The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Mermaids Cave Recreation Reserve

Cliff Top walking track follows the edge of the Grose Valley between Evans Lookout and Govetts Leap. It’s a picturesque route through dense, windswept heathland dotted with she-oaks, banksias, and stunted mallee scrub, with fantastic elevated views. It’s a great track for birdwatching, where you’ll see plenty of yellow-tailed black cockatoos and king parrots year-round, and in the spring, wildflowers draw nectar-feeding birds like the white-naped honeyeater. Along the way, keep an eye out for curious wallabies and a variety of lizards soaking up the sun.

Barrow Lookout is named after Saac Le Pipre Barrow, a government surveyor in the late 1870s who worked on mapping this area. This viewpoint is breathtaking, perched up on sandstone cliffs. There are railings for safety around this concrete platform that overlooks Govett Gorge, a side view of Govetts Leap Falls, and nearby peaks like Mount Hay. There is a rest bench here for a break, a perfect spot to take in the amazing views.

It may not seem obvious at first glance, but from this point in on the Cliff Top walking track, you are standing at the top of a 180-metre waterfall. The falls are huge, plunging down the cliffs below, but from here the Govetts Leap Brook seems to sort of just come to an end. This section of Cliff Top walking track has stone steps and is fenced off for safety.

Valley View Lookout is a nice alternative to Evans Lookout, as it is a bit quieter, and just as accessible and beautiful. This lookout shows off an amazing vantage point over the massive Grose Valley and Hayward Gully Falls. Often during sunrise there's low-lying fog in the valley, so to see a nice undercast, arrive early.

Along sections of the Walls Ledge Loop Track, you’ll come across carved sandstone steps cut directly into the orange rock. These appear at a few points along the route, especially where the track moves between the ledge and lower sections of the gully. They’re a standout feature of the walk, blending the surrounding landscape into the walk.

Along the ledge, this lookout opens out to wide views across the Kanimbla Valley, with layered ridgelines, farmland patches, and sandstone cliffs stretching into the distance. The drop-off is steep, which gives a real sense of height as the landscape falls away below.

The Walls Ledge Loop Track is a short circuit near Blackheath, running along the edge of the escarpment before dropping into a shaded gully below. Along the upper section, the track follows a narrow cliff line with wide views over the Kanimbla Valley and surrounding sandstone walls. As the loop continues, it descends into a cooler, fern-filled section with rock steps and uneven ground underfoot. It’s around one point four kilometres and moderately graded, with some steeper sections and ledges, so it’s worth taking care, especially after rain.

Tucked into a narrow valley below Blackheath, this waterfall spills over a rock ledge into a small pool, surrounded by high sandstone walls and dense ferns. The setting feels enclosed and cooler than the exposed sections above, with filtered light reaching the base of the falls. Access is via a steep descent along the Porters Pass Track, with uneven ground and loose rock in places. After rain, water flow increases and surfaces can become slippery.