River Caves Canyon is a breathtaking canyon tucked away down an unmarked trail in Wollemi National Park. It feels like entering a secret world - part cave, part canyon. As you walk between darkness and light, you’ll be in awe of the swirling rock formations that make up the top of the towering canyon walls.
There’s something about the awe and sense of wonder that come from wandering through canyons, and normally that feeling is reserved solely for abseilers, but not at River Caves. This is a spectacular and easy walk in canyon, yet it still has that into the wilds feeling.
There are no signposts, either to the car park, or to the canyon itself, but we have you covered on exactly how to get there in this post.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting River Caves Canyon.
River Caves Canyon
Before we get started
Before we get started it’s best to note that this is a fairly remote area with no phone signal. Whilst the walk is not difficult, it’s best to let someone know where you’re going just in case. Take all the usual precautions and bush-walking advice for a wilderness walk. After you leave the Glow Worm Tunnel Road there are very few, if any cars around.
We recommend taking a PLB with you in case of an emergency. We carry a GME and you can check this one out and many more on Amazon.
It’s also important to know there are no facilities whatsoever anywhere near this canyon, please take all rubbish home with you.
About River Caves Canyon
The good news is that River Caves Canyon doesn’t require abseiling or any technical skills - you can walk straight in and all the way through. There are sections of water, but unless there has been substantial rainfall, it should come up to your waist at its deepest (and even that can be avoided with a short rock scramble), for the most part it is ankle to knee deep.
It’s more of an adventurous hike than it is canyoning. The hardest part is finding the trailhead, and finding how to get to the entrance of the canyon! However, we’ve written detailed instructions about both below.
The walk to River Caves Canyon
The stats
Distance: 1.75km each way
Elevation: 130m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
If you know where you’re going, the walk to River Caves Canyon is relatively short and quite easy.
We recommend allowing 30-45 minutes each way, and then extra time to enjoy exploring inside the canyon.
To make it easier, we have the GPS coordinates for the Canyon entrance: -33.316119, 150.303661 or you can click here to see it on Google Maps. If you use a GPS tracker, or download this area as an offline map on Google Maps, that will help you find it easily.
Starting the trail
The trail begins beyond the locked gate, passing the ‘Wollemi Wilderness Walkers Only’ sign.
It is 1.4km between the car park and the canyon entrance, but - like the drive in - it isn’t signposted or obvious!
You’ll descend gently on a rocky trail for 330m before reaching the saddle, Natural Bridge. You’ll know you’re there as the path briefly flattens and at time of writing there is a large charred trunk lying across the saddle.
The path down to the canyon lies to the left. The GPS co-ordinates for the exact location are -33.3225815, 150.3091589 (or click here to see if on Google Maps).
It’s narrow and not immediately obvious, but once you do see it, you’ll know, it’s very clearly a walking path. Don’t start going uphill past the saddle, the path is very close to the charred trunk.
The fire trail down to Natural Bridge
The small trail off Natural Bridge
Into the bush
From the turning at Natural Bridge you need to keep following the path and avoid the temptation to take any turns for the next 1.07km (or close to!). You will eventually end up at Budgary Creek and the entrance to River Caves Canyon.
The path descends immediately and it’s fairly rocky with some patches of loose soil. Not terrible, but a little slippery in parts. After 230m you’ll start passing by a series of pagodas and you know you’re coming into canyon territory! Before this point, you’d honestly have no idea!
Roughly 80m later you’ll notice the path deteriorate a bit and there are a few slender trees down over the track. They aren’t in the least bit difficult to get round, but just watch out for the spiky burnt branches which are razor sharp.
Another 110m later and you stop descending and the dirt path will suddenly drop into a dried up, sandy creek bed. The burnt bush and sheer amount of foliage makes the track feel a little overgrown, but it’s always quite clear to follow.
There are short sections where plants have obscured the bottom of the track, just watch for debris along here so you don’t get tripped up. You need to keep following the main path, do not take any of the side trails on the left up towards the pagoda walls.
