The Blue Mountains of NSW are a sensational place for bushwalking with kids. Immersing ourselves in this exquisite backyard of tracks and natural beauty is also one of the best ways to restore our mental and physical wellbeing.
Out of the hundreds of tracks to explore, we have selected a few of our favourite bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains that are easy enough for children just starting out in their bushwalk adventures.
Those who are planning any walks in the Blue Mountains should:
Follow all current weather advice. Plan only short walks, given conditions will be unpredictable. Follow current NPWS walking track alerts at https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/ and all Council walking track alerts at https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/walking-tracks.
There Is No ‘Child Safe’ Bushwalk.
Always Supervise Children Closely On All Bushwalks
Before you grab your little ones, backpacks, drink bottles and walking shoes (I recommend these waterproof hiking boots* after using them through a wide range of conditions), ensure that you check all of the relevant safety requirements for the particular track that you are walking.
Bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains are all different and require a different level of preparation. Please read our tips for keeping children safe on bushwalks. It’s a good idea to also download the NSW National Parks app and check out the Think before you TREK advice on the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Please use the quick links below to find your favourite bushwalk or scroll through to browse them all.
Lower Blue Mountains
Glenbrook Lagoon, Glenbrook
Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Marge’s & Elizabeth Lookout, Glenbrook
Jelly Bean Pool, Glenbrook
Fairy Dell, Springwood
Duck Hole Track, Glenbrook
Victory Track, Faulconbridge (currently under repair)
Jackson Park Track, Faulconbridge
Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook
Mid Blue Mountains
Waterfall Loop Track, South Lawson
Horseshoe Falls, Hazelbrook
Dantes Glen Walking Track Lawson
King’s Cave Linden
Upper Blue Mountains
Katoomba Falls Reserve Night-Lit Walk
Pool of Siloam, Leura
Darwins Walk, Wentworth Falls
Fairfax Heritage Track, Blackheath
The Gully, Katoomba
Minnehaha Falls Track, Katoomba
Mermaids Cave Walk, Blackheath
Wentworth Falls Lake Walk, Wentworth Falls
Leura Cascades
Coachwood Glen Nature Trail, Blackheath / Megalong Valley
Blue Mountains Region
Lithgow Glow Worm Tunnel Walking Track
Cox’s River Campground To Bowtells Suspension Bridge
Best Bushwalks for Kids in the Blue Mountains
Lower Blue Mountains
Glenbrook Lagoon, Glenbrook
The Glenbrook Lagoon Loop walk is an easy 45 minute introductory Lower Blue Mountains walk around the Glenbrook Lagoon. It is not really a ‘bushwalk’ but a pleasant, flat wetlands walk to do with children.
There are some lovely things to do and see along the way, including searching for fairy doors, playing on a tire swing and spotting rare wildlife on the lagoon. Discover this child friendly Blue Mountains walk if you are looking for a very easy and pleasant nature walk.
Birdwood Gully Springwood
Another one of our favourite bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains is the Birdwood Gully/ Madolin Glen track. It is a medium grade 2.6km bushwalk in Springwood that takes around 1 – 2 hours to complete. It is a sensational bushwalk for kids to explore and soak up the natural beauty of the Blue Mountains and discover incredible sights along the way.
From little bridges and waterfalls to massive sandstone overhangs, ferns carpeting the ground, huge grass trees, glow worm caves and running creeks – this track is paradise and will leave your most reluctant bushwalkers relishing in the sights in awe and wonder.
Birdwood Gully is definitely one of the favourite child friendly bushwalks in the Blue Mountains.
Marge’s & Elizabeth Lookout, Glenbrook
Marge’s and Elizabeth Lookouts are considered one of the most child friendly bushwalks in the Blue Mountains. We highly recommend this trail for beginner bushwalkers exploring the Blue Mountains for the first time. It is a relatively flat fire trail that takes you to two lovely lookouts over Penrith Valley and Sydney.
