Karloos Pools in Royal National Park is one of the best wild swimming spots close to Sydney. The water is deep emerald and the pool is huge. It’s big enough to swim laps! The pool is surrounded by pristine bushland and the whole setting is just spectacular. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve visited, it has just as much wow factor every time.
There are a couple of different ways to get to it depending on how far you want to walk. We’ll detail both, as well as a couple of secret swimming spots just beyond Karloo Pools, which you’re almost guaranteed to get to yourself.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Karloo Pools.
Swimming at Karloo Pool
Karloo Pool is a wonderful place to go for a swim because not only is it huge but it’s deep as well, and has very few rocks to get in your way. It’s so relaxing and looking up at the surrounding tree covered cliffs makes you feel small. It’s a truly beautiful place.
Getting in and out of the water is easy because there are ledges that slope most of the way down to the water and no slippery rocks to climb over once you’re in.
It is pretty deep throughout most of the pool though, so if you have children that aren’t confident swimmers it probably won’t be suitable.
The only downside to Karloo is how popular it is. It’s easy to see why, but on a sunny weekend you are going to be sharing it with a lot of people, which really detracts from the tranquil atmosphere. If you can’t visit midweek, come really early in the morning on a weekend.
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the national park, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
The walk to Karloo Pools
The Karloo Track
Distance: 2.7km each way
Elevation: 200m
Difficulty: Moderate
Summary: The walk to Karloo Pool is all on a maintained track, but it is rocky and rough in places. It has a significant descent on the way to the pool, so you’ll have a bit of a climb back up after your swim. If you want to continue to the pools beyond, it’s all off track. The track is largely debris free and worn enough to follow without too many issues though.
The Karloo Track
Starting the trail: the descent through the bush
The most direct, and popular way to reach Karloo Pools is via the Karloo Track. The walk begins by Heathcote train station and heads past the fire service and into the bush (which is signposted).
You walk through the bush and alongside people’s back gardens before you reach the signpost for the official start of the Karloo Track, 550m beyond the station.
The path begins descending through the bush, at first it’s quite gradual before getting steeper towards the end. It’s not a smooth trail, as there are rocks and tree roots to negotiate, but it doesn’t require any scrambling. The bush is very pretty and if you’re lucky you might even spot a lyrebird scratching around in the undergrowth.
After just under 1km the path flattens and you’ll be walking along slanted rock with some lovely valley views.
You soon head back into the forest and begin descending again. After a few hundred metres it begins to get a lot steeper and rockier.
Again nothing close to a scramble, but you do have to watch your footing a lot more.
The path then flattens and you’ll see the pool ahead of you. You then cross the creek to get to the pool’s edge, usually the water level in the creek is well below covering your boots level.
The trail back up to the train station
When you’re ready to leave the pool the walk back up to the train station does have several uphill sections, but quite a bit of flat track inbetween to catch your breath on.
It can feel tiring in really hot weather, but otherwise it’s not too bad. In some ways it’s easier going up the rocky sections than down as your footing feels more stable.
The longer route to Karloo Pools - the Uloola Track
Distance: 11.2km station to station
Elevation: 224m
Difficulty: Moderate
I won’t go into too much detail on this route because we’ve already written a whole blog post on it, but essentially you can take a longer track between Waterfall station and Heathcote station, so you don’t have to go back on yourself.
A lot of the first part of the walk is along fire trail, but it’s relaxing and it does get prettier the further along you get. Uloola Falls is a lovely waterfall if there’s been heavy rain and you can sit beside the top of the falls and have a picnic, it’s actually one of my favourite picnic spots in Sydney!
Beyond the falls the walk is on proper bush track and it gets a lot rockier, much like the Karloo Track.
It’s a great route if you have more time and you prefer not going back on yourself like you have to along the Karloo Track. It’s also great if you’re coming by public transport because it’s a station to station track with absolute no road walking required.
The alternative secret swimming spots
If you get to Karloo Pools and it’s too busy for your liking, or you simply just want to extend your adventure, we have the perfect suggestion for you. There are several additional swimming spots beyond Karloo Pools that few people know about. You won’t find any signposts and you’ll very likely get them to yourself.
The total distance between Karloo Pools and the final pool, Olympic Pool, is 1.7km each way, but it is off track, so it’s a bit slower than the average National Parks maintained paths.
Starting the trail
The trail begins at the far end of Karloo Pools, keeping the pool on your right and heading downstream/east (make sure that it stays on your right for the entire walk). This is very important because the first time we attempted this walk we did it on the wrong side of the creek.
That was a disaster! It’s a major bushbash and we retreated tail between legs 400m before the final pool when the path became so eroded that the danger of sliding straight into the river was all too real!
On the other side of the creek you will find a small amount of debris from flood damage, but generally speaking it’s in ok condition (expect some scratchy plants though!) and easy to follow. The path is entirely flat, but for the odd logs or rocks you need to climb over.
The pools vary in size and depth, but there is plenty to choose from depending on your preference. Our favourite is 1.1km into this off track section. It’s a large pool which has easy access to the water using the tiered rock shelves. It’s stunning yet we’ve never seen anyone swimming here!
Just 150m beyond this pool is the junction with the Bottle Forest Track, which is an alternative route you could take to make a circuit rather than going back on yourself via the Karloo Track. You’re now just 400m from Olympic Pool.
You’ll know immediately when you’ve arrived at Olympic Pool because as the name suggests it’s ginormous, and you can go no further without getting in!
It’s an incredible place for a swim, and the biggest of all the wild swimming spots we’ve visited in Sydney. It almost felt comical that I could have this huge waterhole all to myself when further up river the smaller Karloo Pool was really busy!
I do still prefer Karloo overall if it’s quiet, there’s just something very special about it, but if it’s busy and you don’t mind a little rough terrain then I would highly recommend continuing on.
When you’re ready to leave Olympic Pool, you can go back the way you came (which is what we did) or you can make the trail into a loop by taking the Bottle Forest Trail back up to the station.
Getting to Karloo Pools
The walk to Karloo Pools starts just by Heathcote train station. If you are driving you can park at the station for free and it’s roughly a 50 minute drive from Sydney (just under 50km). It’s a similar distance from Wollongong, but the drive is quicker at just over 35 minutes.
It’s a really easy one to do by train as it is direct from Sydney Central Station and takes just 50 minutes.
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