Snapshot
| Where | Blue Mountains and upper Hunter, New South Wales — about 2.5 hours' drive from Sydney to the Glow Worm Tunnel on the Newnes Plateau · Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp is about 265km and 3.5 to 4 hours from Sydney via Lithgow and Rylstone |
|---|---|
| Getting there | 2WD is fine on the unsealed approaches in dry weather — 4WD is highly recommended and required after rain; no road crosses the park, so the entry points are hours apart by car, each reached from a different town |
| Best time | March–May and September–November (autumn and spring) — NPWS names both as the good times to visit: autumn for soft photographic light, spring for warming days and paddling at Ganguddy, and both avoid the summer crowds |
| Worst time | December–January — the summer holidays make Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp very busy, heat and biting insects are at their worst, and the October–March fire season brings campfire bans and possible park closures on extreme fire-danger days |
| Time needed | 2–3 days for the two accessible corners (the Glow Worm Tunnel and Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp); the canyons and the trackless interior are multi-day trips for experienced parties |
| Cost | No park entry fee is listed by NPWS; camping is free at Newnes and Coorongooba with a $6 booking fee per booking, and Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp camping is listed as budget-priced with free park entry |
| Facilities | Toilets and barbecues at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp, Newnes and Coorongooba, with picnic tables at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp and Coorongooba; no drinking water at Ganguddy; no fuel or shops anywhere in the park; limited mobile reception throughout |
| Best for | Day-trippers from Sydney, families camping at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp, and experienced canyoners and remote-area walkers |
| Difficulty |
3 of 5 — Challenging
The two easy-access walks are Grade 3, but the park overall is remote: unsealed roads, limited reception, no water or supplies on hand, and a trackless wilderness interior that needs navigation skills and real self-sufficiency. |
Driving there? Car hire and what to check →
Wollemi National Park protects about 5,000 square kilometres of sandstone country north-west of Sydney: soaring escarpments, plunging gorges, pagoda rock formations and the Colo gorge system, which NPWS describes as the most extensive sandstone canyon system in eastern Australia. The Wollemi Wilderness inside it is the largest declared wilderness area in New South Wales, and the park is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The Wiradjuri, Dharug, Wanaruah and Darkinjung peoples have a strong and ongoing association with these lands and waters, and about 120 known Aboriginal sites are recorded across the park.
Most of Wollemi is trackless and no road crosses it, so the entry points sit hours apart by car, each reached from a different town. Two corners suit ordinary visitors: the Glow Worm Tunnel on the Newnes Plateau, a 387m former railway tunnel lit by thousands of glow worms, and Ganguddy (Dunns Swamp) on the Cudgegong River, where marked campsites, easy walks and paddle hire sit below the pagoda cliffs. Everything else is for experienced, self-sufficient parties.
Go if…
- You want wilderness on Sydney's doorstep — 2.5 hours to the Glow Worm Tunnel, 3.5 to 4 hours to Ganguddy
- You're happy camping basic: unpowered sites, pit toilets, and no drinking water at Ganguddy
- You want paddling and short walks with kids at Ganguddy, or Grade 3–4 walking on the Newnes Plateau
- You're an experienced canyoner or remote walker after Deep Pass, or the trackless interior beyond it
Skip it if…
- You need sealed roads, phone reception, shops or fuel inside the park — there are none
- You're planning to drive to Newnes: NPWS's campground page lists no vehicle access (its walk page still gives driving directions), so confirm the road status; the walk-in is about 10km each way
- You want to see the Wollemi pine in the wild — the only known stands are closed to visitors
- You're heading in after heavy rain: the unsealed approaches turn slippery or impassable, and the Glow Worm Tunnel–Newnes section closes for rockfall and flood risk
What to expect
Reviewed
You drive in from Rylstone on the north-western side, turning off onto Glen Alice Road (2.4km), then Narango Road (about 15.4km), then Coricudgy Road and Mount Coricudgy Road (7km) to Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp — unsealed at the end, but 2WD-friendly in dry weather. What you find is the park's easiest corner: marked unpowered campsites under scribbly gums beside the Cudgegong River, with toilets, barbecues, picnic tables and a carpark, 2pm check-in and 10am check-out. Bring every drop of drinking and cooking water you need, because none is supplied. The water is a drowned section of the Cudgegong held in by pagoda outcrops, and the evening routine is much the same for everyone: paddle while the light holds, cook, then listen for platypus in the shallows where long-necked turtles and wallabies come down to the edge. Kayak and paddleboard hire runs from the campground on weekends and in NSW school holidays from September to April.