This area is also used by mountain bike riders because there are plenty of tracks (including a black diamond trail) off the main fire trail.
If you stick to the main fire trail you’ll come to a fork that will take you left to Marges Lookout or right to Elizabeth Lookout. Marges Lookout is 1.3km from the Knapsack Reserve car park and Elizabeth Lookout is 1.1km. This trail is easy enough to do with children of all ages.
Jelly Bean Pool, Glenbrook
Jellybean Pool is very popular with locals in the warmer months, with its sandy beaches, shady rock platforms and impressive sandstone boulders. It is a great swimming spot but the depth of the pool varies so always supervise your children.
Visiting Jellybean Pool is not a bushwalk, but rather, a lovely place within the National Park to visit with your family. There are plenty of tracks nearby (particularly to Red Hands Cave) that you can explore though if you would like to add a bushwalk to your visit.
Fairy Dell, Springwood
This easy-medium grade 800m walk only takes about 30 mins to an hour and is like something out of a rainforest fairy tale with its fern floor. It winds its way down the Magdala Gully through a shaded ferny paradise before ascending up to the beautiful Lawson Lookout for a sensational view across the valley.
The kids will enjoy exploring along the way on this mostly ground level walk. They might even find a bush shelter (or gunyah) to check out and a little waterfall. Towards the end of the walk, it will ascend up large steps to Lawson Lookout. The view is beautiful but supervise children closely up here as there are cliff edges around.
Duck Hole Track, Glenbrook
Duck Hole Track Glenbrook is a wonderful bushwalk for families that leads to Glenbrook Creek. There are so many surprises along the 4.5km return journey. You will discover amazing cliffs, ancient ferns, diverse landscapes, an aquamarine waterhole, a cave to explore, logs to balance and climb on, rocks to clamber over, trains to spot and so much more.
Enjoy exploring the beauty of the lower Blue Mountains on this wonderful family bushwalk in Glenbrook. You won’t be disappointed!
Victory Track, Faulconbridge (currently under repair)
Discover the Sir Henry Parkes Victory Track Faulconbridge. It is a stunning moderate Blue Mountains family friendly bushwalk that transports you into a new world beneath the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Descend into the rainforest undergrowth of Sassafras Gully on the Victory Track, starting on Sir Henry’s Parade in Faulconbridge.
Be pleasantly surprised by the wonders of nature on the Victory Track. Explore and soak up the tranquillity of this idyllic child friendly bushwalk in the lower Blue Mountains.
Jackson Park Track, Faulconbridge
Jackson Park Faulconbridge contains a small playground, picnic area and large natural bushland areas accessed by bushwalking tracks. It is a great spot to enjoy a bushwalk, picnic, park play and discover more about our former Prime Ministers at the nearby Corridor Of Oaks.
The Jackson Park track is a short and easy 650 metre loop track created by five times former NSW premier Sir Henry Parkes. It is a lovely family and dog (on leash) friendly track with plenty of native plants to explore and wildlife to spot.
Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook
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.
Middle Blue Mountains
Waterfall Loop Track, South Lawson
The Five Waterfalls Track in South Lawson is one of our favourite and most picturesque bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains. This track is an easy-medium grade 3km track that takes around 1.5 – 2 hours. There’s a 125m ascent so plan to take breaks at each of the five beautiful waterfalls.
On a warm day, children – and dogs! – can enjoy playing on the peaceful beach areas and there is usually ample water to splash in (if we are not in a season of drought).
There is an abundance of flora and fauna to explore. So bring your picnic and get your camera ready for the exquisite beauty of this luscious trail. This is one of the most highly recommended child (and dog) friendly bushwalks in the Blue Mountains.
Horseshoe Falls, Hazelbrook
This is another one of those bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains that your children will love! It is a short and picturesque walk that presents you and your family with gorgeous waterfalls amidst a Blue Mountains wonderland.