The creek will begin to widen. Keep heading straight and eventually you’ll start walking alongside water (prior to this the creek is dry). This then leads you to Budgary Creek and you begin to head left.
The trail will pass a couple of red taped trees (handy for directions on the way back) and you will see the huge canyon walls and the cave opening which is lined on both sides with giant ferns. The creek flows through the sandy wash. It’s pretty dramatic and you’ll know immediately you’re in the right place.
Into the canyon
The path into the canyon skirts the left edge of the cliff and then drops you down at the entrance. You can walk through the river (something you will eventually have to do anyway) or criss-cross the creek at first.
Near the beginning there is one large rock to climb up, but there’s a foothold and no exposure, so it’s easy. At first the canyon is relatively wide and full of foliage, and to be honest even that is extremely beautiful, but the best is yet to come.
The beginning of the canyon
The rock you have to scramble up
Once you’ve walked from the sandy bank down into the canyon you will begin walking in the water at the start of the first narrow section of the canyon (this about 100m in). The canyon walls loom over you and they are tall enough to actually make it feel quite dark! Make sure you look up to the very top where you will see those gorgeous swirling patterns.
The water is quite shallow at first, only up to your ankles unless there has been significant rainfall. It’s pretty cold, but even walking just before winter, it didn’t bother me at all. If you’re visiting in cool weather and are worried about it, wear neoprene socks, they really saved us on the Narrows hike in Zion.
It really is a magical scene with all the wow factor. You’re also very likely to have it all to yourself, which is yet another reason this place is so special.
It’s very easy walking, we’ve been in quite a few water filled canyons and often there are slippery rocks to contend with, in River Caves it’s almost all sand making it a complete breeze. There are one or two logs around but they’re easily avoidable.
After 60m you’ll appear at an opening with plenty of trees and ferns which has more of a cave like feeling, before you head into another dark slot.
The dry route or wet route!
At the second opening you have a choice - continue through the creek (which has one short section which is waist high water) or climb up the rocks to stay dry. The dry route is a little bit of a scramble, nothing too tricky, but if you are ok with the water temperature, then the wet route is more fun.
The dry route
From the opening, look for a climbing route on the right hand wall. It’s behind a big boulder, and there are a couple of footholds. It’s a proper path once you’ve climbed up the boulder.
The dry route isn’t the most picturesque option, but if it’s freezing cold it will save you a nasty shock! There are a few rocks to navigate, but it’s a minor scramble. You’ll pass a couple more opportunities to jump back into the creek and avoid the deepest parts. Alternatively, you can keep going until the second constriction in the canyon.
The wet route
The start of the wet route is one of the deeper parts. The waist height water is just before you head under the narrow arch with the boulder in the middle.
In summer this would be a delight and even in the cold weather I was totally fine with it, I just needed to hold my fleece up to stop it getting soaked.
If you choose to pass under the arch (which I recommend!) then you will come out at the base of the pretty cascades. I had no idea they were going to be there and it added another touch of magic to the already incredible scene.
You can then walk up the cascades (which isn’t hard and the water wasn’t that push you back kind that you get in some canyons) and continue on through another dark and mysterious constriction.
The second constriction
After 220m of walking through the canyon (1.65km total from the car park) you’ll reach the second amazing slot. It’s another fabulous spot where it’s almost completely dark and you see a narrow shaft of light breaking through.
The water level is back to ankle deep and the easy walking allows you to fully appreciate those phenomenal canyon walls. All too soon (50m) you see the walls open up again and you are standing at the end of the canyon. I really didn’t want it to end!
Your choice now is whether to return the way you came, or to take the obvious path on the left and follow that up and out of the canyon.
We opted for returning the way we came because I wanted to walk through the canyon all over again! The views all feel different on the way back and I wanted to soak up some more of them before returning along the bush track.
I didn’t do the other route, but personally I would recommend going back through the canyon again, it was over all too quickly on the way and as you’ve probably driven pretty far to get here you may as well make the most of it!
