Summary

After good rain, water tumbles through eucalypt forest along a series of boulder-strewn cascades, before plunging 20 m over Crows Nest Falls into a waterhole surrounded by steep, granite cliffs.

Lovely picnic area and a short easy route for families with small children to first swimming hole ( from carpark). Also an easy clear path to waterfall lookout with great views.

Medium walk to summit lookout over Valley of Diamonds. If you have little legs like me, some steps are knee high ( great for your glutes) Views are spectacular

Coming back from the waterfall or summit view, the paths down to both swimming holes are rough and narrow,( I would not take young children along this path!), but a cool dip is a welcome relief after you have walked the park and a well deserved reward for completing the circuit.

Most of the walk is shaded. The park is popular on warm days so go early

Walks in Crows Nest National Park

Medium

4.5 km return

2 hrs

Crows Nest Falls Circuit

Crows Nest Falls via Kauyoo Loop (including The Cascades, Kauyoo Pool and Bottlebrush Pool).

Explore the creek on your way to Crows Nest Falls. Steep crevices and slippery rocks lead to the Cascades, where you can hear the ‘tock tock’ calls of striped marsh frogs echoing around the boulders in summer. A short scramble over low boulders brings you to Kauyoo Pool, where a sandy beach allows easy access to the normally shallow water - a perfect swimming spot for families with small children. Further along the trail, a long staircase leads you down to Bottlebrush Pool, which is an ideal place to enjoy a swim and relax. Keep an eye out for brush-tailed rock wallabies as they move quietly around the surrounding granite hills and boulders.

Caution: Take care on the steps leading down to the creek and when rock-hopping across the creek, as these surfaces can be slippery when wet.

Note: BYO drinking water. Water from the picnic/camping areas must be boiled before use.

Hard

12 km return

7 hrs

Crows Nest NP to Perserverance Dam

First 1/4 easy then 1/2 moderate then 1/4 hard. Try to get started early to avoid the heat. We took 7 hours to complete which had us doing the hardest part in the heat of the day.
At this date the creek portions were heavily overgrown and the rock hopping was hard since the floods of previous hears have washed out sand and small rocks leaving the entire Valley of Diamonds a hard slog criss-crossing the creek to find a navigable route. The bush has been badly degraded in recent years by drought and fires.

Hard

13 km return

5 hrs

Valley of Diamonds

Starting from the same location as the normal day walks, it goes all the way to Perseverance Dam and then boulder-hopping all of the way up the gorge before a quick scramble up to Koonin Lookout