the 200m mark. Going right will take you to a lookout above the cascades.
It’s only a 30m detour (each way) to reach the viewpoint and it’s well worth taking a look as it offers the best view over the gorge and waterfall.
After checking out the lookout you return to the junction and head left, following the trail downhill.
There are some stone steps followed by a metal staircase and then a very short rocky section just before you reach the swimming hole.
The Googong Cascades swimming hole
The swimming hole is fantastic and definitely my favourite of the ones we’ve visited in Canberra so far. There’s a huge amount of space for swimming and the water is calm, as long as the water level is not too high.
It’s really clear and whilst not the prettiest colour from outside the pool, when inside, it’s a very dark bluey green, which is lovely.
Accessing the pool is easy as the stony riverbank slopes gently down to the water. It’s shallow at first and then quickly deep enough to swim.
I was expecting it to be freezing as the sign post mentions ‘very cold water’ however, it was similar to my favourite spots in the Blue Mountains and actually not that cold at all (this was in early January!).
You can swim in the main part of the pool and then up between the granite walls to a small cascade. There’s a second smaller pool and waterfall above, but I couldn’t access it, as it involved climbing up a slippery cascade which felt like it was an accident waiting to happen.
It wasn’t too disappointing though as there’s plenty of room to swim in the main pool and the narrow channel between the rock walls. I didn’t encounter any rocks or debris in the water, so it was a really relaxing swim.
It was hard to believe how easy it was to reach and yet there was no one else there!
Note that you can only swim in the area mentioned above, not at the nearby dam, which is a water catchment zone. The signage is really clear so you can’t go wrong on that front.
The Googong Cascades picnic area
If you want to make a bit more of a day of it, you can drive a little further down the road to the picnic area. There are lots of little individual picnic tables (with shade), with lovely bush views and a real air of seclusion as they are all quite separate from each other. It’s a lovely spot and there are also toilets available here.
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the area, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Where to park for the Googong Cascades
There is a small car park beside a building and a transformer (it was signposted as the Cascades car park) which you can find here on Google maps. The toilet and picnic area is a little further down the road with its own separate parking area. It’s around 30km and a 30 minute drive from Canberra and a 12km, 15 minute drive from Queanbeyan.
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