Mount York via Lockyers Road & Cox's Descent - Blue Mountains National Park

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Route: Lockyers Track Head, Lockyers Road, Nature Walk, Mount York Road, Barden Lookout, Mount York, Eddys Lookout, Coxs Road, Nature Walk, Lockyers Road

Date: 08/05/2022
From: LockyersTrack Head

Parking: Lockyers Track Head
Start Point: Lockyers Track Head
Finish Point: Lockyers Track Head
Region: Blue Mountains

Route length: 8.4km
Time taken: 02:30
Average speed: 4.3km
Ascent: 308m
Descent: 310m

Points of Interest: Lockyers Road, Barden Lookout, Mount York, Coxs Road

Having returned from a trip back to the UK, it was apparent that the summer and autumn rains that have been lashing New South Wales for weeks had not subsided. So much so that much of the Blue Mountains National Park has been closed for fear of rock falls and landslides. For me, this rules out much of the most exciting hiking in the Sydney area. Fortunately, the jurisdiction of the parks authority only extends so far with large areas designated as state parks or simple reserves. One of these is Mount York, the western bastion of the high Blue Mountains.

Mount York is located on the very western edge of the central Blue Mountains area, prior to the flat, grassy plains of Hartley Vale. In truth, Mount York is more of an elevated spur extending away from the plateau but it promises sublime views across Hartley. So steep are the cliffs around Mount York that the main railway line, that follows the Great Western Highway from Sydney, has to make its own, more circuitous route to Lithgow rather than following the road down Victoria Pass.

An early-morning stop at Eagle Hawk Lookout on my way to Mount York

The obvious starting point for this hike is from atop Mount York itself - a road leads right to the top, however, what's the fun in beginning a hike at the top? An alternative route starts from Hartley Vale, climbing Lockyers Road towards the summit. The path starts at a trailhead on Hartley Vale Road where you can also camp for the night if you're trying to get an early start (the camping area is very basic but does have a toilet).

At the back of the car park is the beginning of the Lockyers Road path which climbs steeply to begin but then settles into a rhythm more fitting of its name. The track is one of the most historic in the Blue Mountains, along with Coxs Road. It is one of a number of 'roads' built by convicts in the early 1800s as a means to reach the fertile Hartley Vale. Named after surveyor Major Edmund Lockyer, Lockyers Road was the second attempt to cross the Blue Mountains (after Coxs Road) but was never finished after the work gangs were transferred to Victoria Pass (which now carries the Great Western Highway).

Hartley Vale and Mount Clarence

Starting the climb from the Lockyer campground

Nowadays, the old road is a bush walking track and you'll find a series of metal information signs along the route as it climbs away from the valley. Eventually, the track finds its way onto the spine of a long ridge that radiates away from the plateau (the Lockley Promontory). Along the way are several rocky outcrops that provide views of Mount York, across the valley.

The first of the information signs dotted along the track

Steps climb some of the steeper parts until you gain the ridge

The first of many views across Hartley

Some of the rock formations along the ridge

A view of Mount York

Lockyers Road

Lockyers Road

The track reaches Mount York Road and follows it towards the summit. Along the way are a few lookouts that have a superb view of the Vale of Hartley. The first is located next to a pair of old, hand-dug wells, signposted from the road. They are likely to have been built by the work gangs that built both Coxs and Lockyers Roads. The lookout can be found by passing the wells and heading downhill a short distance until the trees open up.

One of the hand-dug wells

The slopes of Mount York

Expansive views over Hartley

Mount Victoria

A panorama of Hartley from the first lookout

The second is Bardens Lookout, complete with a parking area and equally good views of the valley.

Barden Lookout

Hartley from Barden Lookout

A short distance from the lookout is the flat summit of Mount York which is home to a large camping area and a few memorials that celebrate the explorers Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth who were the first of the Europeans to view the lands west of the Blue Mountains in 1813. This first crossing later opened 'the west' to farming. Two fenced lookouts are located on the tip of Mount York, one looking west and one looking north.

Located at the western lookout is a large rock - Eddy Rock that is named after the former Chief Commissioner of NSW Government Railways, Edward Eddy, who was credited with making substantial improvements to the local rail system while keeping local workers employed during a regional depression.

The path alongside Mount York Road

Mount York

The Explorers Monument atop Mount York

The plaque on the monument

Hartley Vale

The hills north of Mount York

The view from Eddys Lookout

Eddys Rock

After visiting the lookouts, it was time to begin the descent down Cox's Road. It starts with a sensational trip along the cliff tops of Mount York where there are several lookouts that provide precipitous views into the valley below.

Governor Macquarie ordered the road in 1814 and appointed William Cox to oversee the construction. It was to be the first road out of the Sydney basin. Within 6 months thirty convicts constructed over 100 miles of road and bridges from the Nepean River to the future site of Bathurst. The route from Mount York to the valley floor is the steepest section of the entire road and the section atop the cliffs is probably the best preserved.

Coxs Road

Hartley Vale

The cliffs of Mount York

A view of the beginning of the hike at Lockyers

Panorama of Hartley Vale

Hand-cut gutters on Coxs Road

Coxs Road

Coxs Road

Notches that used to support a wooden bridge beam

The road used to cross this gully via a wooden bridge

After the road crosses the gully pictured above, it shrinks to become the Nature Track, now a narrow path rather than a road. It continues a leisurely descent to the valley floor.

Mount York

The Nature Track

At the bottom of the hill, the trees open up as the path enters some of the flatter areas that were so sought after by the European colonists for farmland. So flat in fact that, after the heavy rain of recent weeks, it resembled more of a pond than a field. I was thankful for my waterproof boots to get me across the sections not aided by a series of wooden posts that resembled something you would find in a children's playground. Luckily, my sense of balance has not yet deserted me.

'Roos out enjoying the sunshine

Mount York

Mount York

Wooden posts crossing one of the marshy sections

The farm pond below Mount York

Nature Track / Coxs Road

Nature Track

Hartley Vale

After successfully negotiating the swamps, the last section of the Nature Track makes its way back to Lockyers Road and the track head where I had left the car. I really enjoyed this hike, particularly the section of Coxs Road atop Mount York. The views are superb and, given it's a little off the beaten track, you may find you have them all to yourself.