While bushwalking is a great way to get back to nature and enjoy breathtaking scenery, not everyone is willing or able to trek for hours to take in a view.
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A lookout is a great place to get a wide-ranging view of nature or a natural element such as a waterfall, and best of all, many lookouts are accessible via a short walk or are even wheelchair-friendly.
So if you are in town for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships, or just want to do some sightseeing this weekend, check out our list of the best lookouts in the Illawarra and surrounds. One thing is certain: the view will be worth it.
Please note: A number of alerts are in place in national parks in the area due to recent heavy rains, including closures of areas and entire parks in some cases. Please go to the alerts page and search for the park you wish to visit before going.
Grand Canyon lookout
Set on a sandstone plateau above a green carpet of eucalypt forest, Grand Canyon lookout offers uninterrupted views across Morton National Park.
It's only minutes from the Southern Highlands town of Bundanoon, and an easy 15-minute return walk along Fern Glen walking track.
The track takes you into cool rainforest and past gigantic king ferns. Listen out for the clicks and calls of lyrebirds and watch for them scratching at the edges of the walking track.
Early morning visitors can listen to the chorus of woodland birds and see wallabies hopping among vegetation.
In spring, you will see heathland flowers in bloom.
Bring a picnic lunch and explore one the other nearby walking tracks or go mountain biking.
You can even stay overnight in Gambells Rest campground is a popular spot with modern facilities.
Details: Click here
O'Hares Creek lookout
Sometimes it is necessary to leave an area in order to get the best view, and that is true of O'Hares Creek lookout. Located in Dharawal National Park, north of the Illlawarra, it nonetheless offers breathtaking gorge views of Wollongong and Campbelltown, in Sydney's south-west.
To access the lookout, you will need to take an easy 2.8-kilometre return trip along a walking track of the same name.
The flat and family-friendly walk along a bitumen track will take you through pristine bushland of tall scribbly gums and red bloodwoods, offering great bird watching opportunities. Look out for goannas and wallabies in the woodland on your way to the lookout. You might even spot a koala in the trees.
Once there you can take in the spectacular view of deep gorges and rugged landscape carved from Hawkesbury sandstone, as well as O'Hares Creek and picturesque rockpools.
Details: Click here
Illawarra lookout
Located in Barren Grounds Nature Reserve is Illawarra lookout.
This lookout is a good one to visit if you don't have a lot of time. Access is via a short two-kilometre return walk, you will be rewarded with spectacular views, colourful wildflowers and amazing birdlife.
Setting off from Barren Grounds picnic area, this short trail takes you along an undulating path through woodland and heath before you arrive at the lookout.
Perched on the edge of the escarpment it offers views of the hinterland, rolling green hills and stunning coastline.
Along the way, you will see an abundance of birdlife, including the threatened ground parrots and eastern bristlebirds. You may even see an echidna waddling across the track.
Details: Click here
Jamberoo lookout
Spectacular scenic views of Kiama and Lake Illawarra can be found at Jamberoo lookout.
Located in Budderoo National Park, access is via Jamberoo Mountain Road, and the lookout offers some of the best views of the south coast.
Perched on the edge of the coastal escarpment, the lookout and viewing platform offer views of rolling hills and paddocks and the Pacific Ocean in the distance.
On a clear day you will be able to spot Kiama, Lake Illawarra and even Five Islands off Wollongong, making it popular with photographers.
Details: Click here
Sublime Point lookout
Sublime Point Lookout offers 180 degree views of the ocean, rainforest and Wollongong beaches.
Access is via a difficult, 850-metre trek along Sublime Point walking track, mainly uphill, so is not for the faint-hearted but you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view.
One of the few walks that links the coastal foothills and the plateau, the track branches off before ascending sharply to reach the lookout and you will need to climb a series of steel ladders in order to scramble up the steep terrain.
During one of the Illawarra's most iconic treks, you will pass through lush coastal rainforest. The track descends steeply from the lookout down the escarpment cliffs, through dense forests dotted with tree ferns and palms. Look out for birds including yellow-tailed black cockatoos, falcons and kestrels.
