Fans Horizon offers spectacular views showcasing all the big hitters in the Warrumbungles without any of the slightly trickier terrain you find on many other peaks in the park.
You still have a fairly hefty hill to climb, but it’s all on a well maintained track, so your only concern is catching your breath as you ascend.
The track is said to have over 1,000 steps and while I didn’t count them, I can honestly say it didn’t feel as many as that - thankfully!
The reward for your efforts is one of the best views in the national park and the easy terrain makes it a great option for sunrise or sunset.
Here’s what to expect from the trail.
The Fans Horizon Track
The stats
Distance: 3.7km return
Elevation gain: 261m
Difficulty: Moderate, but all on a good track
Trailhead: Camp Pincham Car Park
Summary: The walk up to Fans Horizon is a fairly consistent climb, though there are a few flat sections thrown in for good measure.
The majority of the track is well maintained stairs and there is shade offered from the bush for much of the way. If you’re heading up for sunset the entire track will be shaded.
It takes around 30-40 minutes to reach the top and a bit less than that coming down.
The trail
From the southern side of Pincham car park you will come to the start of many trails in the park, with Fans Horizon being one of the less popular options.
That’s not to say it’s not a good walk, it’s more an indicator of how many amazing trails there are in this national park.
As it’s a quick walk it’s a great option for your first night in the park offering the chance to stretch your legs after the long journey.
Anyway, back to the trail and you will head right at the signpost marked “Fans Horizon” and begin the first set of stairs after just 50m.
From here you will have sections of steeper and then shallower stairs intermittently. You’re mainly walking through the bush with some nice rocky views at the 480m mark.
We were heading up for sunset and almost the whole trail was in the shade, which helped a lot on a 30c afternoon!
There’s a bit of a break from the stairs at the 780m mark but it lasts less than 100m!
It really is quite a consistent climb for much of the way to the top. At the 1.2km mark you pop out of the dense forest and there are little peeks out to the mountains beyond.
The path flattens 300m later, 1.5km into the walk and it’s pretty much flat until you reach the lookouts.
At the 1.7km mark you turn left to reach the main Fans Horizon lookout.
This is the official viewpoint offering by far the best views of the track. However, it’s worth continuing on for 150m past the junction with Fans Horizon to see the final viewpoint.
This one would be sensational but there are lots of trees in front of the view obscuring much of it. It’s still worth a look and it’s the only place you can actually watch the sunset from along the track.
There’s a small rocky outcrop you can climb (a couple of steps) up to have a look, but as mentioned the premier views are from the official lookout.
Fans Horizon
The main lookout at Fans Horizon offers wonderful views over the many iconic features of the Warrumbungle National Park, including the Breadknife, Split Rock and Bluff Mountain.
The forested peaks and unusually shaped rock formations are abundant and the soft light of sunset gave it all a beautiful glow. Wedge-tailed eagles soared overhead and there wasn’t a soul around.
It was a great start to our time in the park and a memorable evening walk despite the fact we couldn’t actually watch sunset from the main lookout.
It’s still a gorgeous time to be up there as the light is more even.
There is plenty of room to spread out and relax at the lookout and you’ll see the little memorial plaque for Fanny Gould who favoured this view above all others in the area and for whom the track is named.
Despite staying up at the viewpoint until twilight we came down much of the track with enough light that we didn’t need a torch and the good terrain made it the easiest sunset walk we did in the park.
Getting to the Fans Horizon trailhead and fee info
The Fans Horizon track begins from the Pincham carpark not far from the visitor centre in the Warrumbungle National Park, you can see the exact location on Google maps here. There are toilets at the car park and the Pincham campground is also nearby.
If you’re driving from Coonabarabran it takes around 30 minutes.
The Warrumbungle National Park has a daily fee of $8 per vehicle, though if you have an annual NSW National Parks Pass this fee is included.
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