The park's structure is layered rather than dramatic in any single view: sandstone escarpments and plunging gorges, pagoda rock formations, basalt-capped mountains and diatremes, with plant communities running from open eucalypt forest and box woodland to rainforest gullies and perched swamps. Wildlife is constant but scattered — eastern grey kangaroos and red-necked wallabies at the edges, brush-tailed rock wallaby where the cliffs get serious, glossy black cockatoo and regent honeyeater overhead, and about 55 butterfly species recorded across the park. NPWS counts the Colo gorge and its tributaries as the most extensive sandstone canyon system in eastern Australia, which is why the interior draws canyoners and remote walkers rather than day-trippers.
Once you leave the two maintained areas, the terrain changes character quickly. The ridgetops carry thin, skeletal soils and heath that regenerates visibly after fire — this country burns often enough that blackened trunks are part of the landscape — and many routes between them are unmarked, faint, or simply creek lines. Deep Pass, off Newnes Forest Road near the Zig Zag Railway, is typical of the harder end: a 2.5km circuit, about three hours, Grade 4, with river crossings, anchored rope climbs and balancing on suspended logs through fern gullies and pagoda formations. The canyons run cold and hold cold water, so wetsuits are standard even in summer. If you are going beyond the signposted tracks, NPWS wants you to file a trip intention, carry a PLB, take a map and compass rather than a phone, and be genuinely competent at navigation and self-rescue — reception is limited at the best of times and absent in most of the valleys.
On the Newnes Plateau the walk everyone does is the Glow Worm Tunnel track: 6km return, 2 to 3 hours, NPWS Grade 3, from the carpark at the end of Glowworm Tunnel Road, with the first 1.5km reaching the tunnel entrance. The tunnel is 387m of complete dark, cut in the early 1900s for the railway that served the Newnes mining industry, and its damp walls hold thousands of glow worms — dark enough to see them working even in daylight. The rules exist because the animals are fragile: stay on the path, keep noise down, and shine your torch at the ground or use a red light. The floor is slippery, so switch the torch off and let your eyes adjust. The track passes tall forest, tree ferns, narrow gorges and pagoda formations, with a lookout over Donkey Mountain and the Wolgan Valley.
There is a second layer here that is easy to miss. About 120 Aboriginal sites are recorded in the park — ceremonial grounds, stone arrangements, grinding grooves, scarred trees and rock engravings — and more have certainly never been recorded. They are not fenced or signposted; the protocol is simple: look, leave every stone and marking where it is, and don't touch or climb on rock art or engravings. The Wollemi pine is the park's other quiet claim — a living fossil whose closest relatives thrived about 90 million years ago, rediscovered here in 1994, still growing wild in a location NPWS does not publish and does not open to visitors. On the western and south-western edges, the Newnes and Glen Davis oil shale works ruins mark a brief industrial past: a mining town, a railway and a tunnel, now handed back to the bush and the glow worms.
Where to stay
Most people base at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp inside the park, or in Rylstone, Lithgow, Glen Davis or Kandos on its edges; there is no lodge-style accommodation inside Wollemi beyond the campgrounds.
