Victoria Falls and Silver Cascades
Victoria Falls and Silver Cascades.
This scenic waterfall hike in the upper Blue Mountains offers an incredible lookout to the Grose Valley, wild swimming beside cascades, and views from on top, below, and behind a 20 metre waterfall. It’s a great year-round hike and is even suitable for kids who are comfortable with the return climb. It can be steep and challenging in places, especially on hot days, but the incredible views and waterfalls make it well worth the effort. Ready to explore one of the Blue Mountains’ most beautiful waterfall hikes?
Quick details
Length: about 4km return
Elevation: 350m
Grade: Moderate to hard
Best season: Year-round
Suitable for kids: Yes
Getting to Victoria Falls
The trailhead begins from the car park at the end of Victoria Falls Road. You begin by walking down a well maintained track.
A short way into the trail you’ll find a fenced lookout area offering fantastic views across the Grose Valley. If you listen carefully you’ll hear the sounds of water rushing over Victoria Falls far below.
The track down to the falls is mostly a combination of stairs and switchbacks. If you don’t know what a switchback is, it’s a zig-zagging section of track that helps make steep descents or climbs easier. Though switchbacks make the track longer than a direct descent, they help reduce the steepness and make hiking easier. While it may be tempting to cut through the switchbacks for a shorter route, this should be avoided as it can lead to erosion.
On our last trip we were met by quite a few baby Mountain Dragons on the trail, which the kids thought was great and made a game of counting how many we could find.
The track itself is fairly straightforward, but keep in mind there’s not much shade, which can make the hike back up the hill difficult when the weather's hot. There’s a nice section that passes next to a honeycomb sandstone wall, and there’s a little scrambling to be done to get down to the next part of the track.
As you reach the bottom of the hill, you’ll come to a T-junction on the track with a signpost. To the left is “Burra Korain Flat” and to the right “Cascades". Head to the right for the first waterfall location of the hike.
Silver Cascades (also known as Victoria Creek Cascades)
Upstream from Victoria Falls is Silver Cascades, a stunning multi-tiered waterfall where the water tumbles down over flat rock shelves. The contrast between the flat angular rocks and the flowing water makes for quite the backdrop to the pool at its base. The pool has large stones just below the surface, but there are deeper sections closer to the cascade.
There are plenty of large boulders and a few fallen trees to sit on if you prefer to take in the view from a distance rather than getting into the water. You can get a closer look at the cascades from the right bank (which will be to your left as you face the waterfall), but the rocks can be quite slippery.
On our visit we reached Silver Cascades while it was still fairly early in the morning and there were a few Water Dragons out, sunning themselves on the rocks and fallen trees. They kept a close side-eye on where we were, but seemed mostly unbothered by us being there. This is a popular hike, especially when the weather’s warm, so they’re probably used to people interrupting their mornings.
When you’re ready to head off to the next part of the hike, make your way back to the track and continue towards “Burra Korain Flat”. You’ll quickly see a second T-junction and sign, again to the left is “Burra Korain Flat” and to the right is “Top of the Falls”. Turning to the right, you’ll walk down an old stone staircase to a shaded area of the creek. It’s also possible to get down here from Silver Cascades on the right bank.
Top of the Falls
The top of Victoria Falls is one of our favourite parts of this hike. The dense canopy of trees overhead provides a cool, shaded spot to rest on a hot day. There are large boulders around, but the creek bed is flat stone. Over time, the water has carved a channel through the rock, and created a few shallow pools of crystal-clear water.
The tree canopy opens toward the edge of the falls. When the creek is low, you can stand near the edge and look down at the rock shelf of Victoria Falls. It also offers a nice lookout to the Grose Valley ahead.
On our last visit, we spent most of our time here, simply enjoying the calm surroundings. On warm sunny days it’s a very peaceful and serene place to be, with the sound of running water through the creek beside you and the waterfall below you.
It would be easy to stay here for the rest of the afternoon, but we came down to see Victoria Falls, so we headed back to the track via the old stone staircase to continue our descent to the base of the falls.
Victoria Falls
As you continue along the track towards the base of Victoria Falls (following the direction of Burra Korain Flat) you’ll get a view of the top of the falls and the water tumbling over the edge. One section of the track has an exposed edge with a steep drop, so take care here.
As you near the end of the track, you'll catch glimpses of Victoria Falls through the trees. In person, the waterfall is much larger than it appears in photos. We were both surprised at how large the falls actually were when we came down here the first time.
It's possible to scramble up the rocks to look behind the falls, and there’s something special about peering through the sheet of falling water toward the valley beyond. Be cautious though, it’s mostly loose gravel and we saw a couple of large rocks tumble down the hill into the pool at the base of the falls on our last visit.
The pool isn’t deep, but it’s a great spot to cool off before the steep hike back up. There’s a few large boulders around the front of the pool for those who prefer to take in the sight of the waterfall from a dry distance. While it is a popular waterfall, and you’re unlikely to get it to yourself for long (even on a weekday), the steep climb in and out does mean there’s less people about than what you’d find at waterfalls with easier access.
If you continue downstream there’s a section that’s quite similar to the top of the falls. With a flat rock creek bed, large boulders, and shallow water. Most people don’t go too far past the base of Victoria Falls, which is a shame because it’s a really beautiful area to explore.
If you’re continuing on to Burra Korain campground, you’ll find the track on the right bank. It’s a straightforward and mostly easy track to the campground from here. There’s some staircases, and a few short hills, but you mostly walk beside the creek all the way there.
The creek changes as it flows further downstream, the flat rock creek bed drops away and is replaced by large boulders as is common to see through the Grose Valley. Burra Korain is a beautiful hike-in campsite, at the junction of Victoria Creek and the Grose River. We’re hoping to hike through the Blue Gum forest in the valley later this year.
The kids rated this an eight out of ten - although we did ask them before walking back up the hill, and we're pretty sure their answer was entirely based on the number of lizards they saw…
The climb back to the car park is steep, and with little shade, you’ll definitely feel it on a hot day! Depending on fitness levels it may take over an hour to get all the way back to the top of the track.
Getting There
Victoria Falls is about a 2 hour drive west of Sydney. Turn onto Victoria Falls Road from the Great Western Highway, about 3 km east of Mount Victoria. Drive to the end of the road to find the carpark. It’s dirt the whole way, but at the time of writing is 2WD accessible.
Tips and Tricks
Many sections of the track are exposed with little shade, be sure to Slip, Slop, Slap!
There are red freshwater crayfish to be found in the creek.
The kids recommend hiking this trail in late Summer, because there were lots of baby Mountain Dragons to be found on the hike.