Having recently walked the South Lawson Waterfall Circuit after some good rain - which was fabulous - we decided to head over and check out the less visited falls over at North Lawson. You can visit three waterfalls on the North Lawson Waterfall Circuit, or add on a fourth using Empire Pass as a connector.
We opted for seeing all four, as we were also curious about Empire Pass. You’ll want to do this walk after some decent rainfall to see both the waterfalls and the rainforest at its best, falls reduce to a trickle or dry up completely during dry spells.
All four waterfalls are lovely, and the gorgeous rainforest environment was a big surprise. However, there’s no denying that the best part of the walk is the first part, along the North Lawson Circuit, so if you’re looking for a shorter walk, make it that one.
We’ll describe both sections in this post to help you plan your perfect waterfall adventure.
Empire Pass and the North Lawson Waterfall Circuit
The stats
Distance: 5.5km circuit
Elevation: 210m
Difficulty: Moderate
The Empire Pass circuit used to have quite a long unmanicured section, but after a track upgrade it’s now in excellent condition. Handrails are in place on the narrower sections and the debris that once littered the track has been removed. There are quite a few ups and downs along the way, but also flat sections inbetween.
If you only want to see the first three waterfalls, there are still quite a few staircases, but it’s not a difficult walk.
Starting the trail to Fairy Falls
The walk begins at the North Lawson Park and the first three waterfalls are a very short distance from the car park.
We thought the trail was going to be pretty busy as the park was bustling. That couldn’t have been further from the truth in the end, as much of it felt like no one ever walks past the few couple of waterfalls!
After crossing the park, there are two trails ahead. Take the one on the right (not the fire trail) and you will see the turn off for Fairy Falls after just 150m. It’s only 70m later that you’ll be standing at the pretty waterfall itself.
It’s a wide and picturesque waterfall which cascades over the fern covered red rocks. On a hot day it would make for a great waterfall shower, although you won’t have worked up a sweat yet!
It’s a lovely little spot and if you decide to sit a while you'll probably be joined by one of the resident water dragons.
Onto Dantes Glen
Back on the main trail and you’ll begin descending through the bush towards Dantes Glen. It’s mainly on well formed staircases, although the odd step can be uneven, and there’s a handrail if needed.
It’s a relatively steep decent, but it wasn’t slippery, and after just 430m beyond Fairy Falls, you’ll arrive in the cool and shady Dantes Glen.
There used to be a wooden bridge to cross over the creek on, but it’s now been removed. However, it’s easy to cross, with rocks to use as stepping stones (and it’s really only around three steps!)
This was my favourite spot on the whole track and one of the best falls in the mountains for that off the beaten track vibe.
The large waterfall tumbles down the tall cliff walls into a small pool at the base. The high foliage covered cliffs give the feeling of seclusion and the huge log that rests across the pool gives it quite a wild feel.
You certainly don’t feel like you are just over half a kilometre from the busy park and residential area! The lower part of the log makes for a great place to sit and relax and take in the beauty of the scene.
It’s also worth walking around to the right of the falls and looking at it from that angle too, as it looks quite different from this perspective.
Just watch out for webs; I got caught unawares with the false sense of security that people must have been here recently as it was a Sunday afternoon!
Onto St Michaels Falls
The trail between Dantes Glen and St Michaels Falls is short at just 150m, but this little stretch is a beauty. You’ll walk beside the creek, with its own little cascades, surrounded by ferns and mossy boulders that reminded me of Sassafras Gully, which was such an unexpected delight.
You’ll quickly come to a sign that shows you the path ahead is a dead end and you head right, over the creek (using the large boulders to cross), and along a few stepping stones to St Michaels Falls.
It’s another great waterfall, and my second favourite of the track. It also has a quite secluded feel and lots of rocks to sit and admire the tranquil surroundings.
It’s incredibly peaceful and the kind of place where you can visibly feel yourself breathe out. I could have sat there for hours if it weren’t for the rest of the trail calling!
And on that note: if you’re looking for a great short, easy walk, then you should turn back after St Michaels Falls and complete the North Lawson Waterfall Loop.
If you don’t mind a longer walk with more stairs to climb and want to see some more rainforest and another waterfall, press on to Empire Pass and Federica Falls.
Along Empire Pass
The track along Empire Pass from St Michaels Falls is well signposted and easy to follow. You start on a pretty narrow path above the creek, which was just beautiful.
It’s also flat and easy along this stretch too, making for a relaxing start to the next section of track. You’ll pass a sign saying that Frederica Falls is just 1.8km away- it wasn’t by our measurements, we think it’s roughly 500m further. It’s no biggie, but mentioning in case like us, you worry that you might have missed the falls!
After roughly 400m walking along the flat path, you’ll start descending down to the creek on a series of rocky steps. We saw a cute little green frog here which seemed to be a bit out of place so high above the water!
It’s a picturesque creek, with cascades and big boulders, and you’ll cross over it using the rocks as stepping stones (just watch out if they’re wet because one or two were slippery). The path then takes you uphill and back into the forest.
It’s along this next stretch of track that it used to be quite overgrown, but after the recent works it’s been cleared nicely.
There are a couple of moments where the trail feels quite narrow, but there are now handrails in place if needed.
The trail begins to undulate and the steps are rocky, but they are still easy to walk on. It’s very pretty along this part of the walk and it does feel like you have the whole of the forest to yourself!
It’s along this next stretch of track that you could make an off track detour to see Lucy’s Glen. There is a beautiful canyon waterfall here, but it’s a rough track and requires care. You can read how to find the falls here.
Onto Frederica Falls
When you’re almost at the 2.5km mark, you’ll begin heading uphill for a while and the rainforest starts to give way to drier bushland.
The trail soon flattens out again and you’ll be walking on a narrow path through the bush. It used to get muddy and waterlogged after rain, but now has many paving slabs which make it a breeze.
At the 3.5km mark you’ll arrive at Frederica Falls.
It’s another lovely waterfall which felt quite charming, and reminded me a bit of England! Hard to describe why, but it’s a sweet little spot and if there were more places to sit, I would have enjoyed lingering for longer.
Enjoy this waterfall because the rest of the walk to complete the circuit is not the most interesting.
Completing the loop
Finishing the circuit is not unpleasant by any means, but it is just a fire trail. You’ll want to turn right at the signpost just after leaving the falls and head up the stairs. After a short stroll along a flat section of the fire trail, you’ll start heading uphill.
It’s fairly steep, and there are a couple of those false summit moments, but it doesn’t take too long and it’s only around 450m before you’re at the top.
We were entertained by lots of kookaburras along this part of the walk, which is still a joy even after living here for many years now.
Once you’re at the top of the hill you want to keep heading straight on, along the fire trail. Don’t turn right until you reach the yellow sign for Dantes Glen at roughly the 5km mark.
Then you have just 600m before you’re back at the park, the path is either flat or heads gently downhill.
Overall I did really enjoy this walk, but for me the most beautiful part was the first three waterfalls, and were I to do it again I would probably stick to that to avoid the fairly long fire trail stretch at the end.
The trail’s night time secret
Whilst walking this track in the day we thought it looked like possible glow worm habitat and we recently returned at night to see if we were right! Happily we were! If you’re looking for a little night time adventure, return to Dantes Glen and St Michaels Falls at night. You’ll find yourself in a glow worm wonderland!
You can read all about the night time glow worm experience in this post.
Getting to the Empire Pass Track
The walk begins at the North Lawson Park, where there is a decent size car park. It’s roughly 90km and 1.5 hours from Sydney and 15km and a 20 minute drive from Katoomba.
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