Clover Hill trail
Macquarie Pass National Park
Overview
For escarpment views, rainforest, waterfalls, birdwatching and cool creeks, take the Clover Hill trail at Macquarie Pass near Wollongong and Kiama.
- Accessibility
- Hard
- Distance
- 6km return
- Time suggested
- 2 - 3hrs
- Grade
- Grade 5
- What to
bring - Drinking water, hat, sunscreen
- Please note
- Protect against leeches and ticks with insect repellent
- Please leave wildflowers and other plants as they are
- Tall forest is best avoided when there are strong winds
- Remember to take your binoculars if you want to birdwatch
For a varied and interesting walk, take the Clover Hill trail. This old logging route leads to Rainbow Falls and three smaller falls upstream on the Macquarie Rivulet. After walking in the dense shade of the forest, suddenly the landscape opens up at Clover Hill – these are the paddocks cleared by farmers over a century ago. High above, the massive cliffs of the escarpment glow yellow and orange in the sunlight.
Bushwalkers, birdwatchers and adventurers will love this walk, with its sharp contrast between rainforest and open fields. The huge rainforest trees, eucalypts, beefwood, Illawarra flame trees, cabbage tree palms and tree ferns, home to lyrebirds and goannas, give way to sunny plains where you will often see kangaroos hopping about.
Highlights include a spectacular view of the escarpment, and adventurers may wish to scramble upstream at the end of the track to access Rainbow Falls.
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General enquiries
- National Parks Contact Centre
- 7am to 7pm daily
- 1300 072 757 (13000 PARKS) for the cost of a local call within Australia excluding mobiles
- parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au
Operated by
- Wollongong office
- Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm.
- 02 4224 4188
- npws.illawarrahighlands@environment.nsw.gov.au
- Unit G Ground Floor, 84 Crown Street, Wollongong NSW 2500
Park info
- in Macquarie Pass National Park in the South Coast and Country NSW regions
Macquarie Pass National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
What's nearby:
Things to do (37)
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