There are four waterfalls to explore along this track but you can choose to turn around after any of them, depending on the age and stamina of your children. This walk is best after rainfall but extra adventurous with the mud along the track! Be sure to check out this child friendly walk in the Blue Mountains!
Dantes Glen Walking Track Lawson
Dantes Glen Walking Track Lawson is such a wonderful family friendly walking track and location for bush play in the mid Blue Mountains. It is a moderate 2.1km return ‘there and back’ track with an elevation of 78 metres. Pack a picnic and enjoy this beautiful rainforest oasis with your children and dog, all with a stunning waterfall backdrop.
King’s Cave Linden
A walk to King’s Cave Linden is perfect if you are after a short family walk, if you like to learn about Australian history or if you simply need to stretch your legs as you pass through the Blue Mountains.
King’s Cave is a magnificent ancient cave just off the highway in Linden. It is an easy (approx.) 400 metre ‘there and back’ return walk and the kids will love it!
Upper Blue Mountains
Katoomba Falls Reserve Night Lit Walk
Katoomba Falls Reserve Night Lit Walk in the Blue Mountains National Park is a stunning experience attracting visitors to the region. It is a sensational 1.3km track that illuminates natural features including, Orphan Rock, Witches Leap, Katoomba Falls and Katoomba Cascades.
At certain vantage points, you may also see the Three Sisters lit up. If you are looking for a unique date night, a fun nighttime family adventure or just to simply breathe in the fresh upper Blue Mountains air, head to Katoomba for this amazing new bushwalk.
Pool of Siloam, Leura
The Pool of Siloam is a tranquil waterhole and waterfall that starts at Gordon Falls Reserve, Leura, in the upper Blue Mountains. Here, you will find artificial cave and picnic areas, car parking, play equipment, toilets and electric barbeques.
The Pool of Siloam is a gorgeous spot to take your family. There is a lovely waterfall, surrounded by a moss and fern-filled gully, with majestic sandstone cliffs. The shallow, sandy pool is the ultimate outdoor playground for children to play, explore, splash, skim stones across the water, step across the picturesque sandstone steps and truly enjoy exploring nature in a fairy tale Blue Mountains setting.
It takes around half an hour to complete the approximately 450 metre round trip. Allow time for your kids to enjoy time playing in the gully. This is a beautiful spot for families to discover together and is a quick walk that you can squeeze into your day trip to the Blue Mountains National Park.
Darwins Walk, Wentworth Falls – Stage One Now Open!
This is an easy, ideal child friendly bushwalk in the Blue Mountains, suitable for all ages. It leads from Wentworth Falls Train Station, following Jamieson Creek, all the way to the top of Wentworth Falls.
You will encounter a variety of bridges, waterholes and boardwalks along the way and dogs on leashes are allowed on the route as far as waypoint 4. It is a well maintained, scenic walk with various lookouts and smaller waterfalls to view along the way too.
Fairfax Heritage Track, Blackheath
The Fairfax Heritage Track Blackheath is the most pram friendly and wheelchair accessible track in the Blue Mountains. The path is tarred, smooth and not overly undulating. If you want a combination of spectacular views, family-friendly and diverse vegetation to explore, then this is the walk for you. It is a wonderful child friendly Blue Mountains bushwalk!
The Gully / Catalina Park and Old Raceway
Whilst The Gully, also known as Catalina Park, is one of the most child friendly places for a walk or bike ride in the Blue Mountains. It may not technically be considered a ‘bushwalk’, it is worth mentioning as a great spot to take the family for a mix of quiet bushland, a sealed walkway and bike path, and a loop track for walks and running.
The Gully is a disused racing track that is now used for recreational purposes. It is a loop track that is just over 2km and more suitable for children who can manage walking or cycling hills and navigating bark and other types of leaf litter on the track.