When bookings open: NPWS publishes no booking window for Wollemi's campgrounds — sites are booked online up to 20 people or 5 sites, and larger groups use the group booking enquiry. Book well ahead for the summer holidays and long weekends, when Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp fills. Official booking page. Checked 9 November 2026. Booking dates for every state.
| Stay | Guest rating | Best for | Distance | Style | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp campground (NSW National Parks) | 4.7 / 5 (269 reviews, ParkCheck) | Families, paddlers and anyone wanting the park's easiest base | About 265km and 3.5 to 4 hours from Sydney via Lithgow and Rylstone | Marked unpowered sites beside the Cudgegong River · toilets, barbecues, picnic tables, carpark · no drinking water | Book now |
| Newnes campground (NSW National Parks) | Not rated | Walk-in campers after the Wolgan Valley and the industrial ruins | In the Wolgan Valley, about 10km on foot from Glen Davis via the Pipeline Track | Unmarked unpowered sites · toilets and barbecues · NPWS lists no vehicle access · bring water, food and firewood | Book now |
| Coorongooba campground (NSW National Parks) | Not rated | Birdwatchers on the Capertee River and quieter camps | About 190km from Sydney, off Capertee Road near Glen Davis | Unmarked unpowered sites under high cliffs · toilets, barbecues, picnic tables · 2 accessible sites · 2pm check-in, 10am check-out | Book now |
| Wollemi Retreat | 9.8 / 10 (88 reviews, Vrbo) | Couples and families wanting a proper bed near Ganguddy | On the edge of Wollemi National Park near Rylstone | Three-bedroom eco-retreat on 100 acres of bushland · solar power, spring-fed filtered water, hot tub · pet-friendly | Check rates |
| Banjara Retreat | Not rated | A luxury base on the park's northern edge | Mountain Lagoon, about 90 minutes north-west of Sydney | Two architect-designed suites on 6 acres with views over Wollemi · stone bathtubs and kitchens | Check rates |
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What to do here
7 walks & sights
Glow Worm Tunnel walking track
From the carpark at the end of Glowworm Tunnel Road, a formed track drops 1.5km to the entrance of a 387m railway tunnel built in the early 1900s to serve the Newnes mining industry. Inside, the dark and the damp support thousands of glow worms on the walls, enough that you can see them working with the lights off in the middle of the day. The walk continues past tall forest, tree ferns, narrow gorges and pagoda outcrops, with a lookout over Donkey Mountain and the Wolgan Valley, but the section beyond the lookout is not suitable for children. Keep noise down, point your torch at the ground and switch it off once you are inside; the tunnel floor is slippery, and the track between the tunnel and Newnes can close during or after heavy rain.
Glow Worm Tunnel via Wolgan Valley loop
A longer way through the same country: walk 1.5km from the carpark to the loop junction, turn right and circle anti-clockwise so the tunnel is the last thing you see rather than the first. The loop drops through rainforest gorge and past rocky pagoda outcrops on the rim of the Wolgan Valley. NPWS grades it 4 and suggests 4 to 5 hours, and there is no wheelchair access.
Campsite Rock Walk (Ganguddy)
The simplest walk from the Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp campground, looping among large sandstone outcrops above the Cudgegong River. Aboriginal sites occur through this area — leave every stone and marking where it is, and don't climb on rock platforms. It is the walk to do on the evening you arrive, or with small children.
Paddle Ganguddy (Dunns Swamp)
The Cudgegong waterways around Ganguddy are flat, sheltered and lined with tall scribbly gums and pagoda outcrops, which makes this the park's most relaxed half-day. Kayak and stand-up paddleboard hire, guided tours and a monthly full-moon paddle run from the campground on weekends and in NSW school holidays from September to April. Watch the banks for wallabies, and the quiet reaches for long-necked turtles and the occasional platypus.
Pagoda Lookout walking track
From the Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp campground this track climbs through forest and along rock escarpments to the pagoda-like rock formations the park is known for, with horizon views across forested valleys and cliff lines. It is the quickest way to understand what Wollemi looks like from above the water: layered sandstone worn into beehive shapes, heath clinging to shallow soil, and ridge after ridge running to the horizon. Allow about an hour out and back, and carry water — there is none on the track or at the campground. The rock platforms at the top are worth time but not footsteps: the formations break easily, and cultural sites occur on rock surfaces throughout this area.
