Castle Head is a short, easy walk with a big pay off. It’s not that well known, despite being located in Katoomba, which means that you often get the truly spectacular viewpoints all to yourself. There are a couple of sensational lookouts, with the final one offering a panoramic view that makes you feel like you’re totally immersed in the scene. It’s a magical spot and one of our favourite places in Katoomba.
Don’t be deterred by the signposts that say the trail is difficult - it’s not. But perhaps the difficulty rating is helpful in keeping it extra quiet!
Here’s everything you need to know about the Castle Head walk.
The Castle Head Track
The stats
Distance: 4.4km total (2.2km each way)
Elevation: 150m
Difficulty: Easy
Starting the trail at Narrow Neck
The trail begins at the final car park along Narrow Neck Road and you’ll head straight over the gate and onto the fire trail.
It’s a wide stony path which is really well maintained and is used by both hikers and cyclists - I’ve never actually seen cyclists here, but it’s such a wide track that it wouldn’t be an issue.
There are some lovely mountain views to your right through the trees as you begin making your way along the trail. The track heads gently downhill and after just over 800m you’ll reach a turning on your left for Castle Head.
The signpost says that it is 2km and two hours from this point to reach Castle Head.
I have no idea why they have rated it that way as it makes it seem like it is going to be a real stairmaster. It gives totally the wrong impression, as there are trails graded the same way which are genuinely hard!
This one is not and it only takes one hour to complete the entire track from the car park and that was at a leisurely pace.
Onto the bush track
From the turning you’ll be walking on a proper bush track, rather than fire trail. It starts off going gently uphill on a narrow path which can get a little waterlogged after heavy rain - it’s still passable though!
After just under 400m you’ll start to head downhill on a rocky track. Around 150m of the path is rough and relatively steep - but it’s not slippery if you have shoes with grip.
The path then flattens and after a few minutes more in the bush, you’ll come out to an incredible view.
There’s a large rocky platform which makes for an amazing picnic spot. The view of the Jamison Valley is outstanding and if you look closely you’ll even see the famous Three Sisters in the distance.
It’s a lovely spot to sit and relax.
Onto the final viewpoint
The final 850m of track to Castle Head itself is all in pretty good condition and for the most part it’s flat. It used to be quite overgrown and you had to walk with your hands above your head to make yourself as narrow as possible to avoid getting scratched up, but since the fires of 2020 that’s all changed.
There is now no vegetation around the immediate path for almost the entire way and it’s a very easy and relaxing stretch of track.
There are also lots of green shoots amongst the char, which is always wonderful to see.
After 700m you’ll reach a trig and you’ll walk over a few rocks from which you can see the final part of the track stretching ahead of you.
It’s a fabulous view of Mount Solitary, even if it’s half shrouded in fog as it was for us! From the trig it’s just 100m to the end of the track.
Arriving at Castle Head
The view from Castle Head will blow you away. There’s a large pile of rocks with some great flat spaces to sit and take it all in.
You are surrounded by mountains, with the Three Sisters to your left and Mount Solitary dominating the view ahead of you.
The jagged rocks of the Ruined Castle can also be seen just in front of Mount Solitary, and the Cox’s River flows through the valley to the right.
It’s one of the most spectacular views in the mountains and you don’t just feel like you are looking at it, but part of it.
It’s a truly breathtaking spot and you will usually hear the calls of lyrebirds echoing through the valley, which only adds to the atmosphere.
We’ve visited on clear sunny days and on misty ones and both are wonderful. The absolute best time to come would be for sunrise, though we’ve never quite managed to!
Every time we come, we stay for a really long time, we’ve never seen anyone else here and it’s one of those places that inspires you to sit and be.
Heading back
Heading back requires retracing your steps, but this time there are a couple of uphill sections. One is the short rocky patch and the other is the gentle incline back along the Narrow Neck fire trail.
It doesn’t take long before you’re back at the car park.
All in all, this walk has one of the best effort to reward ratios in all the Blue Mountains and it blows me away every time.
Getting to Castle Head
The Castle Head Track begins at the final locked gate along the Narrow Neck Road in Katoomba. 3km of the road is unsealed and has quite a few potholes, but it’s still doable without a 4WD (at time of writing).
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, that we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support.
