Wind Eroded Cave & Anvil Rock - Blue Mountains National Park

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Route: Anvil Rock Road, Wind Eroded Cave, Anvil Rock Track, Anvil Rock Lookout

Date: 28/07/2024
From: Anvil Rock Road

Parking: Anvil Rock Road
Start Point: Anvil Rock Road
Finish Point: Anvil Rock Road
Region: Blue Mountains National Park

Route length: 651m
Time taken: 00:28
Average speed: 4.5km/h
Ascent: 21m
Descent: 21m

Points of Interest: Wind Eroded Cave, Anvil Rock

Close to the end of Perry's Lookdown Road are two interesting Blue Mountains features many travellers overlook: Wind Eroded Cave and Anvil Rock. Previously only accessible along an unsealed road, some major upgrades undertaken by the National Parks Service have made travelling to these two locations easier by sealing the Perrys Lookdown Road and providing an upgraded car park. Separate trails lead to either feature and a combination of the two is just 1km - perfect if you are short on time or simply wasting time in the mountains. First up; Wind Eroded Cave. 

It's only 130m from the car park to Wind Eroded Cave, first down a short set of steps then along an obvious track. While it's called a cave, it is more of a large overhang shaped by millennia of wind erosion which sandblasts the rock. Also known as Wave Rock (which is perhaps a better description), the feature is much taller than it is deep.

The path to Wind Eroded Cave

Wind Eroded Cave

You can scamper up into the cave to get a real sense of just how big it is though there isn't much else to do. When you've had your fill, return to the car park the same way as you came.

Wind Eroded Cave

Wind Eroded Cave

The interesting shapes caused by the wind erosion

Wind Eroded Cave

Next is Anvil Rock. The trail is longer than Wind Eroded Cave (500m return) and starts with a few steps to gain the short ridge that leads to the lookout. You'll encounter a bench overlooking the valley commemorating Joyce Brister (1916 -2010), a prominent resident of Blackheath.

The commemorative bench atop the cliffs

Continuing along the ridge, the lookout is impossible to miss: it first appears as a weathered sandstone rock formation resembling a blacksmith’s anvil. The lookout was named “Anvil Rock” in 1938 by Blackheath Council, the same year the original access road to the lookout was constructed. Steps and a short ledge carved into the rock take you around to the lookout itself.

Anvil Rock

The ledge leads to the lookout

The lookout consists of a large flat sandstone platform with a great view of Mount Banks to the east, on the opposite side of the Grose Valley. A secondary platform, accessed by some steps, is home to an actual anvil, now acting as a direction plaque.

Anvil Rock Lookout

Anvil Rock Lookout

Mount Banks

Mount Banks and the Grose Valley

The suburbs of Sydney, visible beyond Mount Hay

The anvil was donated by Stan Miller, Company Secretary for Bradford Kendall Industries who was a keen bushwalker in the area, and was installed at Anvil Rock in 1948. A couple of years later the brass directional plate was added to the anvil.

Anvil Rock's resident anvil

The directional markers on the anvil

The anvil remained in place until around 1970 when it was assumed vandals pushed it over the cliff, judging by the scrape marks on the rocks and it was considered lost. Remarkably, it was found in 2005 during a police rescue operation before being restored and re-bolted to Anvil Rock in 2008.

Anvil Rock

The Grose River at the bottom of the valley

Grose Valley from Anvil Rock

After soaking in the views, it's a simple case of retracing the path back to the car park. The nearby Perrys Lookdown is worth a visit to get a slightly different perspective of Mount Banks from the lookouts atop Docker Head. You can also use the car park to embark on longer, more arduous hikes into the Grose Valley 300m below.