The Katoomba Cascades form a small but beautiful water spectacle on the Kedumba River in the Katoomba area of the Blue Mountains.
Two short walking trails, starting from the cascades, lead to two different lookouts from where visitors can soak in fantastic views of the Jamison Valley.
Getting There
The Katoomba Cascades area has a (paid) car park along Cliff Drive at the large grassy area with picnic tables (see map location).
If you’re driving in from the Katoomba town centre, turn into Katoomba Falls Rd from Katoomba Street, followed by a left turn into Cliff Dr, where the car park is. If that is full, try Katoomba Falls Reserve (free) further west on Cliff Dr.
Do note, though, that this is a popular area in the Blue Mountains, and finding a parking spot on the weekends can often be challenging.
About the Katoomba Cascades
The picnic area just north of the cascades is conveniently located between Scenic World and Echo Point in Katoomba.
A small viewing platform at the picnic area right above the top of the cascades offers scenic views of the waterfall and the area below.
To go and see the water spectacle from close by, simply follow the walking path and the set of stairs going down.
Katoomba Cascades is a small waterfall on the Kedumba River, a 20km long perennial river which rises at Lake Catalina in Katoomba.
This river starts as a small creek flowing through parkland west of the Katoomba town centre before it drops into the Jamison Valley via Katoomba Falls, one of the most impressive waterfalls in the Blue Mountains.
The river flows through the Jamison and Kedumba valleys and ultimately joins Coxs River, which in turn feeds into Lake Burragorang, created by Warragamba Dam.
From the cascades, you can follow the walking path along the creek to the point where the river drops into the valley.
An open area, with a bench and space to walk around, right in front of the cascades, offers fantastic views of the water spectacle.
Just remember that it can get busy there on the weekends, so for the best experience, it’s recommended to get there early in the morning.
A small footbridge in front of the waterfall offers fantastic views of the cascades and the creek on the other side.
Nearby Lookouts
Two short walking tracks, starting from the Katoomba Cascades, lead to two different lookout points that both offer fantastic Jamison Valley views.
Both these walking tracks form part of the iconic Prince Henry Cliff Walk and the much shorter Reids Plateau to Echo Point walking trail.
We highly recommend visiting these two lookouts after exploring the cascades, as not only are the views fantastic, but the two walking trails to get to them are also very enjoyable.
In the map below, we have marked the cascades and the two lookouts as follows:
A: Katoomba Cascades
B: Duke & Duchess of York Lookout
C: Cliff View Lookout
1. Duke & Duchess of York Lookout
The first lookout, the Duke & Duchess of York Lookout, can be easily accessed via the short walking path directly from the cascades.
It’s a very easy-to-follow path (approximately 200 metres long) parallel to the creek through beautiful natural scenery.
Once you arrive at the lookout, the valley opens up right in front of you, with incredible views across the valley to Mount Solitary, Ruined Castle, and the Narrow Neck plateau.
Katoomba Falls is somewhere below that lookout, but the waterfall isn’t visible. The panoramic valley views, however, more than compensate for that.
2. Cliff View Lookout
The Cliff View Lookout is perhaps even more impressive than the Duke & Duchess of York Lookout, although the views are pretty similar.
To get to this lookout point, leave the Katoomba Cascades area and look for the Prince Henry Cliff Walk and Cliff View Lookout sign on Cliff Dr.
This is an easy, 250-metre long, wheelchair-friendly walking path that also passes the Scenic World Skyway East Station.
And that means you can see the Skyway cable car flying right above you as you make your way to the Cliff View Lookout.
From the Cliff View Lookout, the Prince Henry Cliff Walk continues eastbound towards Echo Point and the Three Sisters, with a few smaller lookout points to explore along the way.
