The Blue Gum Loop is one of the best easy walks in Barrington Tops. The rainforest is stunning, with towering Strangler figs, masses of hanging vines, delicate Birds-nest ferns and plenty of majestic blue gums dotted amongst all the greenery. It’s the perfect spot for forest bathing - the only thing that may pull you out of your reverie is the eerie call of the resident catbirds.
But the Blue Gum Loop is more than just a forest walk, there are also endless opportunities for wild swimming in the pristine pools and river.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Blue Gum Loop and how to find the un-signposted swimming holes.
The Blue Gum Loop Trail
The stats
Distance: 4.25km loop (including all side trails)
Elevation gain: 130m
Difficulty: Easy
Summary: The Blue Gum Loop walk is all on a well maintained path, with nothing in the way of tricky terrain. There are a few hilly sections, but plenty of flat track inbetween. We visited after a lot of rain and the track held up very well, with barely any mud, however, I imagine in winter you might encounter a little more.
If you fancy a longer walk you could continue to Rocky Crossing from the Blue Gum Loop, though this does add on an additional 12km (it’s well worth it if you love forest walks though).
Starting the trail
The trail begins at the Williams River Picnic Area. We walked anti-clockwise, which is what we’d recommend so that you can finish your walk with a swim.
The walk begins on a concrete path, but don’t be put off because it doesn’t last long before it’s a natural dirt track that blends in with the scenery.
After a 250m leisurely stroll you’ll reach a bridge over the river and this marks the end of the paved section. The water is crystal clear and the rock walls really add to the scene.
This is a popular swimming spot and quite glorious, but we personally chose to swim in a couple of spots further along the trail, as this was literally the only place we saw people!
For reference this was a 31C Saturday in February, you’d probably get it to yourself mid week or on cooler days.
Through the rainforest
The next 300m are all uphill, but it’s gentle. From here the track begins to undulate, but it’s never steep. The rainforest is now much denser and dotted with lots of majestic Sydney blue gums.
There isn’t a blue gum grove here as such, like you’ll find at Acacia Flat in the Blue Mountains but they are scattered throughout the trail, adding pops of white amongst all the green.
After continuing a little further through the forest you’ll cross the creek on a metal bridge, passing a set of pretty cascades, though much grander ones lie further along the trail.
Birdlife is everywhere along the trail and we saw several vocal lyrebirds, as well as a catbird and countless others that we weren’t able to identify.
The good trail conditions and easy gradient make it a really relaxing stroll and apart from ducking under the odd vine, it’s smooth sailing.
At around the 1.6km mark is the only point we encountered any mud and it was around three steps and easy to avoid, however, I imagine during colder, wetter times this bit could get a bit muddier.
Exploring Fern tree creek
After just over 1.8km you’ll come to a junction and can make a short detour to Fern tree creek. It’s marked as a picnic area, though the picnic bench is currently in a sorry state.
However, the cascades are well worth a look and it’s only a 20m detour to reach the first one. There’s a teeny tiny waterfall plunge pool here and if you continue a little further, two bigger pools.
The rocks are very slippery when wet, so if you do venture a bit further, go carefully. After climbing down a few rocks to reach the waterfall plunge pool you can continue on, but you’ll quickly see a large amount of debris blocking the easy route to the next pool.
We didn’t fancy picking our way through it, so we went up and around the debris on the riverbank to the left. This route was easy enough, but there were a couple of slightly slippery steps when coming back down to the creek (nothing major through).
From the point you reach Fern tree creek to the slightly bigger pool was just 50m.
This next pool is still small, but definitely big enough for a little dip. Below is a bigger pool with a more powerful waterfall. It looked like you could scramble down to it, though we personally didn’t.
Depending on water levels the current looked like it was getting a lot stronger at this point, so you’d need to judge at the time and be mindful that it may not be suitable for swimming (the smaller pools didn’t have any current though).
Lovely as Fern tree creek is and it’s definitely worth the detour, I think the two swimming holes beyond were even better and easier to access.
