The Thornleigh to Hornsby track is one of our favourite sections of the Great North Walk. Tucked away in the beautiful bushland around Berowra Creek, this station to station walk takes you through gorgeous forest which comes alive with wild flowers in spring.

It’s a peaceful walk which is teeming with birdlife and you’ll rarely find a moment when you’re not being serenaded by one bird or another, making it incredibly atmospheric.

Here’s what to expect on the Thornleigh to Hornsby section of the Great North Walk.

Thornleigh to Hornsby Walk

The stats

Distance: 10.7km
Elevation: 389m
Difficulty: Moderate

The Thornleigh to Hornsby Walk is a moderate walk, which undulates much of the way. We took three hours to do the walk, but you may want to plan more time if you are planning to stop for lunch.

Which direction to choose

We’ve only done this walk starting at Thornleigh, but we think that it would be easier in the other direction (starting at Hornsby).

When walking from Thornleigh you have quite a steep finish up the heritage steps, so we’d recommend to start at Hornsby if you’d like it to be a little easier.

Thornleigh to Hornsby Walk - What to expect

Having said that, the Hornsby end of the walk is even lovelier than the Thornleigh end, and it’s always nice to finish on the prettiest section. You can’t really go wrong either way to be honest!

Starting the trail at Thornleigh station

You begin the walk at Thornleigh station and have roughly 700m walking on quiet residential streets before you enter the bush.

You’ll start on Eddy Street and whilst it’s always nice to head straight onto the track and not walk alongside the road, this one has lots of pretty gardens which were blooming with gorgeous flowers both times we’ve done this track, so it didn’t feel like a hardship!

After 450m you make a left onto Tillock Street and a right onto Morgan Street 150m later. You’ll then quickly see the turning on your right in between the houses along the narrow path, with the small Great North Walk sign. If you’re using Google Maps, then look for the Bellamy and then the Benowie Track that start from Morgan St (you can find the exact spot by clicking here).

From this moment onwards you’re surrounded by greenery and as you walk along the little creek. It’s worth looking out for water dragons as we saw one sunning itself on the rock before diving into the water.

I realised that despite having seen dozens and dozens of them on various trails, it was the first time I’d ever seen one swim which was a bit of a treat!

Into the bush

You’ll briefly pop out of the bush onto a concrete walkway before turning left 10m later, just before the bridge over Zig Zag Creek, it’s well signposted.

This is the point at which it feels like a proper hiking trail and it’s a really beautiful stretch of track. The bush is fairly dense on both sides which makes it wonderfully shady and you start to hear all the birds.

You have almost 2km of entirely flat track, which makes it really relaxing and allows you to fully immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the bush. The path is lined with ferns as well as tall gum trees.

If you walking in September and early October there is an explosion of pink and yellow wild flowers which were absolutely beautiful and filled the air with the most wonderful perfume.

This is one of my favourites parts of the walk because it’s so incredibly relaxing, with flat track and smooth paths.

The path gets rougher

At the 3.1km mark you’ll have a brief period of uphill walking before the path flattens again. It’s narrower now and rocky in places, which continues for much of the rest of the walk.

After a few hundred metres you’ll begin heading uphill on a more rugged track, and this part of the forest was quite burnt out when we visited.

Hiking through the bush on the Thornleigh to Hornsby Walk

There are already signs of green shoots so it won’t be too long before it regenerates but for now there is a fairly long burnt out section of track.

The climb is partly on stone stairs but some of it is rocky. It’s never a scramble but the smooth paths of the earlier part of the walk are definitely gone.

It’s only around 150m of uphill before the track flattens again. You have some lovely views to the left, of the expansive bushland.

Through the forest

After just over half a kilometre of flat but rocky track through the bush you begin descending. This whole section is still in burnt out forest but the flecks of green show the resilience of the bushland. It’s an uneven path for the descent but it’s not difficult or scrambly and never too steep.

