Jingga and Minerva Pools are two of the best wild swimming spots close to Sydney and it’s easy to visit both in a morning or afternoon. We’d been meaning to visit for so long and they were definitely worth the wait! Both are stunning deep water pools which are huge and perfect for a proper swim. They are nestled within rocky cliffs and surrounded by pretty bushland which gives you the feeling of being far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
There’s a third pool too, which is smaller but great if you happen to visit on a busy weekend and you’re looking for seclusion.
Minerva Pool is a sacred Aboriginal site and is for women and children only. There is no need to swim here if you’re male as the fabulous Jingga Pool is so close by.
Here’s what to expect from both pools, as well as the third less well known swimming hole.
How the pools connect
The walks to all three swimming holes branch off the same initial fire trail (you can see the individual trails on the map below). Jingga and Minerva Pools only share the same 150m of track, so if you walk them both it will be roughly 6.6km. The third swimming spot, the Weir, is a 1km detour from the Minerva Track.
The walk to Minerva Pool
The walk to Minerva Pool is 3.4km return from the car park to the base of the pool. After leaving the car park, you’ll walk along a paved road before reaching the junction for Minerva Pool just 150m into the walk.
You’ll head onto a more narrow bush track and begin descending towards the pool.
It’s not steep and the path is well maintained, but can be rocky in parts. It’s a pretty enough track but as with Jingga too, you are definitely doing the walk to get to the pools.
Roughly 450m from the junction you’ll head left and cross over another fire trail, which is well signposted.
You’ll have 750m more along a slightly rougher (but by no means difficult) bush track before you reach another section, left takes you to a lookout over the pool, and right heads to the pool itself.
The detour to the lookout is just 50m long and it’s worth going to check out where you’ll be swimming from above.
Minerva Pool from the lookout
The Minerva Pool Lookout
Back at the junction and it’s just 250m until you reach the top of the pool. The final descent to the rock ledge above the pool is the roughest part of the track, but it’s very short and nothing too difficult as long as your shoes have a bit of grip.
On the way back, you will mainly be going uphill, and though it’s not steep, you will feel that you’re climbing a bit.
Swimming at Minerva Pool
To enter the water, you need to walk along the rock ledge to the left of the pool. In dry weather the rock is grippy, and although it gets slightly sloped and narrow, it isn’t slippery.
You’ll see the rocks that go down into the water and there’s a huge rock just above where you can leave your clothes etc behind.
This is also a great spot to lay down in the sunshine or read a book if you’re in a mixed group or couple.
Please remember that men need to head over to Jingga Pool for a dip - it’s hardly a consolation prize, so no one is hard done by!
Getting into the water isn’t too difficult either, you can feel the submerged rocks when you’re sat down on the edge and you can stand on them and then slide in.
The water is cool but incredibly refreshing and the pool is so big that you can have a real swim, rather than at some waterholes where it is more of a plunge pool.
The little waterfall cascading into the pool and the surrounding bushland gives such a wonderful wild feeling to the experience.
Whilst there are a few submerged rocks in the water, none were high enough that I ever scraped over one (not even close) so it was really relaxing. As relaxing as a swimming pool, but so much better as you’re surrounded by such beautiful nature.
It’s definitely one of my favourite swimming spots close to Sydney, and I lucked out by getting the whole pool to myself which was pretty magical.
The Weir - the hidden swimming spot
It makes sense to visit the less visited swimming spot (the Weir) after checking out Minerva because it branches off the first fire trail you’ll come to on the walk back. From Minerva it’s a right turn along the fire trail (un-signposted).
From here it’s just a 500m detour (1km return) to get there. It’s along fire trail all the way and the track is in good condition.
It does head downhill, but it’s not overly steep, so even climbing back up again afterwards is pretty quick and easy. Just watch out for webs along this stretch, as it’s less walked you might encounter a few so it’s worth grabbing a stick early on.
Once you get to the gate you are just a couple of minutes away. The little swimming hole is off to the left and it’s such a pretty spot.
The only thing that makes it a little less appealing is that it is directly off the fire trail, with a dam a little way in front of it.
It detracts a bit from the otherwise lovely natural scene. Having said that, if the other pools were busy I would still much rather swim here in seclusion.
The Jingga Track
The total length of the Jingga Track from the car park is 3.4km return. Starting from the junction with Minerva Pool (150m from the car park) you’ll continue straight along the wide, flat fire trail for another 300m. You’ll reach a sign post for the Jingga Track on your right and initially the path is in good condition.
After a few hundred metres you have a short section of track which is very steep. It’s a wide rocky fire trail, and in dry weather I didn’t find it slippery (in hiking boots) but you will need to watch your footing. I just hopped along the bigger rocks as much as possible to avoid any of the small stones which might have been a little slippery.
When I first saw it, I thought it was going to be a bit of a nightmare, so I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t.
The steep part of the path only lasts for 600m. After that you’ll continue descending a little, but so gradually that you don’t need to watch your feet anymore and it feels easy. Some parts are totally flat, and as the path narrows it becomes a lot prettier too.
From that right hand turn off the main fire trail and onto the Jingga Track, it’s just 1.2km before you’ll come to the rocky platform above the pool.
When you climb back up, it’s only that 600m steep stretch that puffs you out, the rest is nice and gradual.
Jingga Pool
It’s a really tough call, but I think I liked Jingga Pool even more than Minerva! It’s absolutely huge and also has a stunning bush setting, with not one, but two waterfalls which flow into it (the second can only be seen from inside the pool at the base of the main waterfall). It truly is a sublime swimming spot.
We happened to be visiting during golden hour and the light only added to the already amazing scene.
There are two ways to get into the water. Don’t make the same mistake we did and follow the track to the left over all the huge boulders. You do reach a pool but it’s really shallow and you can’t connect back to Jingga Pool without scaling some boulders in the water.
Instead look out for the rocks that head down towards the water, quite early on, on the left-hand side. You have two rocks to climb down before you’re in the water and there are submerged rocks to stand on as you get in.
It’s relatively easy to get in, and a tad more slippery getting out when your feet are wet, but it’s not too difficult.
If that doesn’t look like the route for you, your other option is to cross over the pool at the top (over where the waterfall tumbles down).
There is a path that will take you a little way along the right side of the pool and then very gradually down into the water. This is the easiest route in terms of getting into the pool, but it’s slightly longer.
Once you’re in, you’re in swimming heaven. The water is deep almost immediately. I didn’t encounter any annoying submerged rocks and the whole pool is pure bliss. You can have a massage under the waterfall and basically explore to your heart’s content.
I had one of those moments where I looked around me and felt so grateful to live somewhere where something this beautiful is so accessible. Sydney really is a special city.
Getting to Jingga and Minerva Pools
Jingga and Minerva Pool are located in Dharawal National Park, just over 70km south of Sydney. It takes just over an hour to drive there.
There aren’t a huge number of official car parking spaces, but the ones that are there are free and unlimited.
Facilities at Jingga and Minerva Pools
It doesn’t actually tell you on the map at the car park but there is a toilet, it’s just beyond the start of the fire trail, beside the picnic area. It’s a pit toilet but very clean, at least when we visited! There are no facilities at the pools.
Please take all rubbish with you and keep these places beautiful for everyone to enjoy.
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