Red Hands Cave Glenbrook is one of the best exhibits of Aboriginal artworks in the Blue Mountains. The vibrant layers of hand prints and stenciled hand prints are easy to see and are thought to be between 500 and 1600 years old. It’s also a nice and easy 1km return walk for young children to manage, accessed from Red Hands Cave carpark.

How To Get To
Red Hands Cave Glenbrook

Red Hands Cave can be accessed in a couple of ways. The longer, more challenging 8km loop walking track is a Grade 3 walk that takes a couple of hours to complete from the causeway at the start of Blue Mountains National Park in Glenbrook.

The easier and quicker 1km return walk starts from Red Hands Cave carpark but involves a dusty 13 kilometre drive along fire trails to get there.

If you’re driving into Glenbrook National Park,
the gates are open:

First Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April – 8.30 am to 7 pm;
Rest of the year – 8.30 am to 6 pm.

The 8km Return Loop Walking Track

Starting the walk to Red Hands Cave from the Jellybean Pool carpark is a great option to avoid the steep incline back to the main entrance gates on your return walk!

You can park for free outside of the entrance gates but if you park inside there is a fee to enter the National Park with your car ($8 currently in 2022). Find out more information about the 8km Red Hands Cave loop walking track here.

The Express 1km Return Walk From Red Hands Cave Carpark

The second (and best way for young children) to visit Red Hands Cave is via the short, family friendly track, which is an easy 500 metre (1km return) bush track.

You access this easy track from the Red Hands Cave carpark, which is located around 13km past the park entrance, along the unsealed Oaks trail and Red Hands trail.

This is the sign at the entrance to the Glenbrook area of Blue Mountains National Park.

There are a couple of signs along the way to tell you where to turn towards Red Hands Cave but it’s best to put the ‘Red Hands Cave carpark’ into your GPS while you still have phone reception in Glenbrook.

A good navigation app that works offline is always best when exploring out in the bush though.

This is the Red Hands Cave carpark with the track entrance on the left.

The 13km drive to Red Hands Cave carpark is unsealed.

The 1km return walk winds around from Red Hands Cave carpark to the cave. It does involve some stairs, so the walk is unfortunately not easily accessible for prams and wheelchairs.

After viewing the cave, kids might enjoy clambering over the large rocks. Supervise children closely, as they could fall or encounter a reptile soaking up the sun on a rock in the warmer months.

Families may like to sit and enjoy viewing or sketching the caves from the bench seat.

Red Hands Cave is a great spot to visit for homeschooling families as part of their Aboriginal Education program. If you would like more Aboriginal sites in the Blue Mountains you can read more here.

An Extension Walk From Red Hands Cave

The return walk to Red Hands Cave is wonderful in and of itself but if you wanted to walk further there are Aboriginal ax grinding grooves along the rocks on the Camp Fire Creek Circuit Track. We didn’t complete this extension of the walk so cannot tell you more about it (yet), but it’s on our ‘to do’ list!

About Red Hands Cave Glenbrook

It is believed that Aboriginal families belonging to the Darak tribe have lived in the Blue Mountains for at least 14,000 years. They sheltered in sandstone caves, collected food on their daily walks, made tools from rocks and told stories that were passed from generation to generation.

Red Hands Cave is said to have provided shelter for people of the Darak tribe. It gives us an opportunity to discover something about the way of life of the Darak tribe and the land in which they lived.

The handprints in Red Hands Cave were made by working with ochre, which is found either as coloured clay or rock that was crushed into a powder by a small grinding stone. Water was then added to make a paste. Animal fat was sometimes melted with the paste to help fix it to the cave wall.

The Aboriginal people wither dabbed a hand into the ochre mix and slapped it against the wall to make a hand print. Alternatively, they sprayed the ochre from their mouths onto and around their hand to make a stencil of their hand.

Children will enjoy counting how many hand prints and hand stencils they can find. Even though it is a shame that the handprints are covered by a metal fence, it is reassuring to know that this ancient historical site will be protected for many years to come.

Taking Care Of Red Hands Cave

We can all respect and protect this precious Aboriginal site for future generations by not attempting to touch the art or ax grooves. Red Hands Cave is thankfully protected by a sturdy metal cage.
We should also avoid using flash photography which, over time, affects the artwork.
There is no camping or fires allowed at Red Hands Cave.
Please take all of your rubbish with you.

Tips For Your Visit To
Red Hands Cave

Good to know: there is a pit toilet at the Red Hands Cave carpark.
Check out the kangaroos at dusk at Euroka Clearing while you are in Glenbrook area of Blue Mountains National Park. It is a 30 minute drive to Euroka Clearing from the Red Hands Cave carpark.
Bring a picnic to enjoy at Euroka Clearing or Jellybean Pool.
A 2 wheel drive can access Red Hands Cave carpark.
$8 per vehicle per day (current in 2022) applies at the Bruce Road entrance to the Glenbrook area. You can also pay for your visit via the Park’nPay app.
You may purchase an annual park pass here.
Be sure to visit Jellybean Pool while you are visiting Glenbrook National Park. Always supervise children very closely near water. Find out more about water safety at unpatrolled natural locations here.
When it rains a lot, the causeway can be flooded and closed so you cannot access Red Hands Cave in the case of heavy rain or after heavy rain.
Download the Emergency Plus app before you visit, it helps
emergency services locate you using your smartphone’s GPS. Please note there is limited mobile phone
reception in this park and you’ll need mobile reception to call Triple Zero (000).
Dogs and other pets are not allowed in this part of the Blue Mountains National Park.
The Woodford-Oaks fire trail is a popular mountain biking trail.
Keep an eye out for waratahs, flannel flowers, yellow tailed black cockatoos and little superb fairy wrens.
It’s best to bring a baby in a carrier rather than a pram as there are stairs on this family friendly bushwalk.

Blue Mountains Mums

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Red Hands Cave Glenbrook: An Easy 1km Return Walk For Families To View Ancient Aboriginal Artwork

Red Hands Cave Glenbrook: An Easy 1km Return Walk For Families To View Ancient Aboriginal Artwork

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