Then suddenly out of nowhere the dry arid (and at our time burned) bushland immediately turns into lush green forest. It’s possibly the most dramatic change in environment we’ve seen on a trail in Sydney.

You’ll cross over the creek and have a very brief uphill climb before the track flattens again. This is another lovely section of track with pretty bush views to the left and lots of craggy rocks to the right.

Although it’s not the smooth path of the beginning of the walk, it’s still easy and relaxing.

Even in late October it was still full of beautiful white Flannel flowers. They often lined both sides of the path and grew in huge quantities further into the bush. It’s a fantastic walk no matter what season, but the flowers really do add a touch of magic to the bush.

After roughly 1.5km you start descending again and the bush seems to get greener and greener.

Heading for the blue gums

At the 7km mark you’ll reach the intersection with the Blue Gum walk which is one of our favourite trails in Sydney. You’ll want to take the track marked for Fishponds.

You’ll continue heading downhill and again it’s quite rocky and you have to climb over one tree which has fallen down over the track.

It’s fairly steep in places but you can always use your hands or poles if you’re like me and a bit unsteady when descending!

You’ll soon come out at another creek crossing, but rather than a bridge you hop over the oddly shaped rocks. There is one step where it’s a little bit of a bigger gap, but you can still get over it easily enough.

From the creek crossing onwards is my favourite part of the whole walk, you’ll start by following the creek with lots of picturesque honeycomb cliffs to your right.

A few hundred metres later you can make a short 100m detour to take a look at Fishponds. It looks like a fabulous spot for a swim but it unfortunately suffers from urban run off so it’s better to just take a look!

After heading back onto the main trail you’ll start heading uphill for a few hundred metres before you hit a wide path through the blue gums.

Although you are still walking uphill, it’s so gradual as to be barely noticeable and the scenery is just stunning.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of ferns and of course the majestic blue gums themselves. You have roughly 1km of this gorgeous stretch of track, which undulates gently until you hit the Rosemead picnic area. It’s a lovely spot, surrounded by gums and absolutely chock full of birds.

There’s a couple of picnic benches and a BBQ here and it’s a nice spot to take a break before the final hill up to Hornsby station.

We sat here for around ten minutes and saw kookaburras, corellas, cockatoos, rosellas, lorikeets and King parrots! It’s a birdwatcher’s paradise!

Up the heritage steps

From the picnic area it’s exactly 1.3km to Hornsby station. You’ll start by heading up the heritage steps which were built in the 1930’s and restored in 2011. It’s fairly steep taking you up 100m in just 400m of trail, but they are surrounded by bush so it’s still very pretty and there’s a small section of flat track part way to catch your breath!

Once at the top you have a couple of hundred metres more bush track before you hit the road. It’s not signposted when you leave the bush but you head right and then left 400m later on Dural Street. It’s then straight on to the town and station. The whole section walking along the road and residential streets is just 700m.

Getting to the trail head

You can get from Central Station to Thornleigh Station on the North Shore line. The train is direct and takes just under an hour.

You can get from Hornsby to Central Station, also on the North Shore line directly. If you get a fast train it is just 37 minutes, otherwise a slower train is 50 minutes.

If you want to drive one way and take the train back to your car, there is plenty of free parking at Thornleigh Station.

Packing suggestions for the walk

Having the right gear can make a huge difference. Here’s what we pack and have relied upon for years:

Sunscreen: Cancer Council Active. With a high SPF, but not the greasy feel of other sunscreens. Makes a big difference when you’re working up a sweat on a sunny day! Check it out on Amazon
Good Rain Jacket: North Face This is an essential item we always pack in our bag! This jacket from North Face is designed to keep you dry but also comfortably warm (many rain jackets will make you feel like you’re in a sauna). Check it out on Amazon
Day Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). Check on Amazon or direct with Osprey
Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Check them out on Amazon
Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. Check them out on Amazon.
Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic. Check them out on Amazon

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