Minnehaha Falls Track, Katoomba
Minnehaha Falls Track Katoomba (also known as Minni Ha Ha Falls) is a beautiful bushwalk in the upper Blue Mountains National Park that leads you 1.2km along Yosemite Creek to a majestic waterfall and an ancient swimming hole. The easy-moderate return walk is around 2.4km and takes about 40 – 90 minutes to complete, depending on your pace.
Mermaids Cave Walk Blackheath
Mermaids Cave Walk Blackheath is a short and spectacular Blue Mountains hidden gem. Just off Megalong Valley Road in Blackheath, you will discover a 100 metre walk and just over 130 steps down into the most incredible sandstone caves that tower above you. There is even a lovely waterfall that makes the experience even more surreal.
The tranquillity and awesomeness of this walk make it an essential stop if you are passing through Blackheath in the upper Blue Mountains.
Wentworth Falls Lake Walk
The Wentworth Falls Lake walk is a beautiful, easy 3.5km around the lake and takes around 1.5 to 2 hours to complete. Find a little beach and a large variety of native flora along the way.
Whilst this is not technically considered a bushwalk (although there certainly are bushy parts to the walk) it is a lovely child friendly Blue Mountains walk for families.
Leura Cascades
Leura Cascades Round Walk is a very pretty walk that is perfect for families. It is set in the lovely town of Leura in the upper Blue Mountains and is a short (about 1km) and scenic walk set in a watery wonderland. Allow between 30 minutes to one hour to enjoy this beautiful and easy to moderate track.
Coachwood Glen Nature Trail
Coachwood Glen Nature Trail is an easy 600 metre circuit track set in the cool, dark rainforest of the Megalong Valley. Children will enjoy this fascinating walk 15 minute walk as they explore the incredible vines that climb and twist up artistically into the rainforest canopy, investigating a variety of colourful fungi, rock hopping across the creek and lyrebird spotting.
Blue Mountains Region Bushwalks
Lithgow Glow Worm Tunnel
The Lithgow Glow Worm Tunnel is extraordinary! It is a one of a kind experience for the whole family and the kids will love it! Situated on Wiradjuri Country in Wollemi National Park in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, this former railway tunnel is now a haven for bioluminescent glow worms. The walk is a moderate flat walk with gentle hills and around 80 stairs. This is a must do experience!
Cox’s River Campground To Bowtells Suspension Bridge (new bridge currently under construction June 2024)
This is a wonderful bushwalk! To complete the easy 3km return walk from Cox’s River Campground to Bowtells Suspension Bridge, you will need an all wheel drive. The walk begins from Cox’s River Campground.
Children aged about 8 years and older might be okay to cross the bridge by themselves. Crossing the bridge is not recommended for young children.
We hope that you find this list of bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains helpful and that you love exploring the beauty that the Blue Mountains have to offer.
Thank You
Special thanks go to the Stronger Families Alliance in partnership with the Blue Mountains City Council for creating the Bushtrackers Guides and Maps. These are an excellent resource for families to teach children how to safely enjoy bushwalks for kids in the Blue Mountains.
After Heavy Rain
AFTER HEAVY RAIN, SOME BUSHWALKS CLOSE DUE TO FLOODING OR OTHER SAFETY ISSUES. PLEASE CHECK THE NATIONAL PARKS WEBSITE FOR ALL SAFETY ALERTS IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OR CONTACT THE NATIONAL PARKS CONTACT CENTRE FOR MORE INFORMATION – OPEN 7am to 7pm daily; PH: 1300072757 (13000 PARKS) for the cost of a local call within Australia excluding mobiles; E: parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au
More from Blue Mountains Mums
Join our Blue Mountains Mums Local Facebook Group to connect with other local Blue Mountains Mums.
Follow us on Facebook to stay in the loop with what’s on for families in the Blue Mountains.
‘Pick your own fruit’ farms and orchards welcome families to visit throughout the year. This is a lovely activity to do on a weekend with the kids.
Check out what markets are on this weekend in the Blue Mountains in our Markets Guide.
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