Deep Pass Canyon

Deep Pass Canyon, otherwise known as Nayook Canyon has long been a favourite hike of ours and has been loved by many for years. It’s a beautiful walk-in canyon with handlines set up throughout to assist your journey through the canyon. It’s best enjoyed on a hot day, when you don’t mind so much about slipping into the water. 

Quick Details

Distance: 2.4km (for the full circuit)

Elevation: 130m

Grade: Moderate

Best Season: All Year round (but avoid after recent significant rainfall)

Suitable for kids: Young kids would likely need assistance. Tweens and teens should be fine.

In mid-2024 a significant rock fall inside the canyon saw NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services temporarily restrict access to the canyon for around five months while waiting for geotechnical assessment and remediation for the safety of visitors. Thankfully that work was completed December 2024, in time for the end of year holiday period. As soon as we heard the canyon was open again we quickly added it to the top of our hike list for the Summer. 

For those familiar with the canyon already, the rock fall occurred between the first and second fixed rope sections (presuming you enter from the campground end of the circuit). The entrance to the little sandy beach around Nayook Falls and the pool is now covered in large sandstone rocks, and much of the trees here have fallen. You can see where the rocks have broken away from the wall and overhang above you on the right. The water level in the pool is quite high so there's really no ground area to sit on around the pool at the moment. 

Standing on top of the waterfall looking back towards the rockfall left us a little sad to realise we’ll never see it again how it once was, and at the same time, we’re grateful we got to experience this place as many times as we did before the rock fall. It was a reminder that canyons can be dangerous places and care should always be taken when visiting.

[The first image was taken January 2024 and the second image was taken January 2025]

At the time of our last visit there was a fair amount of branches and debris in the upper section of the canyon and recent rainfall has resulted in the water level in the canyon being higher than usual for the Summer period. We were still able to make it through, but it was one of the tougher trips through Deep Pass that we’ve had before. 

In Nayook Creek it’s common to see red coloured freshwater crayfish. We’re told this particular variety is called the “Lithgow Red”, obviously named for the deep red colouring of their bodies. It’s common to see them in the waterways of the Newnes Plateau, they are a bit shy though and don’t like noisy people. Australia is home to over a hundred known species of freshwater crayfish, with many species being brightly coloured (like crayfish power rangers). We’ve seen a few different types on our hikes, and love coming across different species we haven’t seen before.

Through the Canyon

To get to Deep Pass Canyon from the North car park you’ll first head down a wide but unmaintained track. It’s pretty rough in places. The track narrows as it curves its way down the hill into Deep Pass Campground. As you get back to flat ground you’ll see a new sign posted at the track entry. 

From here a well worn foot track leads you into the canyon, it disappears briefly in some places, and there are a few fallen trees to navigate, but keep Nayook Creek just to your left and you’ll soon find your way climbing through ferns into the entrance of the canyon. 

One of the reasons Deep Pass Canyon is so loved is the fixed ropes (or hand lines) set up to guide you over deeper sections of water and to climb up to higher sections of the canyon (or climb down to lower sections if you’re coming from the other way of course). As at the time of our visit all ropes were in ok (but not great) condition. A few have snapped short and others are frayed. Be sure to check them on your own visit before attempting to use them. 

The first fixed rope is around a rock ledge over a little cascade. The beautiful blue-green pool beneath offers a great little wild swimming hole on a hot day. It’s so picturesque that you could spend hours at this one spot - swimming, relaxing under the shade of the ferns and trees, and just enjoying the view. It’s common for groups to leave their bags and shoes here if they’re planning to come back through the canyon after completing it. So if you find a pile of bags under the trees, don’t worry they likely haven’t been abandoned! 

After climbing up and around the rock, there’s a muddy track under the wall on the right around the recent rock fall, bringing you to the second fixed rope at your right of Nayook Falls. It doesn’t look like the pool beneath Nayook Falls has been affected by the rock fall, however, if you’re planning on jumping into it, you should check the pool out for yourself first. We didn’t go swimming on our latest visit as we didn’t have the weather for it. Climbing up to the top of Nayook Falls does take a bit of coordination and you may need to grab onto the rock to pull yourself to the top.

Walking through the next section is really quite beautiful with the tall fern and moss covered walls towering above you. With little rock pools and the running creek it makes for a kind of natural water slide. It really is such a fun place to visit when the weather is warm!

