The Illawong Walk is an easy trail through a spectacular part of the Snowy Mountains, that doesn’t see too many visitors. We knew we had to do this one when we saw a photo of the delightful little swing bridge, and it didn’t disappoint!
As well as the bridge, this trail also visits one of the oldest huts in the park and offers the chance for a dip in the crystal clear waters of the Snowy River - if you dare!
Here’s exactly what to expect on the trail
The Illawong Walk
The stats
Distance: 2.6km each way
Elevation: 200m
Difficulty: Easy
The Illawong Walk is an easy trail, whilst it does creep uphill, there is no overly steep section. It took us 35 minutes to walk each way, but that may have been because of the amount of photos we were taking of the beautiful views……
Starting the trail
The trail begins at a small car park in Guthega, which we’ve heard called a village….but looked like a couple of buildings to us!
Still it has a lovely view right from the off and we were lucky enough to be walking on a beautiful sunny day. The heart of this village is the Guthega Dam, which looks like a stunning alpine lake.
From the trailhead, the walk heads downhill almost immediately, before crossing over a little bridge which offers lovely views of some small cascades.
After crossing the bridge you have a few staircases to climb, which represent the only steep part of the walk.
The views overlooking the dam are really pretty, and the rolling hills reminded me of walking in the Lake District, we felt right at home!
Through the heath
The walk soon flattens out, and though it has some undulations, it’s a generally easy track. The path sometimes becomes a narrow gully though, and at points I found myself tripping over my own feet…. tell me I am not the only one that happens to?!
The path follows the Snowy River, which looked almost electric blue in the afternoon sunshine, it was glorious.
I can imagine if you are lucky enough to walk this trail when there is a dusting of snow on the mountaintops, it would be even more magical.
There are also quite a few gorgeous wildflowers along the path in summer, although not as many as we’ve seen on other trails in the area. Mount Stilwell is the one to head to for wildflower fanatics, it was truly breathtaking!
Arriving at the swing bridge
As you continue along the narrow path you’ll soon see a little hut in the distance, one of the oldest remaining huts in the park, which looked in great condition. So good, that it doesn’t look old at all with the solar panels on top!
Unfortunately it is locked so you can’t have a poke around inside, but it’s nice even to see it from the outside. From the start of the trail to the hut is just 2.4km.
One thing to note about the section of track between the first bridge you come to, and the swing bridge, is the March flies! If you’re walking in summer bring the strongest spray you can get your hands on.
Even wearing trousers and whacking them as often as I could, my legs were decimated by the end of this track! Even though we saw them on many walks in the Snowys, they were the most persistent of all in this area.
They bit even as you walked, whereas in other places it was only when we stopped. Don’t let them put you off this walk though, we were here in a bad year for insects so fingers crossed it won’t be as bad for your visit!
Anyway back to the trail, and just 100m beyond the hut you’ll come to the swing bridge. It’s one of those jangly ones that you are only allowed over one at a time, and might unnerve vertigo sufferers with its swaying!
I loved it though, it’s one of those things that makes you feel like a kid again. It was also entirely safe from the March flies which made me love it even more! The views over the boulder strewn Snowy River were just stunning from the bridge too.
The water is very cold all year round but nonetheless it’s an inviting place for a dip, it’s easy to access and so beautiful, especially with the mountain backdrop.
The walk officially ends at the bridge but you can climb the small hill on the other side if you want to see it from a different perspective. It actually looks like the trail continues on and on, but the Illawong Walk definitely stops at the bridge.
The walk back
The walk back is fairly easy again, as there are some undulations you do have a few uphill sections to go, but nothing overly steep. Probably the most steep part is the final bit back up to the car park. As you’re returning along the same route, it ends up being very quick, because you stop less for photographs.
All in all, this is such a lovely walk, offering some fantastic views, without having the big climbs of some of the other trails in the park.
Essential information about the Illawong Walk
The access road
The final 11km of the road to the start of the trail is gravel. It’s generally in great condition, but we did notice on the way back that in certain places the gravel was quite thick which caused us to skid a little at one point.
Considering for a lot of the way there is no crash barriers that was more than a little unnerving! We’d definitely recommend going very slowly on the downhill sections. You don’t need a 4WD though - unless conditions were to dramatically change from when we visited.
The Mount Kosciuszko National Park Fee
The Illawong Walk falls within the park fee zone and even if you have an NSW parks pass, you still need to pay. The fee is $17 per day, and if you buy 4 days you get 1 free. You can buy an annual pass for just this park alone for $190.
The pass lasts for 24 hours, so if you time it right you can hike for 2 days on a 1 day pass.
Track closure dates
This walk is closed to hikers between the June and October long weekends. When we hiked in summer it was entirely snow free, if you’re visiting outside of summer, or there has been recent light snowfall you might want to bring a pair of Yaktrax with you, we found them to be a Godsend when walking in America.
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