Vale of Avoca lookout
Lower Grose Valley area in Blue Mountains National Park
Overview
Fire affected area
Some areas of this park were affected by fire in 2019/2020. You’ll notice some changes to the landscape, as well as signs of recovery. Some areas may remain closed for longer to allow habitat to recover or because we’re repairing park infrastructure. Stay safe with these after-fire tips for visitors.
Vale of Avoca lookout offers glorious views across the deep gorges and wilderness of the Lower Grose Valley, in World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park, near Richmond.
- Type
- Lookouts
- Where
- Lower Grose Valley area in Blue Mountains National Park
- Accessibility
- Hard
- Grade
- Easy
- Price
- Free
- What to
bring - Hat, sunscreen, drinking water, sturdy shoes
- Please note
- This lookout is unfenced, please take extreme care.
- Stay back from cliff edges at all times and ensure children are supervised.
- You can drive, mountain bike, trail run or walk to the carpark, then walk the 140m to the lookout.
Perched 250m above the wild Grose River, Vale of Avoca lookout is only 15mins drive from Richmond or Kurrajong but feels worlds away. Soak in the wild landscapes of the Lower Grose Valley on the 140m walk from the carpark to the lookout.
From the unfenced sandstone rock platforms admire the natural amphitheatre of forest-clad mountains plunging into deep, v-shaped gorges. The round hump of Mount Hay, near Katoomba, can be seen in the distance.
Bring a picnic, meditate, indulge your inner artist, or spot the local wildlife, wedge-tailed eagles are common here. You might glimpse the rare glossy black cockatoo, or even a koala.
The lookout is also home to many uncommon plants, including the native cranberry and critically endangered scrub turpentine. One of the world’s rarest species of heath, sparse heath, grows below the lookout and by the Grose River. Look for its cream, tubular bell-shaped flowers from April to June.
To make a day of it, enjoy a bushwalk to the Grose River, via nearby Waterboard fire trail. Allow 3 hours for the 5km return walk. In spring and summer, you can cool off in the pristine river, or try your luck fishing for Australian bass.
When you’re ready to leave, explore more of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area along Botanists Way.
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Saving Our Species program
Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Saving our Species is a statewide conservation program that addresses the growing number of Australian animals and Australian native plants facing extinction.
General enquiries
- National Parks Contact Centre
- 7am to 7pm daily
- 1300 072 757 (13000 PARKS) for the cost of a local call within Australia excluding mobiles
- parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au
Operated by
- Richmond office
- 02 4588 2400
- npws.hawkesburynattai@environment.nsw.gov.au
Park info
- in the Lower Grose Valley area of Blue Mountains National Park in the Sydney and surrounds region
Lower Grose Valley area is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
What's nearby:
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