Newnes Industrial Ruins walk
A loop from the locked gate at the Ruins carpark through the remains of the Newnes oil shale works, now being reclaimed by the bush; the track narrows from a 4m dirt road to a 1m walking track with occasional step sets and short steep hills. NPWS's campground page lists no vehicle access to Newnes — the road in has collapsed and there is landslip risk at Wolgan Gap — although the walk page still gives driving directions via Wolgan Road, so confirm the road status first; if it is closed you walk in and out, about 10km each way via the Pipeline Track from Glen Davis. The walk crosses the Wolgan River on stepping stones at the start, which is a rock-hop rather than a bridge.
Deep Pass canyon walk
Off Newnes Forest Road near the Zig Zag Railway, Deep Pass is the accessible end of Wollemi canyoning: a circuit through fern gullies and pagoda formations with river crossings, anchored rope climbs and balancing on suspended logs. It is listed at Grade 4, so it suits walkers comfortable with hands-on scrambling and cold water, and the canyons hold their chill even in summer. Access is a 7km gravel road from the Zig Zag Railway, then about 11.5km along Newnes Forest Road to Eastern Boundary Road — unsealed, and best in dry weather. Beyond Deep Pass, the slot canyons are remote and often unmarked: experienced parties only, with trip registration and emergency communication.
Wollemi National Park itineraries: 1, 2 or 3 days
3 plans
One day: the Glow Worm Tunnel from Sydney
- Early. Drive out from Sydney — the Glow Worm Tunnel area is about 2.5 hours away via Lithgow and the Bells Line of Road. The last stretch is unsealed: 2WD is fine in dry weather, 4WD is highly recommended and required after rain.
- Mid-morning. Walk the 6km-return Glow Worm Tunnel track from the carpark at the end of Glowworm Tunnel Road — 1.5km to the tunnel entrance, 2 to 3 hours return, NPWS Grade 3. The 387m tunnel is dark enough to see the glow worms during the day; keep noise down and shine your torch at the ground.
- Afternoon. Continue to the lookout over Donkey Mountain and the Wolgan Valley before turning back. The section of track beyond the lookout is not suitable for children.
One day, no nights: 6km of walking on a Grade 3 track. NPWS lists no park entry fee, there is no fuel or shops in the park — fill up in Lithgow — and no drinking water at the trailhead, so carry it all. The track between the tunnel and Newnes can close during or after heavy rain for rockfall and flood risk, so check the alerts before you leave home.
Two days: Ganguddy and the Glow Worm Tunnel
- Day 1. Drive to Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp near Rylstone — about 265km and 3.5 to 4 hours from Sydney via Lithgow and Rylstone. Set up at the campground (marked unpowered sites, 2pm check-in) and walk the Pagoda Lookout track, 1.8km return, through forest and along rock escarpments to pagoda formations and horizon views.
- Day 1, late afternoon. Loop the Campsite Rock Walk, a 500m loop among big sandstone outcrops, then get on the water if the kayak and paddleboard hire is running — it operates weekends and NSW school holidays from September to April.
- Day 2. Pack up and drive to the Newnes Plateau side of the park for the 6km-return Glow Worm Tunnel track (2 to 3 hours, Grade 3), then head for Sydney, about 2.5 hours away.
One night at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp, where NPWS lists the camping as budget-priced with free park entry and asks you to book online for up to 20 people or 5 sites; there is no drinking water at the campground, so bring everything. There is no fuel in the park, and the unsealed access roads are 2WD-friendly in dry weather only — 4WD is highly recommended and required after rain. The Glow Worm Tunnel track can close during or after heavy rain.
Three days: the Wolgan Valley loop and the Newnes ruins
- Day 1. As above: Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp, the Pagoda Lookout track (1.8km return) and the Campsite Rock Walk (500m loop), with time on the Cudgegong River.
- Day 2. Drive to the Newnes Plateau and walk the Glow Worm Tunnel via Wolgan Valley loop — 9km, 4 to 5 hours, Grade 4. Turn right at the fork and walk anti-clockwise so the tunnel is the last stop, not the first.
