Set on the banks of Yarrunga Creek, surrounded by the steep walls of the escarpment, you’ll find Griffins Farm Campground. The huge grassy clearing feels very remote and for most of the year it’s likely to be just you and the abundance of local birdlife spending the night here. Oh, and the resident kangaroos who were largely unfazed by our presence.
It’s a bit of a hike to reach the campground, but that’s what all but guarantees you peace and serenity. The clear waters of the creek are not deep enough to swim, but it allows you to wash off before you fall asleep to the soothing sound of the cascades.
Here’s what to expect from the hike to the campground at Griffins Farm.
The Griffins Farm Walk
The stats
Distance: 12.3km return
Elevation gain: 365m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
Trailhead: End of Jacks Corner Road, Kangaroo Valley
Summary: The walk to Griffins Farm Campground is all on fire trail, though some sections are very steep and it will be harder when carrying an overnight pack.
There is one shallow creek crossing to contend with, which is not challenging in boots, but would be more uncomfortable barefoot due to the stony bottom.
The track goes downhill for the majority of the way to the campground, so it’s a bit of a slog on the way back up with all your gear.
Starting the trail: descending the fire trail
From the car park (full details below) you’ll head along the wide well maintained fire trail behind the locked gate. There is a gentle descent to begin with and then the path will flatten before it starts to undulate.
There are trees lining the fire trail, but it’s not dense enough to be completely shaded if you’re walking on a hot day. It’s not until you are just over 3.2km into the track that things get a bit steeper.
It is rocky in parts with some loose stones, so it can feel a little slippery, but only in patches. There are a couple of steep sections but thankfully they don’t last long and there are some flatter bits inbetween.
As you get closer to the valley floor it gets a lot prettier and you’ll soon see huge boulders interspersed between the bush, as well as the mountain tops peeking up from behind the trees.
The creek crossing
Just over 3.7km into the track you’ll reach a second locked gate and the track continues quite steeply downhill.
Around 650m later you’ll reach a ford, though there is barely any water in it, so it’s an easy dry boot crossing.
The gradient is gentler now and you’ll head very briefly uphill before descending to Yarrunga Creek at the 4.9km mark.
This is where you will definitely get wet boots or have to make the rocky crossing barefoot. Despite very heavy recent rainfall the creek crossing was still easy on our visit.
We went boots on and it was around knee height for me, but I imagine it is often much shallower. There is some current in the water, but nothing remotely close to pushing you over, so aside from the fact you now have soggy boots to contend with, it’s a breeze.
Following the creek crossing you’ll turn left and the fire trail significantly narrows.
Reaching Griffins Farm Campground
You’ll now head briefly uphill on a shady track surrounded by lots of foliage and some gorgeous escarpment glimpses.
After a 300m gentle ascent you will descend gradually towards the campground. Just over 5.6km into the track, or 700m after the creek crossing, you will take the path on the left which leads to the campground.
Watch for leeches if it’s been very wet. We only saw one, so it’s far from infested, but you don’t really want to be carrying a little blood sucker back to camp!
Griffins Farm Campground
The campground is at a huge grassy clearing, yet there’s a max of five bookable sites, so even if you did arrive to find others there, it would never feel crowded. There was no one at all on our visit.
There are plenty of trees around for shade and some beautiful views of the sandstone cliffs adding to the serenity. Birds were everywhere, including an abundance of fairy wrens, who are always a delight to watch.
The resident roos do leave a lot of ‘presents’ around though, so that’s something to watch for when you’re moving around camp barefoot.
There is one small but very scenic dunny, though no running water and you should BYO toilet paper!
There are several spots where people have made campfires and there are logs surrounding them for the obligatory marshmallow toasting session.
On the far southern side of the campground there is a narrow fern-lined path leading downhill into the bush. It’s a 50m walk down to the creek which has large stony banks offering easy access to the water.
As mentioned, it’s too shallow for swimming, but it’s perfect for washing off any dust from the fire trail and cooling off on a hot day.
Griffins Farm Ruins
The campground is on the site of the Griffins family’s former home. They lived here between the 1940’s and 70’s when they were servicing the timber mills.
You can still see the ruins of their former home, albeit just a little of the foundations. However, it’s far from obvious if you don’t know where to look!
We spent quite a while poking around before we found them.
They are on the eastern side of the campground and if you walk to the furthest end and look left (east) you’ll see a little path leading into the bush.
Just a couple of metres away are some of the old stone foundations. It’s not much, but it’s a little bit of local history worth having a quick peek at.
You can also continue walking further along the track to Crankeys Creek and up to Meryla Pass, but we personally haven’t done this yet.
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the national park, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Getting to the trailhead for Griffins Farm Campground
To use the route we took to reach the campground, you can park at the dedicated car park before the locked gate on Jacks Corner Road in Morton National Park, you can see the exact spot here on Google maps. The last kilometre of the road to the parking area is unsealed but in very good condition and suitable for any car at time of writing.
You can also walk in from Meryla Pass, but as mentioned, we have not tried this route.
The car park for the route as described above is roughly 12.5km and a 15 minute drive from Kangaroo Valley.
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