A narrow ribbon of water cascades through a moon shaped hole in the canyon wall, creating an ethereal atmosphere in the grotto below. The crystal clear pool at the base of the falls is shallow, but perfect for lazing around in what must be one of the most unique waterfalls in the Blue Mountains.
You can choose to approach the falls through a picturesque slot canyon, or via an easier route that doesn’t involve any swimming. Both are worth doing and you can form a circuit, which is the most fun route if you’re feeling adventurous.
Here’s how to find Popeye Falls.
The walk to Popeye Falls
The stats
Distance: 3.75km each way via the shortest route (non canyon route)
Elevation gain: 250m
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead: Waratah Ridge Road, Wollemi NP
Summary: Popeye Falls is located in a remote part of Wollemi National Park, with little to no phone signal. It is wise to carry a PLB in this area in case of emergency. Do not attempt this walk during or after heavy rain when flash flooding can occur.
Though a significant portion of the walk is on an easy, largely flat fire trail, the latter part is all off track. There is no signage and basic route finding skills are necessary. Whilst I can provide some guidance and coordinates to help you navigate, this is not a good option for your first off track walk.
The route through the canyon involves a little scrambling, wading and one slippery section, while the shorter route requires a little scrambling down a small cliff wall, but it’s tiered rock and very grippy when dry. There isn’t too much in the way of elevation gain to worry about on the walk, but off tracks hikes always take more time that you might expect.
Starting the trail: along the fire trail
The first 250m of the walk is along a flat sandy path through the bush. The path then becomes rocky and ascends gently for 150m before it becomes sandy again.
Following this the path is mainly flat with some minor undulations along the way, but it’s never steep and oscillates between a narrow track and wider fire trail.
You’ll be on this trail for just under 3km, we turned off at the 2.85km mark, but as there is no set turning point you are aiming for somewhere around this distance.
Heading off track and finding the route into Popeye Canyon
At this point you need to head towards the creek that is north of the bend in the trail you were on. The easiest point to cross the creek is at these - co-ordinates: -33.3812391, 150.3101542. As bush bashes go, this one is relatively open and descends gently, so it isn’t difficult - you just need to know what you are aiming for.
After turning off the fire trail you’ll begin heading through a bit of bush and scrub before you reach the long grass (heading in a northerly direction).
Everyone will walk this section slightly differently due to the fact there is no path. The creek crossing you are aiming for is around 500m away (but may be a little longer depending on how direct a route you are able to make).
The creek is low at the point we have included the coordinates for, so it’s easy to cross and there are some exposed rocks allowing you to keep dry boots.
The approach to the crossing
The crossing
After crossing you’ll head up onto the river bank and begin heading right. Whilst there is no path as such, the going is relatively easy, it can be slightly narrow in places, but nothing that felt slippery or unstable (but conditions can change over time, especially after big rain events).
As you gradually climb, you’ll come to a small pagoda and have a view over the bend of Popeye Canyon. At this point you have a choice: take the short route, or adventure into the slot canyon.
Walking around the pagoda
Looking north towards the canyon
The two routes explained
There are two ways of reaching the falls: the slot canyon route, or the short route (you could enter via the slot canyon and exit via the short route forming a circuit). We’ll describe natural features to help navigate and we’ve created a zoomed in map of the area; this is best paired with an offline map/GPS to navigate.
The short entry route
The short route involves heading north, aiming to descend from the cliff/pagoda down into the creek. The top of the easy route is at these co-ordinates: -33.3800827, 150.3101257, heading to the bottom at these co-ordinates: -33.3798395, 150.3102091. This route shouldn’t involve any significant scrambling, but walking down tiered rock ledges until you get to the creek.
Once at the creek, you simply head south east (downstream/right) to Popeye Falls. Before talking about the falls, we’re going to explain the slot canyon track, as this is a fun route if you’re up for a bit more of an adventure.
Taking the slot canyon route
From the small pagoda, head west, and you’ll be walking along the top of the tall cliff, Popeye Canyon is below.
After roughly 100m you will see an easy entry point into the creek that becomes Popeye Canyon (co-ordinates: -33.3804885, 150.3096019). It’s just a few steps down at the lowest point, so you don’t have to negotiate any steep terrain on the entry, but it’s a little overgrown.
Wading through Popeye Canyon
The first 50m or so are a creek walk before you hit the first narrow part of the canyon. The water in the creek was ankle height for us and it’s easy enough to walk through, though rocky underfoot.
