Last updated: December 19, 2023
The Birdwood Gully Round Walk is an easy to moderately challenging bushwalking trail in the Springwood area of the Blue Mountains.
This family-friendly walking trail follows Springwood Creek through beautiful scenery that includes caves, cliff overhangs, small footbridges, large trees, and so much more.
In this article, we will share the highlights of this walk, explain how best to get there, and offer suggestions on other things to do nearby.
| Birdwood Gully Round Walk: | |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 2.6 km (circuit) |
| Time: | 1.5 hours |
| Grade: | Easy / moderate (uneven surfaces) |
| Dogs: | On a lead |
How to Get There
The Birdwood Gully Walk is located in the suburb of Springwood in the lower Blue Mountains.
Because this is a loop walk, there are various entry and exit points, but the most logical spot to start this walk is at the Bednal Rd and Lucinda Ave intersection (see map location).
The entrance to the walking path can be found next to 38 Lucinda Ave and is signposted. Since this is a quiet area in the Blue Mountains, there should be space to park your car alongside the road.
Public transport is also an option. From Springwood Station, it’s only a short walk to get to Bednal Rd.
Map
Below is a little map of the Birdwood Gully Walk.
As mentioned, the best spot to park your car and start the walk is at the Bednal Rd and Lucinda Ave intersection, marked with A.
Birdwood Gully Track Notes
We rate the Birdwood Gully Walk as an easy to moderately challenging bushwalk. It’s a relatively short walk, but the path can be quite rough at times, and there are also some steep sections. We recommend wearing good hiking shoes to handle the steps and uneven surfaces better.
Also worth mentioning is that the Birdwood Gully Round Walk is one of the few dog-friendly walks in the Blue Mountains, so feel free to bring your four-legged friend along.
Start of the Walk
Once you’ve parked your car, it’s time to start hiking.
Look for the Birdwood Gully Round Walk signpost next to 38 Lucinda Ave, and follow the path heading into the bush.
From there, the trail descends quickly via a long series of carved stone steps. It’s best to keep your eyes focused on those steps because they are quite uneven and sometimes a bit slippery.
As you head further down towards the gully, you can see and feel the landscape evolving into a rainforest-type environment with many ferns.
The scenery becomes even prettier when the trail meets the creek, which you’ll be crossing a few times via small bridges.
Cave
One of the highlights of the Birdwood Gully Walk is the large cave that the trail passes through. Colonies of glow worms call that cave their home.
You won’t easily see those glow worms in the daytime, but come back at nighttime (bring a torch), and you will most likely see them.
If you do decide to go back at nighttime, once you arrive at that cave, turn off all your light sources, and the worms will likely start to light up.
There are more overhangs and cave structures further into the trail where you may also be able to encounter glow worms.
Cliff Overhangs
From that first cave, the walking track continues through a pleasantly lush rainforest landscape with several creek crossings.
After crossing the small bridge where Springwood Creek and Elkington Creek meet, the walking track slowly climbs to higher ground.
This is a beautiful section of the walk where you’ll see large cliff overhangs, located parallel to Boland Avenue further up.
End of the Walk
From those cliff overhangs, the trail continues along the creek with one more small footbridge to cross before arriving at Bednal Road.
From there, continue hiking alongside the road for another 400 metres to return to the starting point of the Birdwood Gully Walk.
Be mindful of traffic that is coming down this winding section of Bednal Road, as cars may be going a little fast at times.
Nearby things to do:
