Kamarah Gully Canyon
Kamarah Gully Canyon AKA Colliery Canyon
This short, but stunning canyon is tucked away on the edge of the Grose Valley between Mount Victoria and Bell. It may not be grand, or famous but it’s the kind of place that sticks with you long after you leave. A twisting corridor of moss covered sandstone walls with only the gentle sounds of running water and your own footsteps over gravel breaking the silence. Down here the world feels different — this is Kamarah Gully Canyon.
Quick Details
Length: 8.3km
Elevation: 100m
Grade: Moderate to Hard
Best season: Spring, Summer, Autumn
Suitable for kids: Young kids no. Tweens and Teens yes — if they’re ok with the distance.
Starting the Trail
We first posted this hike as "Colliery Canyon" and after we did a few of our followers pointed out that this was actually "Kamarah Gully Canyon" and the name "Colliery Canyon" has only recently come about in the last few years. So you may find this canyon on the maps by either name.
After parking just off Darling Causeway, we set off along a wide fire trail beyond a locked gate (cars aren’t allowed, but hikers are welcome). The air’s a little chilly, so we walk fast to warm up. It’s not long before we catch our first glimpse of the Grose Valley — and as we do, the trail starts heading downhill.
While the full out-and-back hike clocks in at just over 8km, most of that distance is on the fire trail, so you can cover ground quickly. The fire trail twists and turns as we head further down the hill — and the openness of the track changes to trees, stone walls, and a creek. This is the first time we’ve been down here to see the creek running at more than a faint trickle.
The creek runs beside the road, ducks underneath, and tumbles away into the valley. As we round the next bend, we’re met with a rusted barrier fence across the trail and… I don’t even know what to call it… A warning? A practical joke? An art project? Whatever it is, we give it a wide berth as we scoot round the barrier to continue on the trail.
Navigating the Old Landslides
The trail beyond the fence has fallen away in three places from landslides so a little careful navigating is required. The first is the trickiest — the road has completely fallen away. Walk to the outer corner of the road, and you’ll see a foot track heading down the hill for a few metres.
Follow it down and cross the slide zone. A couple of ropes are in place to help you scramble up the other side. It’s not overly difficult, but a fall would see you tumble down a steep slope, so take your time.
The next two landslides can be skirted around on the inside of the track. You may need to pull a few shrubs aside to see where to place your feet on the third one. Again, take it slow and careful. There’s a lot more debris and fallen trees over the trail in this last section. But the scenery is incredible walking among the trees with views of the Grose Valley to your right.
You’ll soon notice the ground beneath you changes from dirt to old bitumen — a remnant from when this area was part of a colliery. When wet, the bitumen can be extremely slippery, so stick to the grassy edges.
There’s been a lot of rain this week and looking up at the cliffs ahead there’s small streams of water running over the edges. One of our favourite things about this trail is the unobstructed views of the cliffs out in the valley.
Canyon Colliery
The road soon comes to a bridge over the creek — even the creek bed is concrete. We’re not sure exactly what they used to do down here (although presumably it was a colliery because of the name) but if you follow the concrete and bitumen road down the hill a little further you’ll find staircases and concrete walls covered in graffiti. It’s a strange contrast to the forest and cliffs behind — nature slowly reclaiming what was once industrial.
Into the Forest
As you're standing on the bridge, with your back towards the fire trail, turn left and head upstream. As you reach the trees, you’ll see a foot track leading up a short incline into the forest. The trail wraps around a couple of boulders before descending to the creek. Even on sunny days you’ll notice the forest is dark and cool.
From here you basically follow the creek as best you can. As this area is not dry bushland, foot tracks get covered with debris making them hard to find. Keep the creek just to your left and trust your sense of direction. If you’re not confident, be sure to have an offline map of the area.
There are a few fallen trees to navigate — climb over or under as needed, but test your weight first, timber in wet areas tends to rot quickly. About 100m from where you entered the forest, another small creek joins from the opposite bank — ignore it and keep following the same one.
