This walk starts near Winmalee in the Lower Blue Mountains, and summits Grose Mountain via Shaws Ridge and Blue Gum Swamp. Highlights include impressive forest scenery and good views over the Blue Mountains, including the Grose River Gorge. Track notes at the end.
Shaws Ridge-Blue Gum Swamp-Grose Mountain Circuit: The Scenery
Track Notes
We used A Day in the Bush for track notes to Grose Mountain Lookout, but it’s straightforward to then continue up the mountain itself for more good views. There’s also a few track notes online if you search for Shaws Ridge and Grose Mountain, and this link to Google Maps actually shows the tracks in detail. In short, doing the walk anti-clockwise, start at the end of White Cross Road, and you soon keep right then turn left following a signpost to Shaws Ridge. Follow this and you eventually descend into the tall trees of Blue Gum Swamp. From here you soon take a right turn onto Bees Nest Hill Track, climbing higher then turning right onto Springwood Ridge Trail and on to Grose Mountain Lookout. Continue up to the summit of Grose Mountain (Grose Head South; if you hit another fire trail then you’ve gone a bit too far). Descend back down, turning left back onto the Bees Nest Hill Track, and then right at the bottom back onto the Blue Gum Swamp Track. Near the end there is a side trip on the right to The Grotto along the Springwood Ridge Trail (the other end). Back track to the Blue Gum Swamp Track and you soon turn right (where you kept right at the start), and it’s a short walk back to your transport.
