We completed the Kangaroo Valley Loop in June 2023 as a training hike. This was one of our multi-day challenges at a national park not far from Sydney.
Overview
Length: 44km loop. We got terribly lost after following the mountain goats and eventually ended up walking an additional 5-8km.
Duration: 3 days
Seasonality: Trail conditions are good. Spring and autumn are the best time to visit. Hiking in June was cold but doable.
Grade: 4 by NSW National Parks. I would grade it 3.5. Maybe I'm being too precise.
Terrain: uphills and downhills throughout the whole trail. Mostly even flat grounds. A mix of farmland, fire trails and rainforest. There is a section where you’ll need to walk on the main road too.
Skills Required: make sure you are fit enough to complete a multi-day hike. Some navigation skills may be required (signs are not clear in some sections).
Popularity: the beginning of this trail is quite touristy with lookouts to waterfalls and picnic areas. But the track wasn’t popular. We saw two cyclists on day 2 and another 2 cyclists on day 3.
Accessibility: there are plenty of car parks on the loop.
Campsites: 2 in total (but the trail had flat sections on each day which could easily make emergency campsites if necessary). The campsite on Day 2 doesn’t actually have a water supply (unlike how informational pages on Google guided us) unless you want to slide down a landfall to a creek, select the best-looking part of the creek, collect water, crawl (or drag yourself) up the landfall and boil the water (yes, we had to do that). The existing tap no longer works. This hike also had a mice problem, so be careful about protecting your hiking gear and food.
Animals on trail: mountain goats, wallabies, mice.
Additional Resources: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/new-south-wales/kangaroo-valley-loop
Other Notes: there are quite a few lovely day hikes in this area which lead to lookouts to waterfalls. If you have more time to kill, check out the East Rim and Wildflowers Walking Track, West Rim Walking Track, Belmore Falls, and Granite Falls walking tracks. There is so much to explore around Kangaroo Valley. Scroll to the bottom of the post for some pictures.
Packing & Food Guide
Bring standard camping gear, food and clothes.
Bring precautions for the mice. To keep off the smell, we recommend odour-proof ziplock bags. Some people have recommended we use peppermint oil as the scent repels mice. We haven’t tried this solution yet.
Bring repairing equipment in case mice wreck your hiking equipment. Tape, small rope, or anything else that may help cover holes and rips.
It is worthwhile bringing gloves and a beanie. My fingers were hurting from the cold in June during breakfast.
There aren’t places to sit down, especially when it rains and the ground gets soggy/muddy. It is worthwhile bringing some lightweight hiking chairs for comfort.
Hiking poles are nice but are not a must-have; we completed this trail without them.
Questions: if you have any questions about my notes, drop a comment and I’ll reply.
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