- Day 3. Walk in to Newnes from Glen Davis via the Pipeline Track — about 10km each way, as NPWS's campground page lists no vehicle access to the valley (its walk page still gives driving directions via Wolgan Road, so confirm first) — and do the Newnes Industrial Ruins walk, 2.5km over 1hr 30min to 2hr 30min, through the old oil shale works being reclaimed by the bush.
Two nights, based at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp: camping is listed as budget-priced with free park entry, booked online up to 20 people or 5 sites. Day 3 comes to about 22km of walking once the ruins walk is included, so it suits fit walkers comfortable with unsealed tracks and a river rock-hop. Fill up in Lithgow or Rylstone, carry all your water, and check the alerts for the Newnes access road before committing to the walk-in.
Suggested gear for Wollemi National Park
18 items
- Water bottles or a hydration bladder Carry at least 2 litres per person on the walks.
- Water treatment tablets or a filter Treat creek and camping-area water before drinking.
- Sun hat, sunscreen (SPF 50+) and sunglasses
- Sturdy, broken-in walking shoes or boots
- Day pack (20–30 L)
- First aid kit, including blister care
- Insect repellent
- Head torch with spare batteries
- Lightweight rain jacket
- Personal locator beacon Mobile coverage is unreliable in remote parks.
- Wetsuit, even in summer Wollemi's canyons hold cold water year-round; Deep Pass and the slot canyons are swims as much as walks.
- Red-filter torch or a torch you can dim Glow worms are sensitive to sound and light — NPWS asks you to shine light at the ground and switch it off once you're inside the tunnel.
- Warm layers and a beanie for camp The Nullo Mountain station records winter mean minimums around 2.5°C and an August record low of −4.1°C.
- Gaiters or long pants Eastern Brown snakes use the same sandy tracks you do, and the ridgetop heath is scratchy, thin and unforgiving.
- Canyon rope, harness and anchoring gear Deep Pass involves anchored rope climbs; further in, the canyons are unmarked and self-supported.
- A collapsible water carrier for camp No drinking water is supplied at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp or at the walk trailheads — you carry everything for drinking and cooking.
- Gas stove and your own firewood where fires are allowed Campfires are typically prohibited across the October–March fire season, and firewood is not supplied.
- Offline maps and the Emergency Plus app, downloaded before you go Reception is limited in the park and absent in most valleys, including on the Glow Worm Tunnel walk.
How this compares
Wollemi National Park vs Blue Mountains National Park
The Blue Mountains sit directly south of Wollemi with the same sandstone escarpment country and far more infrastructure: graded cliff walks, lookouts, trains and a town at nearly every trailhead. Choose the Blue Mountains for signposted walks and somewhere to get a coffee afterwards; choose Wollemi for the same geology with fewer people, fewer signs and real wilderness behind it.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5 — Moderate
- Access
- Sealed roads and train access; walk grades 1 to 4
- Best for
- Families · first-time bushwalkers · public-transport travellers
Wollemi National Park vs Kanangra-Boyd National Park
Kanangra-Boyd, beyond the Blue Mountains to the south-west, is the region's other big wilderness block: Kanangra Walls, the Kowmung River and the Boyd plateau, with wilder walking than the Blue Mountains and more marked routes than Wollemi's interior. Choose Kanangra-Boyd for dramatic lookouts and river walking; choose Wollemi for canyons, glow worms and the Ganguddy campground.
- Difficulty
- 4 of 5 — Demanding
- Access
- Sealed to Kanangra Walls; unsealed beyond, 4WD useful
- Best for
- Remote walkers · river trips · photographers
Wollemi National Park vs Yengo National Park
Yengo lies east of Wollemi on the Sydney side — a rougher, drier sandstone wilderness of ridges, gullies and Aboriginal engraving sites, reached mostly by 4WD tracks from Putty Road and the Central Coast. Choose Yengo for 4WD touring and quiet ridge camps; choose Wollemi for maintained walks, the Glow Worm Tunnel and paddling at Ganguddy.
