The Pool of Diana is your picture perfect swimming hole: a deep emerald pool set in a ferny overhang with views out to distant pagodas. The waterfall adds that extra touch of magic. It has a remote feel, the kind of place that you might associate with hiking for hours, but it’s only a little over a kilometre from the nearest road. It helps that the road is very quiet, which keeps with the remote feel. However, the track is not signposted and the path is rough in places.
Here’s how to find the Pool of Diana and what to expect from the trail.
The walk to the Pool of Diana
The stats
Distance: 2.5km return
Elevation gain: 144m
Difficulty: Moderate
Summary: It’s worth noting that the route we’re describing is not the only one to the Pool of Diana, but it’s likely to be one of the shortest (and easiest) routes. We found it when on a little recce of the creek. It’s a mix of fire trail and a rougher track, but there is no technical terrain and it’s generally pretty easy. The route is mainly downhill on the way, so it’s a bit of a climb back up after your swim, but it doesn’t take too long.
This part of Newnes is very remote, so it’s not advisable to visit alone unless you are carrying a PLB. We always carry a PLB in this area as there is very rarely any phone signal. We bought the GME, but you can check this one and many others out on Amazon by clicking here.
Starting the trail: along the fire trail and into the bush
From the parking area (coordinates below) the walk heads left, down the obvious fire trail. It’s flat for the first 150m before it starts descending. It’s steepish at points, but always easy to walk on. The fire trail ends 550m from the parking area.
From here you need to turn left, down the rougher, but worn path. Roughly 90m from the turn off, you can head right for a few metres and reach an open rocky platform, which offers a great view of the classic pagoda scenery that this part of the mountains is known for.
After checking out the view head back onto the worn trail and follow it steeply downhill. At times you may not really feel there’s a path, but it’s easy enough to pick your way down through the wide gully between the two cliff walls.
I don’t enjoy steep descents on unmaintained tracks, but this one wasn’t slippery, so it was actually fine (it’s worth noting we visited on a dry day though).
Navigating the creek to the falls
This steep section is only 270m long and will take you down into a tree fern filled valley. It’s that quintessential Gardens of Stones scenery and absolutely beautiful. It looks dense and impenetrable, but there is a worn track to follow if you know where to look!
Once you’ve made it downhill, bear right and hug the cliff line.
At this point, the key is to keep away from the creek - don’t be tempted to think it offers a quicker unobstructed route, as the creek bed is made of sinking sand and mud. Joe had mud up to his knees when he went to take a look! The key is to stick close to the cliff line on the southern side of the valley.
Around 50m after you turned right it does become overgrown, but it’s still easy to follow as it heads between the bush and the cliff line. There’s a worn path for the entire way, so keep looking for the beaten down trail.
There are a couple of trees down over the track (the main one is 910m into the walk, or 40m after it starts feeling overgrown), but you can duck under it, which is slightly awkward, but otherwise ok.
The main issue with this rougher path in my opinion is that there are quite a lot of snags. The path is actually pretty easy, but watch for things that may catch on your boots and trip you up.
Just after the big charred tree, which you climb under, the ferns get pretty thick. However, when you push them aside you can still see the path beneath.
This little bit is muddy and slightly loose - only for a few steps, but it’s worth treading carefully here.
Keep following the worn path and you’ll pass a small overhang before coming to a bigger area of tree fall, just over 1km into the walk. Keep right, heading up towards the base of the cliff.
Roughly 20m later you’ll pass under another dead tree and through some more thick ferns. There is a little more debris here too. It’s not challenging to pass through, but it does slow you down.
After the debris (roughly 1.16km into the walk) you’ll see a larger overhang. Head up towards it to find a lovely open path! There is a lower track too, but it’s more overgrown.
You’ll pass through the overhang and over a few rocks before rounding the corner and catching your first glimpse of the falls.
The sandy beach and pool is just 50m away along an easy path.
The Pool of Diana
The Pool of Diana is a real beauty. It’s like a little patch of paradise amongst the thick scrub. Set in a gorgeous honeycomb coloured overhang you’ll find a perfect sandy beach, deep emerald pool and picturesque waterfall. From inside the pool you can look out to the towering pagodas beyond. It’s idyllic.
Entering the pool is easy as you can walk straight off the sandy beach and into shallow water. It gets deeper as you come closer to the falls and there’s plenty of room for a proper swim. The water is cold, so it’s best saved for a hot day, or when you’re feeling in the mood for a bracing dip!
Please remember to leave the pool exactly as you found it and preserve its wild beauty.
Once you’ve had your fix, head back the way you came.
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.
Getting to the trailhead
The trail to the Pool of Diana begins in the Gardens of Stone Conservation Area in Newnes. Before driving here, make sure you have downloaded an offline map for the Newnes/Garden of Stone area as there is rarely any phone signal. You can do this on Google Maps by clicking on your profile and selecting “Offline Maps” from the menu that appears (you can also follow these instructions).
This is important as the route to the Pool of Diana involves navigating some unmarked roads and it would be easy to get lost. Having a GPS that works without data/internet connection will ensure you can navigate out of the area safely.
At time of writing, all roads are 2WD accessible, but they are unsealed and can deteriorate after rain. The roads do have some stones and bumps, but are currently well graded and don’t require any kind of special clearance (though I wouldn’t bring a super expensive low clearance car down here!). We’ll detail our route below which we found to be easy enough to drive.
The route to the trailhead
If you’re visiting from Sydney or the Blue Mountains, head to Clarence and turn right onto the Old Bells Line of Road, which is where the unsealed dirt roads start. Drive along the Old Bells Line of Road for 8.8km until you reach a T junction with the Glow Worm Tunnel Road - turn right. Follow the Glow Worm Tunnel Road for 5.3km before turning right onto Waratah Ridge Road. Once on Waratah Ridge Road, drive for 3.9km before taking a left onto Two Trees Road.
Until this point all of the roads are two lane roads which are signposted. Two Trees Road isn’t signposted, so you will want to keep an eye on your map to find it. The co-ordinates for this turning are -33.396250, 150.258592. At this point you are in a warren of unmarked dirt roads and there are many routes to the start of the trail, but we chose what looked the flattest according to our topographical map and it proved to be in good condition and easy going.
Here’s our route: drive up Two Trees road for 3km until you reach a clearing and turn right (co-ordinates: -33.3962801, 150.2586213). If you’ve had enough by this point, you can park here and walk the remaining 1.1km to the trailhead.
This road is a little more overgrown (in the sense there are some small shoots of grass etc on the road) and had some puddles, but was flat and fine to drive. Keep driving along this road until you get to another T junction and turn right. From here it’s just another 120m and you’ll see an overgrown fire trail on your left, which is the start of the walk.
The parking point can be found at these coordinates: -33.3678306, 150.2725613. Please make sure you pull fully off the road and don’t block the fire trail.
There are no facilities whatsoever in this part of Newnes, so please plan accordingly and take all rubbish with you.
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