It’s when you reach the narrow slot that it really starts to get pretty, the water level is still low at first, though it does rise to just below knee height on this section - obviously after a lot of rain it will be higher (and if there has been a lot of rain you probably want to avoid this route), but as you have to swim one section in the canyon even when water levels are low, it doesn’t matter too much.
It’s around 130m after the canyon walls narrowed that you are going to have to embrace the chilly water and go all in. Though it’s technically a swim as it’s very deep water, it’s only about three strokes before you exit the pool again.
You then have 10m before you reach a little scramble down a small cascade into the next (much shallower) pool. The rocks here are extremely slippery.
It’s not a big cascade, but the rock is banana skin slippery and Joe did have a comedy moment sliding all the way in when trying to traverse the edge of the cascade.
Having learnt from his mistake I decided to go down on the right side, wedging my foot into the tier halfway down the cascade and this avoided the most slippery section and it wasn’t too bad getting down. Not as grippy as nearby Billabong Canyon, but doable without sliding.
From here the going is all pretty easy and there are no more scrambles, or deep water. You’ll almost immediately come to a shallow blue pool which was absolutely stunning, before walking through the last of the narrow part of the canyon before it becomes a creek walk again.
Finding Popeye Falls
From the blue pool you are about 190m from Popeye Falls. The creek becomes significantly lower from here, rarely getting above ankle high all the way to Popeye Falls. There are times you can come out of the creek and walk along the river bank to avoid debris in the water.
Around 30m from the blue pool you’ll see a large pagoda on the right. You can exit the water at this point and walk along the river bank. We started on the right side of the water and then traversed to the left when that side looked easier.
Roughly 60m beyond the pagoda, on the left side of the creek, you’ll come to some treefall you need to manoeuvre around, but it’s straightforward enough.
This is roughly 100m from the falls. You’ll keep traversing on the riverbank to the left of the water for around 90m and then you’ll see the telltale opening high up in the cliff wall on the right. You can then cross the creek (very shallow) and rock hop the last few metres to the falls.
Popeye Falls
Popeye Falls is unique, a thin ribbon of water cascading through an opening in the canyon wall giving the waterfall an ethereal quality. It’s a captivating place and feels completely cut off from the creek beyond. The pool at the base of the falls is very shallow, so whilst you can’t swim, it is a gorgeous spot to cool off in the crystal clear water.
There’s also plenty of room around the edge of the pool to sit and paddle your feet while taking in the incredible scenery.
Completing the circuit, the alternate exit route
The easiest route back to the fire trail is not to reverse the slot canyon, but to instead scramble up the cliff wall (the short route we briefly described earlier). Briefly follow the same route back, but when you get to the rock wall at these co-ordinates: -33.3798395, 150.3102091 you can climb to the top here instead of going back up the creek and canyon.
The rock is very grippy when dry and it’s nicely tiered giving you lots of ledges so it never feels too steep. Once at the top you’ll continue traversing the rock walls, which is again nice and grippy and never feels exposed.
Once you reach the end of the rock shelves you’ll need to continue on the dirt track until you come to the creek crossing again. Cross the creek in the same place as last time, using the exposed rocks for stepping stones. Head up into the clearing and begin traversing through the long grass uphill towards the fire trail.
Roughly 300m beyond the creek crossing you’ll head back into a bit of bush and scrub and after 200m bush bashing you will arrive back at the fire trail and follow it right, back to the car park which is just under 2.9km away.
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 national park, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Getting to the trailhead for Popeye Falls
Popeye Falls is located on the Newnes Plateau and is accessed via dirt roads. There’s a small car park at the very end of Waratah Ridge Road - it’s the start of the Hole in the Wall Canyon entry trail. The co-ordinates for the car park are: -33.3856351, 150.2901751.
To get to the car park, take the Bells Line of Road (B59) to Clarence where you turn right onto the Old Bells Line of Road. From here, the road is all unsealed, the majority of the 22km to the trailhead is in decent condition. We do recommend taking a 4WD for this as the conditions can change and deteriorate, but on our recent visits the majority of the road is in good enough condition even for a 2WD. However, the last 550m to the trailhead are rutted and a little rougher, so you may want to walk this last section if in a smaller car.
The trailhead is 56km and a 1 hour drive from Katoomba, 30km and a 45 minute drive from Lithgow and 150km and a 2.5 hour drive from Sydney.
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.
