The Happy Valley Track takes you deep into a patch of spectacular rainforest; with towering tree ferns, weeping walls and plenty of picturesque overhangs. It’s beautiful in its own right, but when you reach the bottom, it’s like a whole new world.
You’re now in a canyon complete with its own mysterious waterfall grotto. From the bottom of the track you can make your own adventure, either following the trail to the grotto, or walking through the canyon which can be up to waist deep at points.
Either way, if you’re confident taking on a steep track, this little known trail will not disappoint.
The Happy Valley Track
The stats
Distance: 4.6km return (add 550m return for Cathedral Creek)
Elevation gain: 210m
Difficulty: Moderate - hard
The Happy Valley Track is relatively short, but quite steep. It can become very muddy after rain and sometimes - as the path is narrow - it can feel a little treacherous. We walked the track after heavy rain and I wouldn’t recommend it. Sections that we normally wouldn’t have blinked at suddenly felt a bit dodgy, and in hindsight we should have waited for better conditions.
It’s all a fairly standard track to the bottom, but once you reach the creek it becomes more difficult. This is where conditions become particularly important. I will go into detail in the track notes about exactly what the trail is like when you hit the creek.
Starting the trail: into the rainforest
You begin the walk on a narrow path through the bush and within minutes you’ve entered a dense and spectacular rainforest.
It’s a cool and dark place, with masses of tangled vines and hundreds of ferns. It’s amazing how wild it can feel just a few minutes into the track.
The path heads gently downhill and you’ll reach a junction after 200m.
You can either head left along the Happy Valley Track, or first take a short detour to Cathedral Creek.
It’s just 550m return to the creek and though it doesn’t differ too much to what you will see in Happy Valley, I still enjoyed taking a look.
The descent towards the creek is quite gradual and the path is well made. It’s a wonderful forest and the creek is a fern lover’s delight.
Descending on the Happy Valley Track
If you decided to detour to Cathedral Creek you head back to the junction and then take the track to Waterfall Creek (Happy Valley), you will have walked 750m at this point (or 200m without the detour).
The trail from the junction is quite flat at first and very pretty. Following all the rain we saw so much fungi, including one old tree stump which was absolutely covered.
Roughly 150m from the junction the path begins descending. It’s a dirt track and can be a little muddy after heavy rain, but it’s generally in good condition.
Some sections have stairs which make it a lot easier and you don’t have to worry about slipping - again this is more of a wet weather concern.
You’ll pass mossy walls, plenty of overhangs and weeping cliffs, which all make the walk very atmospheric. Although much of the path is in quite good shape, there are also rocky sections and parts which feel much less manicured.
There are a few narrow bits beside a drop off which would probably not be much fun for vertigo sufferers.
Arriving at Waterfall Creek
Just over 750m after leaving the junction with Cathedral Creek you will get your first view over the canyon and see a couple of small waterfalls. From here it’s another 150m down to the creek.
At this point the trail becomes a bit steeper and rougher. There are some slippery rocks and you definitely need to take extra care along this section.
Unfortunately a few trees have come down around here and along Waterfall Creek, which does make it a bit trickier than it would have been in the past - although still doable.
Once you’re at the creek you have two options. You can continue along the official Happy Valley Track, heading left to the waterfall grotto, or head right - which is not a track - but offers the chance to walk through the canyon.
I’d recommend heading left to the grotto first so you don’t have to walk it in wet clothes and boots - when you head into the canyon you will get soaked!
Heading to the Waterfall Grotto
Unless the debris and fallen trees are removed, the path towards the grotto is not that obvious. At the creek, head downstream and towards the left and you will see steps carved into one of the logs.
Climb over the debris and use the carved steps to get into the next part of the creek. There are rocks to use to cross the creek and water levels are generally low here and shouldn’t flood your boots.
It’s less than 100m before you will arrive at the top of the waterfall and be able to see down into the pool below.
This next part of the walk is the sketchiest of the whole track and the reason I advise against coming here during or after heavy rain.
You need to cross the little log bridge (or walk in the water if you don’t mind wet boots) and climb up the steps onto the narrow rocky ledge.
