The Oaks Picnic area to Woodford Station
Download & Print Map and Notes7 hrs
800 m
Hard track
The Oaks Picnic Area
(0km) The Oaks Picnic Area → Int. Wheel Gully Trail and Oaks Firetrail
6 km
1 hr 59 mins
270m
-26m
Moderate track
Veer left: From the intersection, the walk heads past the Red Hand Cave intersection and west along the management trail, with the picnic area on the right and car park to the left. The walk heads down the road for a very short time, to the signposted intersection.
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk does not head in the direction of ‘Nepean lookout’ but leads to the gate and fence up the other trail.
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk heads up the slight hill, passing the gate. The trail winds slowly as it climbs the gentle slope for quite some time. The trail then flattens out and leads to a steeper gradient, and at the top, comes to a ’15km to Woodford’ sign.
Continue straight: From the sign, the walk continues upwards along the trail, winding slowly for some kilometres. The vegetation either side of the trail stays relatively the same, passing some clearings with demolished trees in them. As the trail begins to head north, it continues to wind uphill, passing a large clearing on the left. Soon after the large clearing, the walk comes to an intersection on the right, before the track turns left sharply.
(6.03km) Int. Wheel Gully Trail and Oaks Firetrail → Int. in Wheel Gully loop
220 m
4 mins
4m
-21m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection the track heads down the left or right track to wind around and down to a dam. From the dam the track winds back up either track to the intersection. At the end of this side trip, retrace your steps back to the main walk then Turn right.
Wheel Gully
(6.03km) Int. Wheel Gully Trail and Oaks Firetrail → Int. Oaks Firetrail and cliff lookout Trk
7.9 km
2 hrs 45 mins
316m
-318m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk heads up the hill to the north, winding steeply up past a rock shelf with a view (on the left). The track continues steeply uphill, then winds across a plateau with rocky surfaces to both sides of the track. The vegetation here is also lower and sparser, giving views of the surrounding valleys. The track winds across this plateau and hillsides for some time before descending steeply, passing a blue marker sign on the right before coming to the intersection with St Helena Ridge Trail.
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk heads down across the saddle and tends right below the cliff (above on the left). The trail winds up and onto a plateau lined with rocks, which look as though they could have been placed there. The vegetation along this higher area is lower and clearer, which gives views across the distant ridge lines. The walk continues to head in a northerly direction and descends right, off the plateau, to head up another hill to a stepped intersection on the left.
(13.91km) Int. Oaks Firetrail and cliff lookout Trk → Cliff lookout
100 m
3 mins
5m
-18m
Hard track
Cliff Lookout
(13.91km) Int. Oaks Firetrail and cliff lookout Trk → Int. Oaks Firetrail and Old Bathurst Rd
3.5 km
1 hr 10 mins
175m
-87m
Moderate track
(17.38km) Int. Oaks Firetrail and Old Bathurst Rd → Woodford Station
730 m
15 mins
39m
-22m
Easy track
Maps for the The Oaks Picnic area to Woodford Station 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.
Springwood | 1:25 000 Map Series | 90304S SPRINGWOOD | NSW-90304S |
Penrith | 1:25 000 Map Series | 90303N PENRITH | NSW-90303N |
Jamison | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89302N JAMISON | NSW-89302N |
Katoomba | 1:25 000 Map Series | 89301S KATOOMBA | NSW-89301S |
Penrith | 1:100 000 Map Series | 9030 PENRITH | 9030 |
Katoomba | 1:100 000 Map Series | 8930 KATOOMBA | 8930 |
Cross sectional view of the The Oaks Picnic area to Woodford Station bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the The Oaks Picnic area to Woodford Station
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 | 18.1 km | ||
Time | 7 hrs | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Very steep (4/6) |
Quality of track | Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6) | ||
Signs | Minimal directional signs (4/6) | ||
Experience Required | No experience required (1/6) | ||
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
11km of this walk has short steep hills and another 4km is very steep. Whilst another 3.1km has gentle hills with occasional steps and the remaining 270m is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
12km of this walk follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles and another 6km follows a clear and well formed track or trail. The remaining (730m) follows a smooth and hardened path.
Signs
13km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection and another 4km has minimal directional signs. The remaining (930m) is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
This whole walk, 18km requires no previous bushwalking experience.
weather
This whole walk, 18km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).
Infrastructure
Around 17km of this walk has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced), whilst the remaining 730m 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 The Oaks Picnic area to Woodford Station walk starts at the The Oaks Picnic Area (gps: -33.811583, 150.56521)Your transport options to The Oaks Picnic Area are by;
Car. A park entry fee is required for driving into the park.
(get details)
Train. (get details)
The The Oaks Picnic area to Woodford Station ends at the Woodford Station (gps: -33.735763, 150.48228)
Your transport options to Woodford Station 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/topatws
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 🙂
Comments