Red Ridge circuit via Glen Erskine and Erskine creeks
A challenging and thoroughly enjoyable overnight walk beside pristine lower Blue Mountains streams can be enjoyed off Red Ridge in the Blue Labyrinth. The Labyrith, a tract of bushland between Wentworth Falls and Glenbrook that extends south to the stored waters of Warragamba Dam, is more-or-less wilderness, but oh so threatened by aircraft noise from Western Sydney Airport and urban related impacts.
Access Red Ridge by Tablelands Road at the top of Bodington Hill. Turning off the Great Western Highway on the side marked by the unmissable five-metre-tall orange giraffe of the 10,000 Pots establishment. Drive south about 11km to the old Jensen’s property and just past Notts Swamp turn left onto Red Ridge fire road to park near the locked gate.
Follow the Red Ridge North Extension Road, starting at spot height 627m. This 4WD track points you down a spur to Glen Erskine Creek. After an hour, once you’ve pushed through thick post-fire regrowth scrub, you’re welcomed by the relative spaciousness of cool temperate gallery rainforest lining Glen Erskine Creek. From there the walk begins to feel worth the trouble. As a general rule, creek lines are little burnt, but the ridges of Kings Tableland were more or less incinerated by the 2019-2020 fires and are now a tangle of regrowth scrub.
To travel the 3½ kilometres of Glen Erskine to Bedford Creek takes most of the day. There’s rock hopping, scrambling, fallen timber, climbing of creek banks; making it a walk for connoisseurs. Your efforts are rewarded by the tangled beauty of Glen Erskine Creek and a comfortable campsite with a glorious pool that marks the beginning of Erskine Creek. Virtually nobody goes there, and by the end of the first day you’ll know why. It’s an overnight trip that feels like part of on an extended multiday trip; not a trip just a short drive from Sydney.
This circuit can be an overnight walk, but is best enjoyed with an extra day, for swimming and photography, dawdling along Erskine Creek gorge, yes, its a gorge. You’ll probably only walk this section of Erskine Creek once, so do it properly. There are plenty of campsites and small camp caves in the reach to Harris Creek junction.
This section of Erskine Creek has sandstone slabs and benches that ease travel, but you’ll get wet on the creek crossings, so waterproof your gear. The canyon also contains huge trees, corridors of rainforest, cliffs, boulders and rock jumbles to make things interesting.
There are a couple of exit options. Aim to minimise the scrub section to the Red Ridge Fire Road. Walking through to the Jack Evans Track is a good option, which will take you another two or three days.
There are exit spurs leading up from Harris Creek that reduce the Red Ridge fire road bash, but walking up the creek will be very slow. We opted for the razorback spur exit starting from the Harris and Erskine creek junction. It took us from 11.30am to 3.30pm to reach the fire road. The spur has steep rock scrambles and one easy pass with exposure. In other words, this route offers plenty to take your mind off struggling up to the ridge. The road bash will take you 1½ hours to the locked gate.