The walls close quite abruptly to the narrowest constriction of the canyon with a deep canal-like pool between. Fixed ropes have been set up against one wall with a log suspended to assist you to get through this section. We're pretty sure there used to be a second log suspended here, but it seems to have disappeared. It’s easiest to side-shuffle your way along the log before finding your way back to narrow rock ledges either side of the water. There’s one or two places that you’ll need to stretch your legs to find solid ground to step on and you may need to lean against the opposite wall to keep from slipping into the water.

The canyon opens up again briefly before closing in again and the base of the walls are carved out to low overhangs either side.

The next section is another series of natural water slides into small but deep rock pools with a couple of fixed ropes to assist your climbing up slippery or steeper rocks. It’s another really fun section of the canyon, and one that you can easily spend hours in on a hot day. It's also a common area to see Water Dragons!

The last section of fixed ropes is one that you will either love, or hate. It took us a few tries to get it right. First you walk around the edge of the walls, using a fixed rope to keep your balance. You then cross the creek on a rock ledge that is just beneath the surface of the water.

Another log is suspended over the water next to a small cascade flowing into the pool around you. This one can be tricky to navigate for the amount of ropes there are holding the log in place. If you fall in the water at this point, don’t worry, you’re certainly not the first! We’ve found that placing one foot next to the cascade while you’re still about half way along the log and pulling yourself up with the rope from there is the easiest way to do it. Side-shuffling along to the end of the log will likely see you over balance and falling into the water before you have a chance to pull yourself up to solid ground. 

The canyon comes to an end a short walk from the last suspended log. As you reach the end you can turn around and reverse the canyon (it’s just as much fun the other way!), or you can exit on a foot track on the hill to your right. It’s steep, but not long. The track will curve to the left at the top of the hill through a gap in the stone walls and from there it’s a fairly flat walking track through the bush to the carpark. We actually find it an easier exit than the track between the car park and the campground.

[Hint: about ten or so metres the other side of the fallen log in the above picture you'll see the exit track on the right bank]

While Deep Pass may look a little different now to what it used to, it’s still one of our favourite places. We wouldn’t recommend it for really young children, but tweens and teens should be fine, although some may need assistance in a few places. It’s best enjoyed on a hot day. With some careful maneuvering it is possible to get the whole way through and remain (almost) entirely dry, but where’s the fun in that? ;) 

Getting to Deep Pass

This section of the Newnes Plateau is littered with fire trails and a wrong turn may see you lost for hours. There’s little to no phone reception, so we would recommend having an offline and up to date map of the area. As at the time of writing this, all directions are 2WD accessible.

Deep Pass can be found at the end of the Southern branch of Mount Cameron fire trail on the Newnes Plateau. You likely won’t find Mount Cameron fire trail in your vehicle navigation system, but you will find one of the two roads you take to get to it. The first road you want to find is Glow Worm Tunnel Road. 

From Bells Line of Road, turn onto Old Bells Line Road at Zig Zag railway, then turn right onto Glow Worm Tunnel Road at the T-intersection. From Lithgow, use State Mine Gully Road which merges into Glow Worm Tunnel Road as you enter the Newnes Plateau. 

From the T-intersection drive around 11.3km and turn right on Deep Pass Trail (there’s a yellow signpost on the road). From here, you’ll drive up the hill and the area will open right out to pale sandy gravel, turn left (this is the second turn on the left, about 600m from Glow Worm Tunnel Road). 

You're now on Mount Cameron fire trail (there are no signposts). The road was upgraded in mid to late 2023 and is accessible to 2WD (although if there’s been recent significant rainfall we wouldn’t recommend driving on it in a 2WD). It’s pale sandy gravel the whole way from here, so if you find yourself suddenly on a narrow vegetated bush track, you’ve taken a wrong turn!

There is one fork in the road, you want to take the road to the right (the road to the left takes you to River Caves Canyon). At the end of the road is Deep Pass North car park.

Remember to take any rubbish with you when you go. National Parks belong to all of us, and we’re all responsible for looking after them!

Tips and Tricks

The ground is usually pretty slippery through the canyon, wear some shoes with a good grip that you don't mind getting wet.

If you’re camping at Deep Pass keep your gear to a minimum. Anything you bring in, you need to take out!

Avoid entering Deep Pass Canyon after recent significant rainfall. 

Keep an eye out for freshwater crayfish, in Nayook Creek they’re red!