This walk takes in some of the best bits of the Blue Mountains near Katoomba, and is highly recommended. You’ll enjoy views of cliffs, waterfalls and lush forest along much of the route, and definitely visit Bridal Veil Falls and Leura Cascades on your way down to or up from the Federal Pass.
When we did this walk in 2017 I couldn’t quite believe Sophia and I hadn’t done it before in 11 years of regular bushwalking. We had done a couple of sections of it, but had not taken in many of the highlights on the Leura side of the walk, and I don’t think we’d been up Furber Steps either. It may have been because I expected there to be a lot of tourists around, passing through the most visited parts of the Blue Mountains as it does, but that shouldn’t stop you. We did it on a Thursday during a golden six months of my life when I worked only 4 days a week, and there weren’t too many people around except at Echo Point, (where there are always lots of people). Track notes at the end.
Federal Pass & Prince Henry Cliff Walk: The Scenery
Track Notes
You can start anywhere along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk between Scenic World/Furber Steps and the Fern Bower/Leura Cascades area. We walked clockwise, parking on Cliff Drive on the Leura side of Echo Point outside the paid parking zone. I think I took a picture of a map at the Echo Point tourist centre, and followed this and signs to take in Leura Cascades and Bridal Veil Falls on the way down to the Federal Pass, ascending from the Federal Pass up Furber Steps (with a side trip to visit a waterfall), then back along Prince Henry Cliff Walk via the tourist mecca of Echo Point to our car. Probably at the moderate end of hard. You could also return via the Giant Staircase to Echo point and roughly halve the walk. The tracks are signposted and there are plenty of variations you could do depending on fitness and time.
Hi I want to go to the bottom of bridal veil falls, where is the spot to start the hike ?
Hi there Moe. I started on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, but I’m pretty sure you can also park at the Leura Cascades car park and walk from there. There is a lookout of the falls from on top of the cliff somewhere but I walked to the bottom of the falls, which was very nice. Note that two weeks ago the Leura Cascades car park was closed, as was a section of Cliff Drive in that area. Either bushfire or flood damage. I’d call the visitor centre at Echo Point or the NPWS for a status update. I actually took a picture of a good map at the visitor centre and that’s how I found my way down the various tracks in that area. There’s a few of them and it could get confusing.