The Grand Canyon circuit is one of the most spectacular walks in the Blue Mountains. However, there’s another hidden side to the Grand Canyon that you just don’t get to experience from the walking track. And you don’t need to be able to abseil to experience it. You can just walk right in if you know where the turning is.
Once you’re inside the slot canyon, it’s like entering a whole other world. It’s a wild place with impossibly high canyon walls, giant boulders and endless cascades and waterfalls. Once you enter the canyon you leave the defined hiking trail behind and will make your way through the canyon via a mix of walking, wading and even a couple of swims.
However, you don’t need to go too far to experience the majesty of the canyon - and we didn’t complete the whole thing - which we’ll go into in more detail below.
Canyon safety
Canyons can be dangerous environments in the wrong conditions. Never enter a canyon if it’s raining or rain is predicted as flash flooding is a real risk and it can happen very quickly. It’s also best not to visit after heavy rain when water levels will be higher, making it much more challenging to hike through.
It can get really cold inside the canyon, even if the air temperature above is warm. If you’re planning to do much more than the first bit of the canyon, it is recommended to wear a wetsuit - we didn’t, but it would have made the day more comfortable. Wearing a helmet is also recommended.
If you want to venture some way into the canyon, you will have to do at least one mandatory swim, so a change of clothes that you keep in a dry bag is also a good idea - either that or get walking quickly because the hill back up to the car park is also guaranteed to warm you up!
What to expect from conditions inside the canyon
Apart from very early on, there is no walking trail inside the canyon, so you’ll be hiking over rocks and boulders as well as directly through the water. The first 700m inside the canyon are pretty easy before you get to some rougher sections, with boulders and cascades to climb and some fairly hefty log jams.
I found the small rocks inside the water to be grippy and easy to walk on whilst the bigger boulders were generally slippery.
Water levels inside the canyon vary according to recent rainfall, so though there is always one mandatory swim, you may face more. We had four swims (though some were very short) and we didn’t complete the whole canyon. However it’s possible some could have been avoided with slippery scrambles, but that would be much more challenging.
As you get deeper into the canyon there are some cascades to climb which were running powerfully on our visit and that’s when we sadly decided to turn back. The official end point for the canyon is a bigger waterfall, which is where the abseiling route begins.
As mentioned, it can get really cold inside the canyon even when the air temperature above is hot. It was also really windy for us, almost like a wind tunnel, so be prepared that it could be very cold. If you are not bringing a wetsuit pick a hot day.
In terms of light inside the canyon, on a clear sunny day you can see light rays at around midday and for an hour or so afterwards. We timed our visit for a perfect forecast, but the only cloud in Blackheath appeared to be right over the Grand Canyon, so we got about five minutes of light inside the canyon all day.
If you don’t want a dark moody vibe try and pick a clear day and hope for the best!
The walk to reach the start of the canyon
You can reach the canyon from the Neates Glen car park or the Evans Lookout car park. From Neates Glen the walk to the turn off into the canyon is 3.3km and from Evans Lookout we estimate it to be between 2.2-2.5km. It doesn’t really matter which car park you start from if you’re doing the circuit. Otherwise the walk is shorter from Evans Lookout, but a bit steeper when climbing back up. The elevation of the walking track minus the canyon portion is 310m.
We won’t go into too much detail on the walk as we have a whole guide to it here, but if you haven’t done it before, essentially the way there will be predominantly downhill (from either direction). The track is well maintained and the descent is almost all on well formed stairs. Although you’ll have to ascend the same amount of elevation from either car park, we always think it feels shallower going up to Neates Glen.
The canyon turn off and the best swimming spot
The point at which you need to turn off the walking track to enter the canyon is at these coordinates: -33.6570509, 150.3242108. It’s a clearing with a signpost, but the signposts don’t mark the canyon entrance, as this is the route canyoners use to exit the canyon, not enter it.
It is a worn path however, and you follow it along the edge of the canyon wall before coming to a few boulders next to a tree. It’s an awkward squeeze under the boulders, so it’s easier to climb over them. From here (100m from the turn off) you’ll reach the creek.
You can use the rocks and log to make it over the creek with dry boots, but they can be slippery. I just walked through the water because you’re going to get wet soon anyway!
The walking track continues on the other side of the creek, you’ll see the stone steps leading uphill. You’ll climb two sets of stairs and then head back downhill on a path covered in tree roots.
From here you’ll come to some downed logs you need to climb over and then you’ll feel like you’re properly inside the canyon.
Depending on water levels this will be the first point where you have to walk through the water, but at this point, even after lots of rain when we visited, it was only ankle deep.
There’s less than 50m of walking along the small rocks before you reach the first swim (350m after leaving the official walking track).
