Hornsby to Galston Gorge

Download & Print Map and Notes

4 hrs

9.7 km One way

473 m

Hard track
Starting at Hornsby station, you soon head into the bush and down the steep depression era stone steps through the volcanic Old Mans Valley, to a picnic area at the end of Rosemead Rd. Here you follow the Blue Gum walk through one of Sydney’s rare Blue Gum Forest stands to then cross Berowra Creek a few times at Fishponds waterhole. After exploring the edge of the valley you will cross the Steele Military Bridge before climbing to Tunks Ridge rest area. Not far from here the walk starts to lead steeply down enjoying more sandstone caves to cross under Galston Road to find the Galston trackhead. Note this walk was re-routed in early 2016 to go via the streets of Hornsby Heights. This re-route is due to the multi-agency decision to close the Fishponds to Steele Bridge section of the Benowie Track. This decision has upset many people and the protest continues.

Maps for the Hornsby to Galston Gorge walk

You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.
These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Hornsby 1:25 000 Map Series 91304S HORNSBY NSW-91304S
Sydney 1:100 000 Map Series 9130 SYDNEY 9130

Cross sectional view of the Hornsby to Galston Gorge bushwalking track

Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Hornsby to Galston Gorge

Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001

Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.

Length 9.7 km
Time 4 hrs
.




Grade 4/6



Hard track
AS 2156.1 Gradient Very steep (4/6)
Quality of track Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6)
Signs Directional signs along the way (3/6)
Experience Required Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6)
Weather Weather generally has little impact on safety (1/6)
Infrastructure Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6)

Some more details of this walks Grading

Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk

Gradient

4.2km of this walk has gentle hills with occasional steps and another 2.7km is very steep. Whilst another 1.5km has short steep hills and the remaining 1.3km is flat with no steps.

Quality of track

6km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 1.8km follows a smooth and hardened path. The remaining (1.8km) follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles.

Signs

Around 6km of this walk is clearly signposted, whilst the remaining 3.5km has directional signs at most intersection.

Experience Required

Around 8km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 1.6km requires some bushwalking experience.

weather

This whole walk, 10km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).

Infrastructure

Around 8km of this walk is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats), whilst the remaining 1.9km has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced).

Similar walks

A list of walks that share part of the track with the Hornsby to Galston Gorge walk.

Other Nearby walks

A list of walks that start near the Hornsby to Galston Gorge walk.

Plan your trip to and from the walk here

The Hornsby to Galston Gorge walk starts at the Hornsby Train Station (gps: -33.703509, 151.09801)
Your transport options to Hornsby Train Station are by;
Train. (get details)
Bus. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)



The Hornsby to Galston Gorge ends at the Galston Gorge track head (gps: -33.66458, 151.08031)
Your main transport option to Galston Gorge track head is by;
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)


Fire Danger

Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.

Weather Forest

This walk starts in the Metropolitan weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.

Forecast snapshot

Park Information & Alerts

Comments

 


Short URL = http://wild.tl/htgg


Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)

Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