Bridal Veil Falls & the Pool of Siloam - Blue Mountains National Park

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Route: Lone Pine Avenue, Malvern Road, Leura Park, Cliff Drive, Leura Cascades Picnic Area, Echo Tree Lookout, Fern Bower, Lila Falls, Amphitheatre Track, Weeping Rock, Bridal Veil Falls, Leura Cascades, Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Bridal Veil View, Tarpeian Rock, Olympian Parade, Olympian Rock, Buttenshaw Bridge, Elysian Rock, Gordon Falls Lookout, Pool of Siloam Track, Pool of Siloam, Lyrebird Dell, Lone Pine Peace Park

Date: 10/09/2023
From: Lone Pine Park

Parking: Lone Pine Avenue
Start Point: Leura Park
Finish Point:  Lone Pine Peace Park
Region: Blue Mountains National Park

Route length: 7.6km
Time taken: 03:00
Average speed: 4.3km/h
Ascent: 425m
Descent: 436m

Points of Interest: The Amphitheatre, Bridal Veil Falls, Leura Cascades, The Pool of Siloam, Lyrebird Dell

NSW National Parks have recently completed an upgrade to the Amphitheatre and Lyrebird Dell Tracks in the Blue Mountains which means I've finally been able to complete a loop that I've had in mind for a while, one that visits the Amphitheatre while also including Bridal Veil Falls, Leura Cascades, and the Pool of Siloam. It's one of the prettiest areas of the national park and well worth your consideration, especially if you find any one of those tracks too short on its own.

After getting a sunrise start from Sydney, we arrived bright and early in Leura, parking close to Lone Pine Peace Park. After rounding up our gear, we followed Malvern Road westwards which led us into Leura Park, a small extension of the main National Park that encloses Leura Falls Creek. It is this creek that tumbles over Bridal Veil Falls which features later this hike.

Leura Park provides access to Cliff Drive, the historic Chelmsford Bridge, and the Leura Cascades Picnic Area. At the time of writing, Cliff Drive is closed to traffic due to a landslip, so the picnic area is often deserted, and the facilities are currently closed. The picnic area was formerly the Katoomba Municipal Baths which opened in 1913 before they fell out of favour and were filled in the 1970s.

A shady Leura Park

Leura Picnic Area occupies the former Municipal Baths - now filled in

Cliff Drive at the Leura Picnic Area

There is a new metal walkway that joins the picnic area back to Cliff Drive at the old Solitary Restaurant. We visited the handful of lookouts dotted around the area before entering the eastern end of Federal Pass as it dives into the National Park alongside Linda Creek. The Federal Pass track is one of the longest in the Blue Mountains, following the base of the cliffs from Leura to Ruined Castle some 13km away. We'd only need a short section of it as it passes through Fern Bower to the Amphitheatre Track.

Flat Top Lookout has a beautiful view of the valley of Linda Creek and the cliff walls beyond

Honeymoon Point

Fern Bower

The branch onto the Amphitheatre Track is located close to Lila Falls which cascades down the rocks below Fern Bower. It’s thought that the falls were named after Lilla North, the daughter of John Britty North who established the Katoomba Coal and Township Land Company and actively promoted the growth of Katoomba as a tourist resort - no doubt indirectly leading to the creation of many of the modern tracks and trails.

Lila Falls

The beautiful Amphitheatre Track follows the cliffs into the Amphitheatre where the cliff walls tower above in a graceful curve. It's short-lived but you'll quickly find yourself close to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls at Weeping Rock where, on wet days, a beautiful cascade forms across the rock (though there was not much weeping today). There is a nice view of the creek before a short climb takes you to the base of the falls.

Entering the Amphitheatre

The path hugs the edge of the cliffs

Beneath the Amphitheatre

The Amphitheatre cliffs

The multi-tiered Bridal Veil Fall is very picturesque, especially after some rain when the falls really come to life. The view from the foot of the falls gives a unique aspect, with the waterfall appearing as a tall pyramid of rock or a flowing bridal veil, hence the name.