- Difficulty
- 4 of 5 — Demanding
- Access
- 4WD strongly recommended; unsealed tracks from Putty Road and the Central Coast
- Best for
- 4WD travellers · remote campers · cultural heritage
Before you go
- Check the NPWS alerts before you leave: the park is always open but closes at times for poor weather or fire danger, and the Glow Worm Tunnel–Newnes section can close during or after heavy rain for rockfall and flood risk
- Book campgrounds online through NPWS — up to 20 people or 5 sites, with larger groups by group booking enquiry; Newnes and Coorongooba charge no camping fee but a $6 booking fee applies, and Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp is listed as budget-priced with free park entry
- Bring all your drinking and cooking water: none is supplied at Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp, and there is no water at the walk trailheads
- Fuel and food in Lithgow, Rylstone, Windsor or Mudgee before you go in — there are no shops or fuel anywhere in the park
- 2WD is fine on the unsealed approaches in dry weather; 4WD is highly recommended and required after rain, and the park roads turn slippery or impassable when wet
- Newnes vehicle access is uncertain: NPWS's campground page lists the valley as walk-in only (about 10km each way via the Pipeline Track from Glen Davis) while its walk page still gives driving directions via Wolgan Road — confirm the road status before you plan around it
- Campfires are typically prohibited across the October–March fire season, and total fire bans can be declared on top — check Fires Near Me or Hazards Near Me and the NSW RFS forecast
- Reception is limited, so tell someone your plans on a trip intention form, carry a PLB on remote walks, and download the Emergency Plus app and the Glow Worm Tunnel audio tour before you arrive
When to go
seasons & the hard months
Autumn (March–May) and spring (September–November) are the windows NPWS points to. Autumn brings soft light for photography and cooler nights; spring warms the tablelands, is the season the park names for canoeing at Ganguddy, and wildflowers are reported from September. Both dodge the summer holidays, when Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp becomes very busy and parking at the Glow Worm Tunnel is limited — NPWS's own advice is to come on weekdays or in spring and autumn.
Summer is the hard stretch: heat, biting insects around Ganguddy in December and January, the October–March fire season with campfire bans and possible closures on extreme fire-danger days, and long-weekend queues on the unsealed approaches. Winter is cold rather than closed — the Nullo Mountain station records a July mean maximum of 9.3°C and a mean minimum of 2.5°C, with an August record low of −4.1°C — but the days are often clear and the tunnel holds a stable temperature. Rain is spread across the year (about 950mm over roughly 147 rain days), so a wet-weather road or track closure is possible in any month.
Questions
6 answers
Not in dry weather: 2WD is fine on the unsealed approaches to the Glow Worm Tunnel and Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp. 4WD is highly recommended and required after rain, and the Deep Pass and Newnes Forest roads are unsealed gravel. NPWS describes the Newnes approaches as requiring 4WD in wet weather.
NPWS lists no park entry fee for Wollemi. Camping is free at Newnes and Coorongooba with a $6 booking fee per booking, and Ganguddy–Dunns Swamp camping is listed as budget-priced with free park entry. Book online for up to 20 people or 5 sites, or make a group booking enquiry for more.
No. The pine was rediscovered in the park in 1994 — a living fossil whose closest relatives date back about 90 million years — and its wild stands sit in a location NPWS keeps unpublished and closed to visitors to protect them.
The 6km-return track to the tunnel is Grade 3 and families do it, but NPWS states the section beyond the lookout is not suitable for children. The tunnel is completely dark and the floor slippery: take a torch, keep noise down and point the light at the ground to protect the glow worms.
Possibly not: NPWS's campground page lists no vehicle access (landslip risk at Wolgan Gap), with the valley reached on foot, about 10km each way via the Pipeline Track from Glen Davis, while its walk page still gives driving directions via Wolgan Road. This access has changed more than once, so check the park's alerts page rather than relying on any guide.
Wollemi is serious canyon country. Deep Pass is the accessible end — a 2.5km circuit, about three hours, Grade 4, with river crossings and anchored rope climbs. Further in, the slot canyons are remote and often unmarked, and need experience, trip registration, wetsuits (the water runs cold even in summer) and emergency communication.
Nearby & next
Official information
Always check current alerts before you travel.