Best Dog Friendly Walks Blue Mountains – The Grand Canyon is one of the most famous hikes in the Blue Mountains, and for good reason. We’ve been down this road more times than we can count and it still surprises us every time. A walk between the high fern-covered walls of the canyon is always breathtaking.
It’s a beautiful, beautiful place and jumping over the streams along the rainforest streams will definitely add some magic to your day. It has enough power for short distances and will be within reach of most people, even if you have some steep climbs.
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But I’m sure you’re wondering what the secret is. You must return to the canyon at night to find out. Yes, those of you who are full of adventure and dare to explore the canyon under the cover of darkness will encounter a completely different night sky.
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You’ve probably already guessed, but at night the Grand Canyon Walk is filled with thousands and thousands of fireflies. We’ll share everything you want to know about the canyon day and night.
The Grand Canyon Trek in the Blue Mountains is not very long, but it continues with a steep descent and ends with a challenging climb. The trail is in excellent condition, but there are some very short sections that require scrambling over a rock or two. It took us 2.5 hours to do the whole tour, but you can do it in less than 2 hours if you don’t stop and take pictures every 5 minutes 😉
The road is circular and there are three possible parking spaces. We parked everything but prefer to start at Evans Lookout if space permits. If not, it doesn’t make much of a difference, at least during the day. At night, you’ll want to start at Evans Lookout.
Regardless of which car park you use, the length of the walk is the same, unless you have two cars, in which case you can shorten it by 1 km. There is no need for this, as this kilometer is completely flat.
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If you’re new to the mountains, Evans Lookout is one of the best vantage points in the area, with sweeping views across the Grose Valley.
Take a good look because the rest of this hike is about the beauty and majesty of the canyon, not the panoramic views.
The walk starts to the right of the viewpoint and immediately leads down the well-made stairs. It used to be much more difficult, but in recent years the trail has improved a lot, so the descent is easier.
You will continue to descend deeper into the canyon and after about 750m you will notice that the canyon is lush green. There are so many ferns that we think could rival some of the walks we’ve done in New Zealand, giving it a wonderful sense of lushness.
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As you go deeper into the canyon, the walls start to seem higher and it’s worth stopping often to look up.
The descent is relatively long and steep in places, but it is such a beautiful course that it does not seem difficult.
Sometimes when you look back, the view becomes even more dramatic and you’ll notice the magical steps that are so popular on Instagram (you can’t help but notice how cute it is to walk on them).
After a 1.5 km walk, you will begin to cross the bottom of the canyon and the stream is crossed by many small rock passages.
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There are larger, irregular rocks in a few sections, but nothing too challenging. The sound of water and birds always comes through here and I think the canyon walls add to that.
If it has rained recently, you will also find many small waterfalls cascading down the canyon. All of this adds to the immense beauty of the place and if you can walk this trail in the rain and don’t mind a bit of mud, we recommend it.
The rainforest valleys really come alive after the rain and look almost impossibly green; You almost feel like you have to bleach your photos so they don’t look fake!
On this part of the promenade there are several nice small pools, or at least small pools. The water is quite cold all year round, but it will act as a refreshment if you are hiking on a hot day.
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The start of the climb is not bad. There are some steps, but after 300 meters it levels out again and you have a pretty nice long easy rest section before the final climb.
The canyon is noticeably drying and the vegetation is changing. You will walk along wide ledges with railings that offer a wonderful view to the narrowest part of the canyon.
There are also many impressive uplands on the left side, and if you walk in the spring and summer you will come across wild flowers scattered around.
The sign here says 45 minutes, but it really isn’t that long, even if you don’t feel well and will be sighing on the way up, just like we did on our last visit!
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There are some stairs as well as some flats and very gentle climbs. Now it’s more bush than rainforest, but in less than a kilometer you’re back in the rainforest.
You will soon re-enter the wet and wild world of the rainforest valleys, and there is a waterfall cascading down the canyon wall where we keep refilling our water bottles. The water is ice cold and delicious!
You will then pass through a small tunnel in the rock before starting a steeper climb towards the top of the canyon.
The stairs lead you to a particularly wet part of the canyon, the walls covered with moss and even more ferns.
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The wet forest eventually begins to dry again and you climb the ladder to complete the final climb up the steep zigzag path. After approximately 1.5 km of continuous ascent, we reach the top of the canyon.
Assuming you park at Evans Lookout, follow the bush along the road back to your car, which is completely flat and easy.
It is about one kilometer long. When you see the Grand Canyon parking lot, you can drive past it and continue on the forest path past the restrooms, otherwise the last part of the walk is on the road.
I want to start by saying that if you are looking for an easily accessible firefly colony, this is not it. This is a more adventurous option as you venture deeper into the canyon (and then walk back up the steep trail!). If you want to see fireflies but don’t want to go too far, we recommend Horseshoe Falls, Burralow Creek or Birdwood Gully. You can see our comparisons between different websites in this article.
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But if you’re up for an adventure, the Grand Canyon has more fireflies than any other place we’ve mentioned and is one of the most spectacular night hikes we’ve ever done.
It’s also a completely immersive experience, as it’s unlikely that anyone else will be around because very few people know there are fireflies here, and the trail is steep.
Although we walked through the canyon many times during the day and learned a lot, at night it really looked like a completely different world and it was really exciting.
It’s hard to describe the sense of awe I felt in the middle of the canyon, surrounded by fireflies at night, with no one around. You just feel alive!
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We walked from Evans Lookout so we’ll cover that but we’re pretty sure there will be plenty of fireflies on the Neates Glen side as well (we then went back to check and they are on the Neates Glen side but in smaller numbers).
From Evans Viewpoint, follow the normal path into the canyon, after about 700 meters you will start to see the first fireflies. These are on both sides of the canyon walls, but you’ll only notice a few at first as your eyes begin to adjust.
The deeper you go, the denser the colonies are and you will see them in many nooks and crannies, on the underside of ledges and on canyon walls. The walls are so high that glowworms crawl up. We walked on a clear, moonless night and the fireflies seemed to literally run to the stars.
Magical doesn’t even cover that. Sometimes I really couldn’t tell which was a firefly and which was a star!
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We recommend stopping occasionally and turning off the lights to really admire the show. At the 1.4 kilometer mark, masses of fireflies are clustered together and stretch from the bottom to the top of the ledge.
This is the best colony