Weeping Rock below Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

The upper cascades of Bridal Veil Falls

The lower cascades

Bridal Veil Falls

The path continues to the top of the Bridal Veil waterfall by climbing a series of steps and ladders. This section is by far the steepest on this hike, but it is short-lived. There is a lookout above the waterfall before the path heads into a dark dell where the creek swirls beneath a large sandstone overhang. This is the bottom of the popular Leura Cascades.

The cliffs below Bridal Veil View

Bridal Veil Falls

The Katoomba cliffs

A path follows the creek and cascades upstream until it meets the Prince Henry Cliff Walk just below Cliff Drive. The popular cliff walk provides the means to extend this hike from Leura Cascades to Gordon Falls and the Pool of Siloam.

The bottom of Leura Cascades - the bridge has been closed due to flood damage

Leura Cascades

Leura Falls Creek

After 500m, a second track leads to Bridal Veil View. This is an optional side quest one of the best views of Bridal Veil Falls. The small, fenced lookout has a dramatic location looking 'in' to the valley and provides a superb, unobstructed view of the waterfall.

The lookout at Bridal Veil View

Bridal Veil Falls from the lookout

After returning to the Prince Henry Cliff Walk there are further lookouts that offer similar views: Tarpeian Rock, Olympian Rock, and Elysian Rock. They all have a magnificent view across the Jamison Valley, out to Mount Solitary, the ‘back’ of the Three Sisters, Narrow Neck Plateau, and Sublime Point. Elysian Rock is also home to Buttenshaw Bridge, a small footbridge that spans a deep cleft. A bridge has crossed the chasm since 1935, renewed with a steel bridge in 2015.

Elysian Rock Lookout

The lookout at Tarpeian Rock

The Jamison Valley

Crossing Buttenshaw Bridge

Buttenshaw Bridge

At the back of Olympian Lookout is Olympian Parade which provides access to Gordon Falls Lookout while a short section of the Prince Henry Cliff Walk is closed following a landslip. Like Bridal Veil View, the out-and-back trip to Gordons Falls Lookout is optional but worth the modest effort however, the falls are best seen in the afternoon once the cliffs are out of the shadows.

Gordon Falls Lookout

The Jamison Valley

While it was always our intention to visit the Pool of Siloam, it's optional in the context of the area. It involves a big descent and reascent so, if that's not for you, you can return to the start point along Lone Pine Avenue. Otherwise, follow the Pool of Siloam Track as it winds downhill to Gordon Creek.

Descending the steps to the Pool of Siloam

The Pool of Siloam is a lovely, cool spot - the perfect waterhole for a summer swim. Unlike other waterfalls in the area, this one is a little off the beaten track so doesn't see as many visitors as some of the more popular falls elsewhere. It has also benefitted from some recent national park maintenance to improve the track and creek crossings.

The beautiful Pool of Siloam

Pool of Siloam

Gordon Creek

The Lyrebird Dell Round forms the last section of this hike, taking us from the Pool of Siloam to Lyrebird Dell, home to a dramatic overhanging sandstone cave. The cave provides shelter for a small picnic area (with a couple of tables) and has been used as an Aboriginal shelter from (at least) 12,000 years ago. This has been dated from artefacts found on the floor of the cave.

Lyrebird Dell

The cave shelter at Lyrebird Dell

There is also a small waterfall at Lyrebird Dell

After admiring Lyrebird Dell, it was time for us to make tracks back to the car following a series of steps that climb from the Dell to Lone Pine Avenue. On the floor, you'll pass a small commemoration of Armistice Day. Hou will find Lone Pine referenced across Australia commemorating the Battle of Lone Pine fought between the ANZAC soldiers and the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. 

The fighting was some of the fiercest the Australians experienced during the campaign and the Lone Pine is now the site of the annual Australian Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli. Many more "Lone Pine" trees have been planted in Australia and New Zealand and Gallipoli to commemorate the battle, seeded from specimens taken from Gallipoli.

The Armistice Day tiles - easy to miss as you climb away from Lyrebird Dell

Lyrebird Dell

The memorial gates at the Lone Pine Peace Park