Minnehaha Falls
Minnehaha Falls
Hidden in a quiet pocket of Katoomba, Minnehaha Falls is one of those places that surprises you. You park at the end of a suburban street, follow a short bush track, and suddenly you’re standing in front of a waterfall cascading into a deep, clear swimming hole. It’s an easy hike suitable for the family, and the kind of place that makes you feel like you’ve found something special — even if the locals have known about it for years. You can even bring the family dog along for this one!
Quick Details
Length: 2.8km
Elevation: 100m
Grade: Easy to moderate
Best Season: Year-round
Suitable for kids: Yes
Starting the Trail
Minnehaha Falls has long been on our to-do list, but with it being such a popular hike, especially when the weather is warm, we were saving it for a time that we could go early in the day or during the week. As luck would have it, we were in Katoomba early one morning this week, so decided to seize the opportunity. After parking we wandered off past the large signboard and followed the easy-to-spot trail winding its way through the bush.
The track is fairly wide at the start, and for the first section you walk alongside Yosemite Creek, crossing over the water a couple of times. A few small cascades along the way make it all the more enjoyable. There’s a few faint foot tracks leading off to the creek — on a hotter day we might’ve explored them, but this time we stuck to the main trail.
You’ll pass over a few narrow timber bridges that little adventurers will love. While there’s a climb on the way back, it’s nothing too difficult, making this a great walk for families. The hike has grown in popularity over the last few years, and while you might get lucky and have it to yourself, chances are you’ll be sharing the track with a few others.
As the trail begins to head downhill, you’ll come across some rocky sections with steps cut directly into the stone. They look like they’ve been there a long time — clearly worn, and a bit slippery when wet. As the terrain gets steeper, metal staircases help manage the descent. They’re not very long, but still — I wouldn’t want to trip.
Before long, we heard the faint sound of rushing water in the distance. Looking over the railing, we caught our first glimpse of Minnehaha Falls through the trees. From this height, you can see the whole cascade — even the pool at the base. It’s a beautiful sight, and it’s easy to see why this is such a popular hike.
The trail takes a bit of a hairpin turn after the staircases and passes under a low overhang of sandstone. At least, we presume it’s sandstone — it’s a pinkish colour we haven’t really seen before. Maybe it’s mixed with something else? I don’t know, I’m not a geologist. The sound of the falls grows louder, and we’re too keen to reach the bottom to hang around under the rock for long.
Minnehaha Falls
As the trail brings us down to the creek we rock-hop over the water to see Minnehaha Falls in front of us. The pool at its base is a beautiful shade of green, and when the sun is out, you can see the light refracting through the water and dancing across the stones near the edges. The pool itself is deep — a few swimmers told us they couldn’t reach the bottom. Then again, the water was pretty cold, so maybe they didn’t try too hard!
What’s in a Name?
“From the waterfall he named her,
Minnehaha, Laughing Water…”
– The Song of Hiawatha, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A Blue Mountains City Council document about Yosemite Creek says “This waterfall was christened in 1889 by a lover of Longfellow”. Although, whoever the poetry fan was seems to have been forgotten over time. I looked up the poem out of curiosity — it’s a few hundred pages long, written in a tricky rhythm, and mostly seems to be about sending women to their wigwams. Nevertheless, “laughing water” is a beautiful way to describe a waterfall.
Back to the Falls
The curved walls and rock ledges around Minnehaha offer plenty of seating options for those who prefer to take in the view of the falls and the sounds of the laughing water from a dry distance. There’s a few foot tracks leading away from the falls, although where they go we couldn’t say — we didn’t venture further than the falls on this visit.
Unlike many hikes in the Blue Mountains, dogs are allowed at Minnehaha Falls because the track sits outside of the national park boundaries. It’s a rare find — a bushwalk with a swimming hole at the end and a chance to bring your four-legged mate along. Just make sure your dog is on a lead, especially near the stairs and the falls, and bring plenty of water for them (and a towel if they’re the swimming type).
(Thanks to Sebastian for letting us photograph his beautiful dog, Rufio)
It would be easy to stay down here for hours, especially if the weather was hot enough to swim. As tempting as that was, we unfortunately only had time for a short hike on this visit so we made our way back up the hill, to head home to our wigwams…
Getting There
The trailhead to Minnehaha Falls can be found at the Minnehaha Reserve carpark, at the end of Mini Ha Ha Road, Katoomba. Type Minnehaha Reserve into your GPS because there’s another Minnehaha Road in the area. There’s plenty of parking and the great news is that if you don’t have a car, you can take a bus from Katoomba to the Reserve.
Tips and Tricks
Go early in the day if you want to avoid the crowds, particularly on hot days.
Be sure to follow Rufio the Retriever and Sebastian on Instagram for their amazing travel adventures,