The Grand Canyon Walk | A Guide To The Best Walk in The Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are one of the best day trips from Sydney, Australia. Known for the beautiful nature, hiking trails and grand views over the blue rolling hills, there are so many places to discover and things to do. If you are looking for a Blue Mountains hike, The Grand Canyon Walk is one of the very best loop trails. Although this hike doesn’t give you the wondrous views that The Blue Mountains are famous for, it shows you another side of the bushland. Hiking the Grand Canyon Trail, you will discover the vibrant native plants, unusual animals, and cascading waterfalls that hide in the undergrowth. If you are looking for unique things to see and do near Sydney, you can read my guide here with all the best hidden locations!

The Grand Canyon hike is a fairly easy one, with most of the walk on dirt tracks or railed walkways. There are however a few quite long and steep staircases to be aware of. There are around 1000 steps in total on the Grand Canyon Walk. The hike itself takes about 3 hours to complete. This is walking at a medium pace without taking any pauses.

This Grand Canyon hike trail guide will cover:

How to get to the blue mountains
Where to begin the trail
Trail Guide and Highlights
Helpful tips for hiking in The Blue Mountains

How to get to The Blue Mountains

How to get to The Grand Canyon Walk by car

The Blue Mountains are around a 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from Sydney. The best way to get to the start of the Grand Canyon Walk is to join the M4. As you cross the Nepean River, the M4 turns into the A32. From here, follow the road all the way up until you see the Hydro Majestic Hotel on your left. Soon after you will see a right turn towards Evan’s lookout.

The Grand Canyon Hike begins at Evan’s Lookout, a viewing point where you will get a glimpse of the rolling hills I talked about before. To get to Evan’s Lookout follow the signs turning off the A32. You can either park in the Grand Canyon Loop Carpark where the hike begins 600m ahead, or you continue on and park at Evans’s Lookout.

How to get to Evan’s Lookout and The Grand Canyon Hike by public transport

Alternatively, you can get to Evan’s lookout by public transport. This route is relatively long but picturesque and worth the trip. If you don’t want to take public transport you can always consider a tour such as this 4 wheel drive tour which includes a hike and picks you up from your hotel in Sydney! If you do want to travel by public transport, you begin by taking the train from Sydney Central Station to Blackheath Station in the Blue Mountains. From here, you walk 5 minutes to the bus stop “Great Western Hwy at Govetts Leap” where you can catch the 698 bus from 8 stops towards “Evans Lookout Rd at James Rd”. The trip takes around 3 hours in total. The best way to plan your trip is using the Transport NSW Trip Planner.

Where does the Grand Canyon Walk start?

The Grand Canyon Hike begins at Evan’s Lookout, near the famous Hydro Majestic Hotel. There are toilets at both Evan’s Lookout and The Grand Canyon Loop Carpark. If you begin the hike at the Loop Carpark, follow the signs for the Grand Canyon Walking track (600m on a gravel path through bushland). Once you reach Evan’s Lookout, the hike begins to the right, at a little staircase that heads down into the canyon. The first and last stretches of the hikes are on staircases like this, but I suggest starting at this end as the walk is a little easier in this direction. From here, sticking to the hiking trail is pretty simple.

Grand Canyon Walk Trail Guide and Highlights to Look Out For

Evan’s Lookout Viewpoint

Evan Lookout is the first and final viewpoint on The Grand Canyon walk. From here, you will get amazing views over the blue mountain range.

Heading in to the canyon

The hike continues from Evan’s lookout down into the Blue Mountains canyon. At the bottom of the stairs, you step down into a cave lining the underside of the rock face. This is the end of the hardest staircase down into the canyon.

Something that makes the Grand Canyon Walk one of the best walks in the Blue Mountains is the vibrant, changing nature as you enter the canyon. Look forward to walking through ferns and over streams on picturesque stepping stones. The next section of the walk is relatively easy as you walk through the base of the canyon.

Next, you will come across some of the prettiest staircases on this blue mountains canyon walk. These can be slippery when wet so be careful if you are hiking on a rainy day. Make sure to follow the signs for “Grand Canyon Walk” here as the hike diverges at the river.

When you reach this bridge, make sure to look out for some of the special creatures that live deep in the canyon! We saw tens of bright red crayfish (or yabbies) swimming around in the stream here.

The Waterfalls of The Grand Canyon Walk

Next, you come to the first waterfall on the Grand Canyon Hike. This one is relatively small but picturesque. Surrounded by green ferns, you almost feel transported to a tropical prehistoric scene. From here, follow the track up the staircase. This is the beginning of the ascent back to the top of the canyon, however, the walk is slow and steady and this first part is only a short set of stairs.

grand canyon walk waterfall blue mountains

Next, you reach the second waterfall. This waterfall is a lot bigger and runs from a high clifftop into a big pond beneath. This is around the middle of the hike and a great place to stop for some coffee, lunch or a water break.

Edging the canyon

Following the waterfall, the Grand Canyon walk begins to ascent again. Here, you walk on the edge of the canyon via the rocky cliffs. The path here is all protected by metal railings, but can be quite slippery when wet so be careful on this section!

The final stretch

When you reach the third and final waterfall, you are almost at the end of the hike. This waterfall is very popular and can be quite busy at times. Here, the walking track goes beneath the waterfall and you are likely to get a little bit wet. From here, the ascent gets a little harder and you begin to climb a long but slow set of stairs back to the car park at Evan’s Lookout.

grand canyon walk blue mountains waterfall

Hope that this Grand Canyon Walk hiking guide was helpful to you! If you have any questions or comments don’t be afraid to leave them in the comments section below!