A series of ladders and a giant staircase take you all the way down to Austinmer.
Pigeon House Mountain Didthul summit lookout
When it comes to views, it doesn't get much better than the one you get when you arrive at the iconic Pigeon House Mountain Didthul summit lookout.
Located near Ulladulla in Morton National Park, the summit and lookout are reached after an epic five-kilometre return trek which will take 2.5 to 3 .5 hours to complete. But when you finally get there, you will be rewarded with panoramic views of the area.
The walk is pretty steep in parts and takes you through forest, heathland and age-old sandstone before you come to a series of ladders that lead you to the summit and the prize at the end - that view.
You will see cliffs and gorges within the Budawang Wilderness, which have been carved by the Clyde River.
On clear days, you may see all the way to Jervis Bay and Bermagui.
Look out for lyrebirds and rare Pigeon House Ash eucalypts.
Take a picnic lunch to enjoy on the top of the mountain, or head back down to the picnic area.
Details: Click here
Bonnie View and Beauchamps Cliffs lookouts
Elsewhere in Morton National Park you will find Bonnie View and Beauchamps Cliffs lookouts.
First stop is Bonnie View lookout, located an easy 750-metre walk from Echo Point picnic area.
From there you will take a short 100-metre but much more challenging trek to Beauchamps Cliffs lookout Beauchamp Cliffs lookout.
Each offers a unique vantage point making it worth visiting both if you are able. You may even spot Bundanoon Creek in the distance.
You can enjoy a picnic in the Echo Point picnic area while both are also an easy detour from Bundanoon cycling route.
Spring sees the bush come alive with wildflowers while you spot a lyrebird digging on the edge of the track or a wallaby.
Details: Click here
Robertson's lookout
You will find the best views of Mount Keira at Robertson's lookout.
Located in Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, the lookout is easily accessible.
The wooden viewing platform on the edge of the escarpment offers amazing views of Mount Keira but you will also see the coast and lush rainforest.
Keep an eye out for birds, including kookaburras, lyrebirds or parrots foraging in the canopy.
Bring a packed lunch and use the onsite picnic tables as you watch the clouds float over the sub-tropical rainforest.
Details: Click here
Fitzroy Falls lookout
Fitzroy Falls lookout is located just 150 metres from Fitzroy Falls Visitor Centre in Morton National Park.
Take a stroll along the elevated boardwalk as it winds its way along a creek. The path is wheelchair-accessible, which means no one has to miss out.
Once you reach the lookout platform at the edge of the escarpment, you will have stunning views of the cliffs and plateaus as you watch the falls cascade into the valley below.
The lookout takes in the top of Fitzroy Falls as it cascades almost 100 metres over dramatic sandstone cliffs into the gorge below, before it makes its way towards the Shoalhaven River.
You may spot local birdlife as you look out across the canopies and pockets of sub-tropical rainforest, tall open forest and eucalypt forest.
From the lookout, you will see Braidwood, Yarrunga River and Yarrunga Valley, Mount Scanzi and Mount Carrialoo in the distance.
Details: Click here
Hindmarsh lookout
Also in Morton National Park is a lookout with a view of another breathtaking waterfall.
Hindmarsh lookout overlooks Belmore Falls and is accessed by a walk that starts from the Hindmarsh lookout car park.
The walk is 1.8-kilometre return and will take 30 minutes to one hour to complete but you will be rewarded with magnificent view of Kangaroo Valley.
Follow the signs around the escarpment and you will be able to take in several other lookouts, before arriving at the last one, which provides breathtaking views of the waterfall.
Details: Click here
Others:
- Izzards lookout
- Wollondilly lookout
- Missingham lookout
- Warris Chair lookout
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Merryn Porter
Journalist with more than 25 years' experience in print and digital media who has covered most news rounds, including health, education, politics (local, state and federal), police and courts, with a special interest in women's and family matters. Highly-skilled interviewer and storyteller.
Journalist with more than 25 years' experience in print and digital media who has covered most news rounds, including health, education, politics (local, state and federal), police and courts, with a special interest in women's and family matters. Highly-skilled interviewer and storyteller.
