Looking for a fantastic dog-friendly walk in the Blue Mountains? The Birdwood Gully and Gooch’s Track loop in Springwood is a beautiful 4.9 km hike perfect for a morning or afternoon adventure with your pup. This easy-to-moderate trail dives deep into a lush rainforest valley filled with cool creek crossings, unique sandstone rock formations, and even a hidden glowworm cave. It is an ideal escape to beat the heat, stretch your legs, and let your dog splash around in Springwood Creek.
Birdwood Gully & Gooch's Track
📍 LOWER BLUE MOUNTAINS
Distance4.8 km
Duration02:02 hrs
Elev Gain+213 m
Elev Lost-211 m
Date
15 December 2024
Starting Point
Bednal Road
Difficulty
Easy
Pace / Gear
3.2 km/h — Light day pack
Highlights
Springwood Creek, glowworm cave
🗺️ Interactive Route MapPinch or use wheel to zoom
Birdwood Gully near Springwood is famous for being one of the best dog-friendly hikes in the Blue Mountains. I’ve been counting down the days until our new puppy was old enough to finally tackle it with us.
As its name suggests, the hike is centered around Birdwood Gully, a small creek that feeds into Springwood Creek before it disappears into the bush toward the Grose River. While the standard circuit around the gully is only 2.6 km, we tacked on Gooch's Track to stretch it into a 4.9 km loop—making it the perfect length for a morning adventure.
You'll find a few old signposts dotted around
There are several 'entrances' to the circuit and numerous streets to park on — Perry Avenue in my case to access the creek from Bednal Road. After negotiating an awkward bend in the road, we entered Birdwood Gully Park, with the dog leading the way. Almost immediately the path crosses Birdwood Gully which, on a hot day like today, was looking rather dry.
Birdwood Gully
Birdwood Gully
The track follows the creek line downstream, guiding you deeper into the gully where the landscape shifts dramatically. You'll weave past some incredible, eroded rock formations that look like giant caves carved right into the valley walls. The environment here feels worlds away from the town above, switching to a damp, green rainforest ecosystem that keeps the air wonderfully cool—a total lifesaver if you're hiking with a puppy on a warm day.
Birdwood Gully Park
Birdwood Gully Track
Birdwood Gully Track
Birdwood Gully Track
There are some interesting formations close to Tidswell Reserve
Further down the track, the trail crosses over into Sassafras Park, dropping you right at the edge of the creek junction where Birdwood Gully flows into Springwood Creek. This spot is an absolute gem of a clearing with plenty of shallow, flowing water and wide sandy banks. Our pup wasted no time diving right in; it's the ultimate place for some serious splashing around and a lifesaver for keeping a dog cool and happy on a hot bushwalk.
Springwood Creek
Springwood Creek
Springwood Creek
Springwood Creek
Springwood Creek
Gooch's Track is not far from this location, a short, additional loop to the north of Birdwood Gully. According to local sources, the track was probably made by a former local resident – Nicholas Gooch, who is credited with naming Gooch's Crater near Bell. An avid cyclist, Nicholas was sadly killed in an accident in 2003. The track follows Springwood Creek upstream, culminating with a short climb to Tom Hunter Park.
Sassafras Park
Gooch's Track in Sassafras Park
Gooch's Track
Gooch's Track
Gooch's Track
Tom Hunter Park
To finish off the Gooch's Track side-loop, the trail climbs up onto a striking ridge of wide, bare sandstone. It's a fun change of pace from the valley floor—just keep an eye on your dog's paws if it's a hot day, as the exposed rock can heat up quickly! After soaking in the open ridge views, the track drops back down into the shade, crossing Springwood Creek again to link right back up with the main Birdwood Gully track.
The ridge in Sassafras Park
Hot paws
Sassafras Park
Gooch's Track
Once back at Springwood Creek, the Birdwood Gully Loop follows it upstream along the best section of the entire hike. After passing beneath some interesting rock overhangs, the path follows Springwood Creek upstream where it carves a route though a narrow section of sandstone gorge, creating a small waterfall where the water has to flow over a shelf of rock. You'll have to pick a wet day if you want to see it in full force.
Back on the Birdwood Gully Track
Birdwood Gully Track
Springwood Creek
Springwood Creek
The small waterfall on Springwood Creek
The path climbs alongside the small tumble of rocks, still following the creek until it's times to exit the valley. Steps guide you away from the creek to a large cave, home to a colony of glowworms. Further climbing up the carved steps takes you through a gap in the cliffs until the path emerges on Lucinda Avenue — the western side of the circuit. From here, it's a short distance to the starting point.
Springwood Creek
The glowworm cave
One happy dog
The final climb out of the valley
Birdwood Gully lived up to the hype as one of the absolute best dog-friendly tracks around. Between the cool rainforest creeks to splash in and the awesome glowworm cave at the end, it’s the perfect day out for both humans and pups. If you're looking for a shady, scenic escape in the lower Blue Mountains, this loop is a winner.
Tucked away at the end of Perry's Lookdown Road near Blackheath lies a pair of remarkable, easily accessible geological wonders that many Blue Mountains visitors completely miss. Combining the short, family-friendly walks to the striking Wind Eroded Cave (often called Wave Rock) and the rugged Anvil Rock Lookout offers a fantastic, low-effort double bill. In just under a kilometre of walking, you can explore a massive wind-sculpted sandstone overhang before standing on a dramatic clifftop platform that serves up spectacular, panoramic views across the Grose Valley directly toward the volcanic dome of Mount Banks.
Wind Eroded Cave & Anvil Rock
📍 BLUE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Distance0.65 km
Duration00:28 hrs
Elev Gain+21 m
Elev Lost-21 m
Date
28 July 2024
Starting Point
Anvil Rock ROad
Difficulty
Easy
Pace / Gear
4.4 km/h — Camera
Highlights
Wind Eroded Cave. Anvil ROck
🗺️ Interactive Route MapPinch or use wheel to zoom
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 1 km — 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 and 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.
