Federal Pass Walking Track
Download & Print Map and Notes5 hrs
989 m
Hard track
Carrington Park
(0km) Carrington Park → Int of Federal Pass and Jamieson Lookout Tracks
230 m
5 mins
5m
-22m
Moderate track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Leura Cascades 1km’ sign down the wooden steps and along the bush track, winding through the forest until coming to the signposted intersection of the ‘Leura Forest’ Track.
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Leura Forest’ sign along the bush track, winding down the hill for a short while before dropping down a set of wooden steps, to the signposted intersection with the ‘Jamieson Lookout’ track.
(0.23km) Int of Federal Pass and Jamieson Lookout Tracks → Jamieson Lookout
20 m
1 mins
0m
-6m
Easy track
Jamieson Lookout
(0.23km) Int of Federal Pass and Jamieson Lookout Tracks → Fern Bower
90 m
3 mins
0m
-36m
Hard track
Fern Bower
(0.32km) Fern Bower → Int of Federal Pass and the Amphitheatre track
320 m
13 mins
10m
-150m
Hard track
(0.64km) Int of Federal Pass and the Amphitheatre track → Lila falls crossing
20 m
1 mins
0m
-18m
Moderate track
Lila Falls
(0.66km) Lila Falls crossing → Marguerite Cascades
180 m
11 mins
37m
-90m
Hard track
Marguerite Cascades
(0.84km) Marguerite Cascades → Leura Forest
320 m
11 mins
50m
-14m
Hard track
Veer right: From the intersection, this walk crosses Linda Creek just below a pleasant cascade[4] using the foot bridge with a handrail[5]. This walk then continues along the bush track that winds along the valley floor, to the signposted ‘Leura Forest’. From here, the walk continues along the wide bush track, passing a few picnic tables, and winding through the forest to an open area with a large gazebo and an information sign at the intersection of the Federal Pass and the Dardenelles tracks.
Leura Forest
(1.16km) Leura Forest (Int of Federal Pass and Dardenelles Tracks) → Int of Federal Pass, Scenic Railway and Dardenelles Tracks
1.3 km
36 mins
117m
-99m
Moderate track
(2.44km) Int of Federal Pass, Scenic Railway and Dardenelles Tracks → Scenic Railway (Bottom Platform)
2.1 km
1 hr 1 mins
210m
-196m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads south-west away from Katoomba Falls along the bush track, soon passing the signposted ‘Turpentine Tree’. Shortly after this tree, the track comes to an intersection with another bush track and set of stairs (on the right, signposted as ‘Furber Steps’).
Continue straight: From the bottom of Furber Steps, this walk follows the ‘To base of scenic railway’ sign keeping the handrail on the left, and following the flat bush track. This track passes through a small gate over a metal bridge at the bottom of the Scenic Railway.
(4.5km) Scenic Railway (Bottom Platform) → Landslide
1.3 km
46 mins
175m
-178m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk follows the wide track and signposts towards the ‘landslide’[9] (keeping the cliffs on the right). The walk winds along a bush track with small boulders strewn along it. There are a number of old mine shafts just off the track and some interesting historical items. The track continues under Malaita Point before breaking out of the vegetation to a worthy view of the valley, just before the landslide. As the track comes to the old landslide site, it become rougher with plenty of boulders over the track. There are also excellent views of the cliffs above and the landslide as the vegetation is quite sparse here.
The Landslide
(5.84km) Landslide → Bottom of Golden Staircase
1.6 km
42 mins
128m
-123m
Moderate track
(7.39km) Bottom of Golden Staircase → Bottings Lookout
430 m
19 mins
177m
-41m
Hard track
Botting’s Lookout
(7.82km) Bottings Lookout → Golden Stairs Track carpark
210 m
8 mins
80m
-9m
Moderate track
Maps for the Federal Pass Walking Track 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 |
Katoomba | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89301S KATOOMBA | NSW-89301S |
Katoomba | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8930 KATOOMBA | 8930 |
Cross sectional view of the Federal Pass Walking Track bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Federal Pass Walking Track
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 | 8 km | ||
Time | 5 hrs | ||
. | |||
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 | Directional signs along the way (3/6) | ||
Experience Required | Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6) | ||
Weather | Weather generally has little impact on safety (1/6) | ||
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
6km of this walk has short steep hills and another 1.2km has gentle hills with occasional steps. Whilst another 620m is very steep and the remaining 190m is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
4km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 3.4km follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles. Whilst another 410m follows a rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely and the remaining 220m follows a smooth and hardened path.
Signs
Around 4km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection, whilst the remaining 4km is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
Around 6km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 1.6km requires some bushwalking experience.
weather
This whole walk, 8km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).
Infrastructure
Around 4.7km of this walk is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats), whilst the remaining 3.3km has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Federal Pass Walking Track walk starts at the Carrington Park (gps: -33.720233, 150.31744)Your transport options to Carrington Park are by;
Bus. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)
The Federal Pass Walking Track ends at the Golden Stairs Track carpark (gps: -33.734348, 150.28237)
Your main transport option to Golden Stairs Track carpark is by;
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/fpwt
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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