Braeside, Govetts and Pope’s Glen Track
Download & Print Map and Notes3 hrs 30 mins
375 m
Hard track
(0km) Blackheath Station → Int. Braeside Service Trail and Braeside Picnic Area
2.9 km
52 mins
24m
-125m
Moderate track
Turn right: From the pedestrian crossing, this walk heads towards Gardners Inn, keeping the road to the right. The walk continues along the footpath, turning left opposite the Ivanhoe Hotel, onto Govetts Leap Rd. The walk continues down Govetts Leap Rd to the intersection with Prince Edward St.
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads west along Govetts Leap Rd for a block, to the intersection with Boreas St. This walk turns right, down Boreas St to the intersection with Braeside St.
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the green signpost to ‘Braeside Walk’ along the houses on the right-hand of Braeside Street. This walk turns right at the ‘Braeside Walk’ sign. The walk continues for approximately 70m to the intersection with another service trail.
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads down the management track, to the signposted intersection after a parking area on the left.
(2.86km) Int. Braeside Service Trail and Braeside Picnic Area → Braeside Picnic Area
60 m
1 mins
0m
-8m
Moderate track
Braeside Picnic Area
(2.92km) Braeside Picnic Area → Braeside Walk North
1.1 km
20 mins
5m
-52m
Hard track
(4.05km) Braeside Walk North → Barrow Lookout
80 m
2 mins
5m
-2m
Hard track
Barrow Lookout
Govetts Leap (falls)
(4.05km) Braeside Walk North → Govetts Leap Lookout
620 m
15 mins
82m
-17m
Hard track
Govetts Leap Lookout
(4.67km) Govetts Leap Lookout → Horseshoe Falls Lookout
340 m
11 mins
23m
-62m
Hard track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk heads down some stairs, keeping the valley to the right. The walk turns right over a bridge, continuing around the hillside to drop down onto a viewing area and intersection.
Veer left: From the intersection, this walk heads down steep stairs, keeping the valley to the right. The track then winds along the cliff top until coming to an intersection, near Horseshoe Falls Lookout.
Horseshoe Falls Lookout
Horseshoe Falls
(5.01km) Horseshoe Falls Lookout → Int. Popes Glen Trk and Boyd Bch Trk
440 m
11 mins
31m
-41m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the sign to ‘Popes Glen’ keeping the creek below on the right. The track continues for approximately 100m, rising to the left of a prominent rock feature. The walk passes another track on the right (with access to the creek), then continues to rise past the rock feature (on the right – The rock feature has a trail to its top.) This walk continues from the rock feature, heading down the hill to a signposted intersection.
(5.45km) Int. Popes Glen Trk and Boyd Bch Trk → Boyd Beach
40 m
1 mins
0m
-3m
Moderate track
Boyd Beach
(5.45km) Int. Popes Glen Trk and Boyd Bch Trk → Int. Popes Glen Trk and Dell St
2.1 km
49 mins
145m
-48m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads up the hill, keeping the creek below on the right. The walk soon crosses the creek at a bridge, continuing along the other side to a small waterfall (on the left). The track then continues up the hill for for a short time, passing an intersection (with access tracks to Clarence Rd). The track continues to head up the hill for approximately 300m to the intersection with Dell St.
(7.56km) Int. Pope’s Glen Trk and Dell St → Blackheath Station
1.2 km
26 mins
65m
-27m
Moderate track
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk heads along Gipps Lane, passing a large wooden house to the right of the road. The road tends left onto Robertson Lane which then becomes Wills St. The walk follows Wills Street for sometime to turn left onto Inconstant St and then right onto Gardiner Cres. Gardiner Cres is followed to the Great Western Highway, where there is a petrol station on the left. From here, this walk turns left to follow the Great Western Highway, keeping the petrol station on the left, as the walk heads towards the Gardners Inn pub. This walk continues to the pedestrian crossing, opposite Blackheath Station steps.
Turn right: From the pedestrian crossing, this walk crosses the Great Western Highway to turn right up the covered station steps. The walk follows the railway bridge to the top of the station staircase.
Maps for the Braeside, Govetts and Pope’s Glen Track walk
You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Katoomba | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89301S KATOOMBA | NSW-89301S |
Mount Wilson | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89301N MOUNT WILSON | NSW-89301N |
Katoomba | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8930 KATOOMBA | 8930 |
Cross sectional view of the Braeside, Govetts and Pope’s Glen Track bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Braeside, Govetts and Pope’s Glen Track
Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001
Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.
Length | 8.7 km | ||
Time | 3 hrs 30 mins | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Very steep (4/6) |
Quality of track | Rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely (4/6) | ||
Signs | Directional signs along the way (3/6) | ||
Experience Required | No experience required (1/6) | ||
Weather | Weather generally has little impact on safety (1/6) | ||
Infrastructure | Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6) |
Some more details of this walks Grading
Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk
Gradient
5km of this walk has short steep hills and another 2.6km is flat with no steps. Whilst another 730m is very steep and the remaining 390m has gentle hills with occasional steps.
Quality of track
3.5km of this walk follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles and another 3km follows a smooth and hardened path. Whilst another 1.1km follows a rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely and the remaining 1km follows a clear and well formed track or trail.
Signs
Around 4.8km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection, whilst the remaining 3.9km is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
This whole walk, 9km requires no previous bushwalking experience.
weather
This whole walk, 9km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).
Infrastructure
Around 4.7km of this walk has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced), whilst the remaining 4.1km is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Braeside, Govetts and Pope’s Glen Track walk starts and ends at the Blackheath Station (gps: -33.633876, 150.2844)Your transport options to Blackheath Station are by;
Train. (get details)
Bus. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)
Train. (get details)
Fire Danger
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.Weather Forest
This walk starts in the Central Tablelands weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.Forecast snapshot
Park Information & Alerts
Short URL = http://wild.tl/bgapgt
Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)
Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂
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