You then need to traverse the ledge for a few metres to reach the steps carved out into the cliff which take you down to the waterfall.
The narrow trail becomes muddy after rain and though it wasn’t actually that slippery it was unnerving. If you did slip you would fall several metres into the pool below which is not that deep.
Hug the cliff wall and on a dry day it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
You then have four steps carved into the cliff wall to negotiate. It’s not that hard, but there isn’t anything except mossy rock to hold onto for stability, so it feels a little more exposed than it would otherwise.
Some people will not find it an issue and hop down in an instant, but it could be unnerving for others.
In the conditions we had I found it a bit unnerving.
On the way back up the steps you don’t have anything to grab to pull yourself up which again makes it a little trickier - I feel like a bit of rope here would make all the difference and it would suddenly feel quite easy!
Swimming at the waterfall grotto
Once you’ve climbed down from the track you will arrive in the grotto at the base of the small pool. It’s a mesmerising spot.
The waterfall itself is small, but the surrounding canyon walls tower over you and hundreds of ferns add atmosphere.
It’s a fantastic place and feels completely hidden away from the outside world. The pool is quite shallow, more of a plunge pool than an actual swimming spot, but it does get to around chest height just by the waterfall.
It’s easy to access the water but the small rocks can be a little slippery.
The water is cold and the tall canyon walls mean it is very likely that it always will be, as it won’t get a lot of sun. Despite this, I found it refreshing rather than out and out freezing - but I was visiting in summer!
Heading through the canyon
The dry trail only takes you to the waterfall grotto, but you can also explore the canyon too, if you don’t mind hopping into the creek and getting wet.
You need to head back the way you came, to the junction with the main track, and continue upstream through the water (as opposed to hopping back on the path to the top).
The first bit is actually the deepest and was above my waist in one short section - but this was following a lot of rain.
The canyon is beautiful, it’s quite open, so definitely nothing like the narrow constrictions of Dry or River Caves Canyon, but very picturesque in its own right. It’s full of tree ferns, mossy boulders and rushing cascades.
There are a couple of trees down which are easy to navigate around, but provide extra surface for webs so you might want to grab a stick in parts.
I was exploring this section on my own so I only went as far as the first waterfall. This took me around 10 minutes and involved predominantly walking through the creek, but there were a few dry patches too.
I climbed up a couple of easy cascades and the whole way the scenery was just gorgeous. It feels untouched down there, yet it’s a relatively easy adventure.
There is another section of canyon and small waterfall which I could see from the top of the track which lie just beyond the first waterfall.
This is where I was aiming for but would have involved climbing up and around the first waterfall which I didn’t feel confident doing alone.
I am sure it’s probably doable and I might have given it a go if I’d knew just how close I actually was to my destination - I only realised after I looked at it again from the top!
Either way, no matter how far you get, it’s a beautiful place to explore.
The photos are all taken on my Iphone so it really doesn’t do it justice. It’s well worth seeing if you don’t mind walking through the water and watching out for submerged rocks.
Heading back up to the top
Once you’re ready to leave the canyon and grotto it’s a fairly steep walk back uphill. Although it’s a climb, I actually found it easier than going down as I felt less likely to slip.
It took us 30 minutes to get back to the parking area again and there are a few little flat sections to take a break on.
Once you are finished, give yourself a quick check over for leeches. As mentioned we went after a lot of rain and Joe had picked up huge tiger leech - happily I made it through unscathed.
By wet rainforest standards this is nothing, so don’t let it put you off, but do have a quick once over before you get back in the car!
Getting to the Happy Valley Track
The Happy Valley Track begins just beyond Cathedral Reserve on the junction between Mount Irvine Road and Boronia Point Trail in Mount Wilson. There is no car park as such, but just enough room for a couple of cars to pull off the road and not block the fire trail. The track then begins on the other side of the road to the parking area and is signposted.
The track is roughly a two hour drive from Sydney, 45 minutes from Katoomba and 30 minutes from Bilpin.
Note that there are no facilities either in the parking area or the walk itself. The nearest toilets (long drop) are at the Cathedral Reserve Campground. Please carry out all rubbish with you.
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