5 Incredible Hikes in Bungonia National Park, NSW

Bungonia National Park is a must-see destination if you visit Goulburn. It’s only 36 km from Goulburn, 126 km from Canberra, and 195 km from Sydney.

The park has five main hiking trails of varying difficulty and a whopping 200 wild caves for intrepid explorers. There are no guided caving tours, but experienced cavers can visit independently.

Even if you don’t want to hike or go caving, three spectacular lookouts are accessible to many. Just park your car and take a short walk to enjoy sweeping vistas of the lush hills and valleys.

Read on to learn about our experiences on Bungonia’s trails and taking a peek into a few caves!

Bungonia’s lookouts

On our first visit to Bungonia, we decided to check out the lookouts and enjoy a couple of short walks (with a view to building up to the bigger ones!).

We arrived just before 9 am and were delighted to see how active the park’s kangaroos were. Drive slowly and be careful, as they will bounce across the road in front of you!

Next, we visited the three main lookouts accessible by driving and a short walk (The Bungonia Lookdown, Adam’s Lookout, and the Jerrara Lookout). You can also reach them on the Green Trail, but we decided to check them out in case we didn’t return to do this track another day.

The Orange Track

Afterward, we walked the park’s shortest trail, the Orange Track. This easy 1.2 km return track takes you to an unfenced lookout and a resting bench to enjoy the views.

Although the park maps suggest this track takes 1.5 hours, it only took us 15 minutes each way, or 45 minutes total, including snack and view enjoyment time.

Next, we took a different short trail from the same car park to the Grill Cave. We had a peek around it but weren’t prepared to explore it further this time.

An intro to the White Track

Finally, we felt like we needed another shortish walk to complete our morning and find a scenic lunch area. So we headed to the White Track. The first part of this trail to the Mount Ayre lookout is easy-level.

The park’s maps suggest the track will take about one hour return, but again, we found it took 15 minutes each way, plus time for lunch. So we spent 45 minutes on it altogether.

We loved the awe-inspiring views from the unfenced lookout. The river is far below, and dense greenery is all around.

The Yellow Track

On our second visit to Bungonia National Park, Ayla and I walked the Yellow Track. This 2.5 km moderate-level out-and-back trail took us two hours, including time to enjoy a sandwich and the spectacular vistas from the viewing platform.

The track has a boulder-filled stream crossing near the start. Depending on recent weather, it’s possible to rock-hop across it without getting your feet wet. However, it can become impassable after heavy rain.

The Green Track

On our third visit to Bungonia National Park, Ayla and I completed the 5.3km Green Track. It’s the park’s scenic trail, and is of an easy to moderate level. It may be the best one to do if you only visit once and want to enjoy Bungonia’s main features.

The track took us 2.5 hours, including small detours to the Bungonia Lookdown, the Jerrara Lookout, and the Mass Cave.

We loved clambering through the cave, which felt like the perfect wee adventure for us.

After finishing the trail and eating our lunch, we couldn’t miss having a proper look at the Grill Cave (since we brought our head torches this time!).

The White Track

On our fourth visit to Bungonia National Park, it was time to step up and tackle our first hard-level hiking trail in the area.

Ayla and I completed the White Track, an out-and-back 5 km trail to the Shoalhaven River.

The first 500m takes you to the Mount Ayre Lookout and is easy-level. Then it’s 2 km pretty steeply downhill to the river. Of course, you have to walk back up that 2 km after!

We spent 4 hours and 20 minutes on the trail, or around 3.5 hours of walking. At the river, we climbed up some rocks to a nice spot to relax and eat our lunch.

It was the steepest track Ayla has ever done, and I can see she’ll soon be asking me to hurry up😆.

For many of the young ones, I find it’s mostly their mental toughness that’s still under development. She didn’t have sore muscles after the hike, whereas my calf muscles screamed for the next two days😅.

We’d recommend this trail if you’re looking for a challenging track. We also met a handful of people with big packs on this trail who camped by the river overnight.

The Red Track

Some trails pack a lot into a short distance, and Bungonia’s Red Track is undoubtedly one of them!

This trail is definitely the showstopper of the park’s five trails. Although it’s only 3.8 km, you need some grit to get through it!

I’m so stoked I completed this trail on our last weekend in Goulburn. The mostly solo mission took me 4.25 hours! Although I had moments of uncertainty, the sense of achievement at the end was unbeatable.

The Red Track is a Grade 5 bushwalking trail. It’s a remote loop trail for experienced hikers. Although it was better marked than I expected, it requires some navigation skills.

You can walk it in either direction. After reading reviews, I did it clockwise. This means you tackle the steepest section, heading down into the canyon first.

Once you’re in the slot canyon, there is zero signal and no clear path to follow. You need to scramble over a series of giant boulders in the best way possible. This section is by far the most challenging, and it may require a bit of back and forth or side to side as you figure out how to get through the boulders.

Some hikers find the boulders intimidating, and they turn back. About halfway through this section, I became very uncertain. I knew a father-son duo was not far behind me, so I waited for them to catch up so I could navigate the remaining boulders with them!

After overcoming the boulders, you should stick to the right of the creek until you see the signage to head up the hill and complete the loop.

If you’re an experienced hiker, the Red Track offers a memorable adventure. Set off early in the day to ensure you have plenty of light through the canyon. It’s also essential to avoid the area (as per the warning signs) during mine blasting (around 3 pm on weekdays).

Hikes in Bungonia | In Conclusion

Bungonia National Park in New South Wales offers something for every adventurer, from short scenic strolls to full-on canyon scrambles. We loved easing in with the lookouts and shorter trails and gradually building up to the park’s more challenging hikes. Each track brought its own unique views and experiences, from sweeping vistas to hidden caves and rugged river access.

Tackling the Red Track was a personal highlight, and along the way, I learned about the lesser-known Blue Track. It’s not mentioned on the boards through the park’s main entrance. The Blue Track is another hard-level route to the Shoalhaven River, starting from the Trestles car park. You need to drive down Carne Road and may need a 4WD. Maybe I’ll try it if we return to Goulburn or nearby!

Bungonia is definitely a place to return to, with plenty to explore for casual visitors and seasoned hikers. I hope this post is helpful for your visit!