Making your way back
Heading back through the canyon is as easy as the way there was, except for one bit, the cascades. Personally I found it trickier walking down that first one and I didn’t want to get totally soaked, so I opted to use the rock scramble route to the left instead. It only takes a few minutes and isn’t difficult.
The other thing to note is that once you’re out of the canyon, look for the red tape. This will show you the path you need to take which heads up a slope and back to the main trail. The walk is mainly uphill on the way back, but it’s pretty quick as you know exactly where to go.
If you love River Caves Canyon, and are looking for another walk in canyon nearby, we’d highly recommend checking out the gorgeous Dry Canyon, located off Glow Worm Tunnel Road.
Conditions on the drive to River Caves
Getting to the car parking area for River Caves Canyon requires driving for approximately 30km along dirt trails. The majority of the drive is potholed in places, but not too bad overall and suitable for any cars (in dry weather).
The last 2.6km becomes very narrow, with a few rocks and lumpy road (not quite gullies) and whilst you could take a 2WD down it, I wouldn’t. You could always leave your car at the turning for the Deep Pass Campground and then walk the last 2.6km if you don’t like the look of the road.
Whilst most of that last 2.6km are pretty good, there is a bit of a steepish rocky section which I could imagine some 2WD’s might bottom out on.
It’s worth also noting that after heavy rain the roads could become waterlogged and impassable for most cars.
Obviously conditions could change over time, but that’s the state of play at time of writing.
Directions to River Caves Canyon
Step-by-step directions
Getting to River Caves Canyon isn’t easy. It’s a 30km drive along un-signposted, unsealed roads with potholes. There is a hack to use Google Maps (see below), but we recommend using these directions as Google Maps will instinctively take you down the roughest route possible. If you follow these steps, you should find it easier - it’s still a long and bumpy ride though.
If you’re driving from Sydney, turn right onto the Old Bells Line of Road, off the Chifley Road (B59). Take note of the kilometres from here as it will really help! Follow this road until you reach a T Junction - this is Glow Worm Tunnel Road. Take a right.
Keep following this road past the campground and the turn to Blackfellows Hand Trail, and at the 20.4km mark from the start of these directions, you will see an unmarked road on your right. Take this turn - the correct road is marked as the Deep Pass Trail on Google Maps.
if you see a turning signed “West Boundary Trail” you’ve gone too far. Turn around and take the previous turning.
Once you’ve made the correct turn, drive for 600m and take a left - again unmarked (it should be the second left). This will take you onto the Mount Cameron Trail. After 550m you will reach a fork, take the right.
In the last year, the Mount Cameron Trail has been regraded and improved, so you can now drive all the way to Natural Bridge on this road. It is 5.2km from the fork.
Google Maps Hack
If you’ve ever tried finding the way to River Caves Canyon on Google Maps, you’ll find that errors come up. For some reason, part of the Mount Cameron Trail must be down as not driveable on Google. We recommend using Google Maps as a back-up, but make sure you follow the instructions above for a much smoother ride.
Here’s how to use Google Maps to help you. The easiest way is to set your maps to walking, and then use the map we’ve created by clicking here. We only realised this was an option when writing this post so we actually used the below method.
The alternative that we used is to download the area around Natural Bridge and Newnes Plateau as an offline map. This will help you when you lose signal. Firstly put these co-ordinates as your destination - 33°21'07.4"S 150°15'40.0"E - you can click here to see the location. Once you reach this spot from Glow Worm Tunnel Road you will see a fire trail on the left. Take this before you reach the fork.
At the fork, stop and put in Natural Bridge Car Park. Google Maps will now be able to take you there from this point.
Canyon safety
Never enter any canyon if rain is predicted, as it can easily turn to flash flooding and put you at risk.
It’s also best to avoid canyons for a few days after heavy rain to let the water levels return to normal. Expect that heavy rain may have changed conditions inside the canyon, ie logs get washed in etc.
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