Scenic Railway to Ruined Castle
Download & Print Map and Notes7 hrs 30 mins
963 m
Hard track
Scenic World
(0km) Scenic World → Scenic Railway (Bottom Platform)
300 m
26 mins
8m
-210m
Very easy
(0.3km) Scenic Railway (Bottom Platform) → Scenic World
870 m
28 mins
248m
-46m
Hard track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk heads up the stairs. After the first section, the walk flattens out slightly as it zigzags up the hill. The track also goes under several large overhangs before coming to an intersection and a ‘Vera’s Grotto’ sign.
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Scenic Skyway’ sign up the wooden steps and across the short wooden boardwalk to the other side. The track continues with the hand railing on the left, until reaching the base of the Furber Steps. From here, the walk continues up the concrete steps, zigzagging steeply up the side of the cliff, until reaching the Furber Lookout at the base of the last flight of steps.
Continue straight: From the Furber Lookout, this walk heads up the concrete stairs, climbing to the top. The walk passes the ‘Furber Steps’ signpost and continues along the bush track, winding up along the side of the hill until coming to the intersection of the Furber Steps and the Lynes Point tracks.
Turn left : From the lookout, this walk follows the bush track, heading down the short metal staircase to the intersection of the Lynes Point bush track at the bottom.
Continue straight: From the lookout, this walk heads up the stairs, climbing to the top. Here it continues along the bush track, winding past a large rock overhang with a bench seat underneath and through the forest for a short while, to the signposted intersection of the ‘Underfalls Walk’.
Continue straight: From the intersection, the track follows the bush track heading up the hill, winding up through the forest for a short while. Soon the track bends slightly around to the right and comes to the Rainforest Lookout, at the base of the set of wooden steps.
Turn left : From the Rainforest Lookout, this walk heads up the wooden steps, climbing to the top where it comes to a ‘T’ intersection with the ‘Round Walk’ track.
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Scenic Skyway’ sign down the wooden steps, then flattens out for a short distance before continuing up the other side, climbing up the long, steep set of wooden steps. At the top, the walk comes to the intersection of the Round Walk and the Juliets Balcony track (unsignposted).
Veer right: From the intersection, this walk heads to the top of the metal stairs. The track then continues steeply up through the bush, climbing to Vanimans Lookout.
Turn left: From Vanimans Lookout, this walk heads up the wooden steps, climbing up the hill through the bush until it comes to the intersection with the Prince Henry Cliff Walk.
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the only unsignposted bush track up the gentle hill. It winds up the wooden steps, bending around to the left until it flattens out at the intersection with the Scenic World footbridge.
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads along the wooden footbridge that winds around the back of the Scenic World multi-story car park, to the concrete footpath. The walk continues around the main building, climbing up some concrete steps to the main entrance of Scenic World.
(0.3km) Scenic Railway (Bottom Platform) → Int of Scenic Railway Boardwalk and Landslide Bush Track
190 m
6 mins
25m
-17m
Very easy
(0.49km) Int of Scenic Railway Boardwalk and Landslide Bush Track → Landslide
1.2 km
40 mins
150m
-161m
Moderate track
The Landslide
(1.64km) Landslide → Bottom of Golden Staircase
1.6 km
42 mins
128m
-123m
Moderate track
(3.19km) Bottom of Golden Staircase → Miners Campsite
2.3 km
51 mins
104m
-129m
Moderate track
Miners Campsite
Miners Campsite
(5.45km) Miners Campsite → Northern Ruined Castle campsite
300 m
7 mins
16m
-11m
Moderate track
Northern Ruined Castle campsite
(5.75km) Northern Ruined Castle campsite → Ruined Castle
730 m
20 mins
82m
-17m
Hard track
(6.48km) Ruined Castle → Northern Ruined Castle campsite
1.3 km
35 mins
78m
-145m
Experienced only
Turn left : From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Katoomba’ sign[41][42] along the mostly flat and clear track[43], keeping the main valley to your right. The track almost immediately passes a campsite[44] (down a steep track on your right) and continues along the flat through the ferny forest[45]. A little over 200m later, the track passes a large square boulder[46], then about 100m further, this walk comes to an intersection[47], where there is a fair amount of coal on the ground[48], a campsite down to your right[49] and the entrance to an old small coal mine[50] (behind a rock) on your left.
Continue straight: From the intersection[51], this walk heads along the main track[52] initially keeping the campsite[53] down to your right. The clear track is mostly flat and passes through a tall turpentine forest[54] for about 500m before passing another campsite[55] (on your right). Then, just a few metres further on, this walk comes to a signposted three-way intersection[56] where a sign points back along the track to ‘Mount Solitary’[57]. Now Turn left to rejoin the main walk .
Maps for the Scenic Railway to Ruined Castle walk
You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Six Foot Track | 1:50 000 Map Series | Six Foot Track | NSW-six-foot-track |
Jamison | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89302N JAMISON | NSW-89302N |
Katoomba | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89301S KATOOMBA | NSW-89301S |
Katoomba | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8930 KATOOMBA | 8930 |
Cross sectional view of the Scenic Railway to Ruined Castle bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Scenic Railway to Ruined Castle
Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001
Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.
Length | 12.4 km | ||
Time | 7 hrs 30 mins | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Very steep (4/6) |
Quality of track | Rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely (4/6) | ||
Signs | Minimal directional signs (4/6) | ||
Experience Required | Moderate level of bushwalking experience recommended (4/6) | ||
Weather | Forecast, unforecast storms and severe weather may impact on navigation and safety (4/6) | ||
Infrastructure | Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6) |
Some more details of this walks Grading
Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk
Gradient
2.7km of this walk has short steep hills and another 2.6km has gentle hills with occasional steps. Whilst another 730m is very steep and the remaining 490m is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
5km of this walk follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles and another 730m follows a rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely. The remaining (490m) follows a smooth and hardened path.
Signs
5km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection and another 730m has minimal directional signs. The remaining (490m) is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
3.7km of this walk requires some bushwalking experience and another 2km requires no previous bushwalking experience. The remaining (730m) requires a leader a with moderate level of bushwalking experience.
weather
Around 6km of this walk is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation), whilst the remaining 730m is affected by forecast, unforecast storms and severe weather events that may impact on navigation and safety.
Infrastructure
Around 6km of this walk has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced), whilst the remaining 490m is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Scenic Railway to Ruined Castle walk starts and ends at the Scenic World (gps: -33.728585, 150.30095)Your transport options to Scenic World are by;
Bus. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)
Fire Danger
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.Weather Forest
This walk starts in the Central Tablelands weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.Forecast snapshot
Park Information & Alerts
Short URL = http://wild.tl/srtrc
Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)
Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂
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