The area in front of the pool offers a truly magnificent view. This is a great turn around point if you don’t want to get wet. You’ll get to see a fantastic view of the slot canyon and pool and feel like you’re properly immersed in it, without having to negotiate any tricky terrain or swim.
Alternatively, this is also a great swimming spot, so if you don’t want to go far into the canyon, but want a long deep swimming hole, this is your spot. The first half of the pool is shallow, but the second half is very deep and perfect for a chilly, but incredibly atmospheric swim.
The sculpted canyon walls are covered in ferns and tower above you, blocking out almost all light. It definitely puts the wild into wild swimming.
Going deeper into the canyon
After the swim, which is around 30m, (though you can walk some of it, so the swimming part could be more like half that) - you’ll turn a corner to see another much smaller pool.
On the way in I walked through the middle, which turned out to be shoulder height water, on the way back we found the right side (or left on the walk back) was only waist height, so sometimes feeling around the edges of the pools can avoid some really deep bits.
It’s worth noting that we visited when water levels were high, so if it’s been very dry you can expect it to be easier to avoid additional swims!
After crossing this next pool you’ll come to shallow water where it’s easy to walk over the rocks. When it comes to these small rocks - as opposed to the big boulders - which are found throughout much of the canyon, they were surprisingly grippy.
I was expecting the whole route to be pretty slippery and was delighted to find that it wasn’t, making it much easier than anticipated.
You’ll then come to another narrow constriction which is absolutely stunning. To the right is a shallow route through the water.
We had about five minutes of sun in this section, the only sun we were to see in the canyon all day, and it was glorious. We even got about 60 seconds of light rays, which gave the slot an ethereal glow.
Just 20m beyond the constriction, across another shallow rocky area, you’ll see a waterfall high up on the left. You can even see the tiny metal bridge which you will have crossed if you walked from Neates Glen!
This would be another good turning point if you don’t want to do the whole canyon and at this point you have hiked for 700m from the walking trail turn off.
Continuing on
After the waterfall you’ll continue across a rocky patch to a set of cascades which were pretty foamy on our visit - though nothing on what was to come later.
You can use the boulders to the right to avoid the water here and climb up and around the cascades.
When you cross the top of the cascades the rock platform is banana skin slippery - the only really slippery bit we encountered, so go carefully here. The canyon will then open up before it narrows again.
This next constriction was another mandatory swim for us. It was only a very short section where you couldn’t touch the bottom, but it was deep throughout the whole pool (this is 250m beyond the waterfall, 950m from the walking track turn off).
From here you climb up a log and into another pool. You can walk or shuffle along the logs inside the water so you don’t need to swim this pool.
It’s another beautiful part of the canyon, though there’s probably no point mentioning that as the whole canyon is simply incredible.
If you’ve been to Woolworths in Katoomba, you may recognise this photo ;-)
You’ll then reach a giant tree across a rock platform with a large waterfall beside it. You climb over this tree and into another narrow section of canyon, with water that for us was chest height, but I imagine is normally lower.
We have no photos beyond this point as I didn’t bring the camera or phone with me.
From here you need to climb up a cascade, which is easier due to the logs that have lodged there that give you a leg up! Next you need to cross a major log jam.
It looks pretty bad, but (for me at least) they were stable, though test each one before putting your whole weight on them.
After crossing the logs you come to another pool. Unfortunately this one was a foamy mess, possibly the most unappealing water I have ever been in!
The pool has logs inside it and was waist height. It ends at a cascade and I saw two more cascades above it. Unfortunately, much as it pained me not to finish, I didn’t feel confident getting up this bit alone (Joe had stopped a little while earlier, hence no pictures!). The surrounding rock walls were really slippery and the cascade was powerful.
I am actually not sure how far I was from finishing the canyon, my guess is still a way off, but this bit felt trickier than any of the rest of the canyon. Maybe some good grippy shoes might have helped, but anyway, I’m sure I’ll be back to try again one day.
You could continue through the canyon to a beautiful waterfall according to pictures I’ve seen. If you do, I’d love to know what it’s like beyond the cascades!
In terms of reversing the canyon I’d say it’s all pretty much the same apart from the boulder climb beside the cascades which had the slippery rock. That was a little trickier going down as you have to extend your leg more, going up was easy. But overall, the way back doesn’t present any additional challenges.
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 area, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Parking for the Grand Canyon
At time of writing you can park for free at either the Neates Glen or Evans Lookout car parks in Blackheath. The Evans Lookout route offers quicker access to the canyon and has toilets available if required. There are no facilities at the Neates Glen car park or anywhere along the trail. Please carry out all rubbish with you.
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.