Roughly another 100m upstream you’ll be met with a large pile of very big boulders over the creek. The water will be flowing in from your left, and if it’s rained recently on your visit there may even be water running through the boulders in front of you. I’d love to show you what it looked like, but I was hiking so fast Jess didn’t have the chance to take a photo — sorry.
Stand with the creek on your left and the boulders ahead. Climb the slope on your right. When you’re at the top, cross over the boulders and keep going over the top until you cross the creek. Basically you’re hiking around in the shape of a horseshoe to get to the opposite bank.
Once you’re across, with your back to where you stood earlier and the creek now flowing past your right side and behind you, look up to your left. You’ll spot a stone wall through the trees. Head up the hill to the base of the wall — it’s easier going here than boulder-hopping through the middle.
Hiking through the Gully
From here, follow the wall all the way along. It’s mostly flat and unobstructed so it’s a fairly easy hike through this section. This is a really beautiful part of the hike. The light through the canopy above makes everything seem to glow when the sun is out and trees grow over moss covered boulders in the most amazing ways. Just remember that if you need to take a break, walk away from the stone wall to sit — incase of rock falls.
As you near the end of the gully the ground is a lot flatter. Overhangs are carved out from the sandstone walls either side and are covered in ferns. The creek runs under the overhangs and if you’re lucky you might catch sight of a freshwater crayfish — here, they’re red and blue!
Entering the Canyon
As you walk out past the stone walls you’ll find yourself in a much more open area looking up to drier bushland. The first time we came here we thought we’d somehow missed the canyon, but it’s actually just a little further along the creek. The banks on either side of the creek are fairly overgrown but there’s a faint foot track there under the scrub if you look. If the weather’s warm enough, walk through the creek — trust us, it’s easier!
Just ahead you’ll notice a low overhang on your left, and here the walls close in again, this time much narrower than before. The walls are covered in green moss and the air temperature drops considerably. Here we slow down, taking the time to appreciate nature’s intricate carving of the sandstone walls either side of us.
We presume there must have been a flash flood through the canyon somewhat recently, as we found a large pile of branches we had to climb over, as well as piles of washed up sand. We’ve only ever been through here when it’s been fairly dry so it’s a new experience to see water in the canyon.
There’s one narrow gap between the walls that we had to squeeze through — doing our best to keep our feet dry from the water on the ground at the same time. Honestly, only one of us succeeded… The other fell through the pile of sand and into the water — sorry no photos of that either. Once on the other side we’re met with a wide stone room with only a narrow slit above to let in any light.
The experience of walking through a canyon never gets old. We’re always amazed at how beautiful they are even when we’re revisiting ones we’ve already been to. On the other side of the green room is another narrow stone corridor. On previous visits this has been dry so it was easy to walk through. On this visit though there was water about knee deep.
On the other side of the corridor is the end of the canyon. Water runs down the wall into a deep pool at the base. If the weather was warmer it would be a great place to cool off before hiking back to the car. Unfortunately on our visit it was cold, and the water was like ice — so no swimming for us today!
It’s possible to do this hike as a circuit, and you’ll find the exit track back around the entrance to the canyon. Personally, we love to do this as an out-and-back along the fire trail, and have never hiked the full circuit — any excuse to walk back through that forest.
Getting There
The trailhead that we used can be found along Darling Causeway, around 2.8km from Bells Line of Road, or 7.1km from Mount Victoria. There’s a small, disused road to pull off the Causeway onto with plenty of space for a few cars to park. There are no signs for the trailhead, but you may find “Canyon Collery Trail” (yes, for some reason the maps use a different spelling of colliery) in your vehicle navigation system.
Tips and Tricks
The hike through the forest can be tricky if you don’t have experience with finding your way on unmarked trails — be sure to have an offline map of the area if you’re not confident.
The trail can be done as a circuit if you’d prefer. After hiking out through the drier bushland you’ll come out on Bells Line, not far from the junction with Darling Causeway (apparently). Walk back to the car along the road. It’s a shorter distance though to do it as an out-and-back trail.
The views over the Grose Valley in the late afternoon light are magic! There’s a couple of lookouts not far from here on Bells Line of Road.