The Cumberland Falls Track is one of Lorne’s best walks. It’s truly beautiful from start to finish, with spectacular swimming hole after spectacular swimming hole. The forest is also incredibly picturesque and the four river crossings keep the walk interesting.
Although the majority of the trail is very easy, there are a few sections of rock hopping and sidling along rocky tracks that make it a little more challenging.
Here’s everything you need to know about the trail.
The Cumberland Falls Track
The stats
Distance: 6.2km return
Elevation gain: 75m
Difficulty: Moderate
The majority of the walk to Cumberland Falls is pretty easy and there’s very little elevation gain involved. There are however, four river crossings and a few sections of rocky track to negotiate. When dry, the rocky sections shouldn’t be too problematic, but they do get slippery when wet as we found out!
Despite the sign saying experienced walkers only, we didn’t think it was a hard track. You do need to be mindful of the river levels after heavy rain though and don’t try and cross if it’s high and powerful.
Starting the trail to Jebbs Pool
The trail begins at the Cumberland River Holiday Park and follows signs for the tourist trail. You’ll start by walking through the campsite for the first 400m.
It might sound like a dull beginning but it’s actually stunning. The campsite is right beside the river which is backed by huge cliff walls. It’s one of the most beautiful campsites we’ve seen!
You’ll then reach the official trail sign and head into the forest. The first 1.5km of the walk (from the car park) follows the route to Jebbs Pool, a stunning swimming hole and great destination in its own right if you’re looking for a shorter trail.
It’s a flat and easy track through a lovely patch of forest before you come to the first river crossing. It’s straightforward and there are plenty of rocks and logs to use as stepping stones.
You will reach the pool soon after and it’s a wonderful place to stop for a dip. You can read more details on what it’s like to swim there in this post.
If it’s busy you don’t need to worry because there are many other swimming holes further along the track.
To the river crossings
At Jebbs Pool you will need to cross the river for the second time. It’s slightly longer and had less rocks to use as stepping stones than the first crossing - although that may be because some were submerged as there had been a fair amount of recent rain.
With a bit of balance you can make your way across with dry boots and if you did lose your footing the water is shallow.
If you’re a little clumsy like me you might prefer to wear river shoes for this hike and then you don’t need to worry about flooding your boots on any of the crossings!
After crossing the river the path heads briefly uphill and then flattens. You’re walking above the river and surrounded by dense forest which is just gorgeous.
We were walking on a misty day which made it even more atmospheric.
The path is predominantly flat and in great condition. Despite walking in the rain the trail never really had any muddy patches which was a major bonus!
There are plenty of social trails down to the river from here which people obviously use for swimming, but to be honest there are so many accessible swimming holes along the main track that it’s easier to use those.
After just under 1km of leisurely track you’ll reach the third river crossing. This is another easy one. It’s very small and has large boulders which get you across in just a few steps.
There is also a lovely swimming hole here, although not as good as the next one along!
The final stretch to Cumberland Falls
Following the third river crossing, you head along another stretch of flat bush track with a few small sections of (dry) rock hopping before you reach river crossing number four (450m later).
It’s the biggest, and slightly more challenging than any of the others, but still very doable due to the amount of rocks and boulders to use as stepping stones. Some of them wobble and get a touch slippery when wet, but slow and steady will get you over in just a few minutes.
You then have 100m along a standard path before you reach the final part of the walk, which is where things get rocky. Before it does though you reach another wonderful swimming hole.
It’s a large emerald green pool with a small cascade and easy access into the water. Even in the pouring rain it looked stunning.
Continuing on from the pool the narrow path hugs the rock wall above the creek. It’s a little bit of a scramble and does get slippery when wet but it should be pretty grippy when dry.
There is just 250m between the pool and the falls, but it’s the roughest of the whole trail.
After traversing some narrow sloping rock, you’ll find yourself at a patch of boulders. This is the last 20m between you and the waterfall, which culminates in a small scramble to get to the falls.
In dry conditions, this is pretty straightforward, but if it’s wet then it gets a little trickier. Once you’ve navigated the short scramble, you will arrive at the falls.
Arriving at Cumberland Falls
Cumberland Falls is a set of two cascades which flow into a single pool, surrounded by beautiful forest.
Whilst the waterfall itself is small and not a showstopper, it’s still a very pretty spot to relax, and you’re much more likely to get it to yourself than the bigger waterfalls around Lorne.
It also feels much more wild, which definitely makes it extra special.
Heading back
The walk back follows the same path and is probably a little quicker, as you’re more used to the river crossings. I decided to swim in Jebbs Pool on the way back so I avoided the second crossing entirely by swimming across instead.
As we were stopping less it took us under an hour to get back to the car park.
Getting to the Cumberland Falls Track
The walk to Cumberland Falls begins at the Cumberland River Caravan Park. Unless you’re staying here you need to park in the visitors car park and follow the signpost for the tourist walk.
The caravan park is 8km and roughly a 12 minute drive from Lorne.
When we saw how great it looked we wished we were staying, so it’s worth checking out if you don’t already have accommodation - they have bungalows and some swish looking villas, as well as campsites.
You can check out the reviews and prices on Booking.com
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