If you have ventured to the middle pool you don’t need to go back the way you came, you can cut uphill on the dirt track to the left and re-join the main path in less than 100m.
To the river swimming spot
After 30m back on the main trail, you’ll reach a bridge over the gorge and this is where you can see the full force of the river, with several sets of powerful cascades.
You’ll then continue through the gorgeous rainforest for 280m before reaching a junction where you head left to keep on the loop, it’s well signposted.
The forest canopy is so dense that even when we visited and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, it was lovely and shady, the perfect walk for a hot day.
There are another two trail junctions at the 2.75km and 3.05km mark, both of which are left turns, but you can’t go wrong as it’s clearly signed.
Roughly 100m beyond the junction, at approximately 3.05km into the trail, you can turn down the un-signposted track on your left. This leads downhill to a beautiful part of the river. It’s a worn trail and reaches the river after just 100m.
The swimming hole is not huge, but it is absolutely delightful. It briefly clouded over at this point in our walk and the water colour was still sensational, with a bluey green hue that was very striking.
The wall behind the pool barely has an inch of space not covered in foliage, which makes it feel like you’re in a little jungle pool. It’s just stunning and we could not believe there was no one else there.
Accessing the pool is easy as you can just step off the stony beach into shallow water. The small pebbles are not slippery, but they are a bit uncomfortable to walk on.
The left side of the river, beside the rock wall, is deep enough to swim and the current makes it a very quick float downstream. The water is pretty cold, so it’s great for a hot day, or when you feel like embracing your inner Wim Hof.
I think you could then scramble over the rocks and into Crystal Pools, which is the next swimming hole along. However, as Joe wasn’t swimming we used the walking track instead.
To Crystal Pools
To access Crystal Pools via the walking track, head back up to the main path and continue for roughly another 100m.
Just opposite the huge Strangler fig (which is on the right) you’ll see a path branching off to the left. You’ll almost immediately see a series of stairs leading down to the water.
It looks like this used to be a proper signposted part of the track, but has now strangely been left unmarked. It’s just 50m from the main track to the large stony beach beside the pool.
Wild swimming at Crystal Pools
The Crystal Pools are fabulous. From the walking trail above they look a dazzling shade of blue and though when you reach them they appear a more bluey green colour, they are no less spectacular.
It’s essentially a gorge pool, with moss covered craggy rock walls and dense forest.
The water lives up to its name: completely crystal clear and so refreshing in the 31C heat.
The beginning of the pool has very shallow water, so you have a bit more of that awkward pebble walking to reach the deeper water.
It gets deeper partway along the rock walls, and then further into the gorge it’s very deep and perfect for a relaxing swim.
It’s a special place and I kept wondering how on earth it could be 600m from the car park on an easy flat path, yet remain completely empty on such a hot weekend.
I feel like Barrington Tops is definitely underrated for walks and swimming and that only adds to its charm!
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the national park, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Completing the circuit
After visiting Crystal Pools you head back up the stairs to the main track and follow the flat path through the rainforest for another 500m.
At this point you will reach the road and turn left to get back to the car park, which is another 100m away.
Getting to the trailhead for the Blue Gum Loop
The Blue Gum Loop begins at the Williams River Picnic Area in Barrington Tops National Park. The last 500m of the road into the car park is gravel, but well graded and suitable for any vehicle at time of writing.
The picnic area is 40km and a 35 minute drive from Dungog, 100km and one hour 25 minutes from Gloucester and 107km and one hour 45 minutes from Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley.
There is a long drop toilet at the car park, but nowhere else along the trail.
Where to stay near the Blue Gum Loop
Bluegum Cabins
We’ve stayed in the area a few times and our favourite place for a proper weekend escape is the Bluegum Cabins. They’re in a gorgeous bush setting with a full kitchen including oven (good for this area which is sorely lacking in good eateries), a spa bath and fireplace.
It’s a really peaceful place, with lots of birdlife, though the trade off is no phone signal, so it will only work for you if you’re happy to be disconnected for a while.
It’s around a 40 minute drive from the Blue Gum Loop, though closer to several other great trails like Problem Creek Falls.
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