Popes Glen Walk
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While staying at the
Blackheath Glen Tourist Park , I was excited to discover that on it's doorstep, there is a walking track through the forest, leading to the Blue Mountain's National Park and some of
Blackheath's most stunning lookouts .
Being a fan of bush walking and having planned to head over to the Lookouts anyway, it seemed like I had happened upon the best combination of accommodation, scenic route and destination!
If you aren't staying in the immediate area, however, you will need to make your way to Prince Edward drive, close to Blackheath Memorial Park. Find a parking spot there, or walk the 10 minutes from the Blackheath shops. Once at the park you will see numerous signs guiding you to the entrance of the Pope's Glen Track. The whole walk from the beginning of the trail up until Govetts Leap takes a little over 1.5 hours at an average pace.
The walk begins as a scrubby trail, gradually descending. It is an unsealed narrow dirt path, perfectly easy to traverse when it's dry, but less so during wet weather.
There is enough varying flora on the sides of the trail to keep the walk interesting and you can lookout for some of the
bird species that have been spotted nearby : yellow robins, eastern spine bills, white-throated tree creepers and satin bower birds.
The walk is mostly downhill until you come to the Popes Glen Creek which the path follows and intersects for some time. Because it is so damp beside the creek there are a lot of different types of ferns to be seen.
At this point the trail divides - with one arm leading to the Pulpit Rock Lookout, and the other to the Govetts Leap Lookout. If you take the Govetts Leap route, as I did, the trail will begin to ascend quickly before opening out into a view of the beautiful Grose Valley.
A series of miniature lookouts dot the steepening path. As you walk higher you are able to peer down again at the lookout platforms you were just on. Every platform juts out over the lip of the cliff, each giving a slightly different - but equally amazing - view of the forest floor beneath.
The walk culminates at the Govetts Leap Lookout and there are seats and quaint picnic shelters for you to have your lunch at.
After lunch you can walk back the way you came, or head back to your car via Govetts Leap road. If you choose this route, be sure to stop in at the
Blue Mountains Heritage Centre and check out the informative displays they have there.
For a more ambitious days walking there is also the option to loop back from Govett's Leap Lookout via the
Braeside walk which exits near Cleopatra Street. From there it is then a 20-minute walk to Blackheath Memorial Park, or a 30-minute walk to the Blackheath shops.
#outdoor
#natural_attractions
#national_parks
#free
#blue_mountains
#walks
%wnsydney
131170 - 2023-06-13 07:33:16