Miara Pool: a hidden swimming hole in Heathcote National Park

Miara Pool is a stunning little bush pool with clear water and sandy access. It’s surrounded by gum trees, kangaroo tails and pretty rock walls creating a serene and secluded water hole. It’s such a treat to walk from the tiny little beach into a sandy bottomed pool, eliminating the awkward rock shuffle you often encounter at swimming holes.

We visited on a very hot day during the October long weekend when car parks at both Royal and Heathcote National Park’s were heaving, yet Miara was completely empty! It’s a delightful spot and well worth the longish walk required to get there.

Here’s how to find it.

The walk to Miara Pool

The stats

Distance: 4.1km each way (8.2km return)
Elevation gain: 265m
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead: End of Oliver St, Heathcote

Summary: The walk to Miara Pool, while not signposted, is generally all on a good track. The majority is fire trail, with a few ups and downs, but no long climbs.

There are two short sections which are on bush tracks and uneven underfoot, but not slippery or scrambly. The very last couple of hundred metres to the pool are a touch overgrown, but not overly scratchy if you walk with a bit more care.

Starting the trail: reaching the pipeline

You can begin the walk from one of two different start points in Heathcote: either Oliver Street, or the corner of Freeman Drive and Bella Vista Street. We opted for Oliver Street this time as it’s a bit less rocky, though a touch longer.

From the locked gate at the end of Oliver Street, you head over the little bridge and right, along the grassy path.

After 20m you’ll come to a fork and you want to keep right. It can get ever so slightly muddy and waterlogged here after heavy rain, but only very briefly.

Approximately 90m after the locked gate you will begin descending towards the pipeline fire trail. The descent is just under 200m and it’s a mix of large rocky steps and a few uneven rocks here and there.

At the 280m mark you will arrive at some metal steps which take you over the pipeline and onto the fire trail where you need to head left.

Along the pipeline to Mirang Pool

You will now walk along the fire trail for just under 3km. It’s mainly paved with some gravelly bits inbetween. Any inclines are minimal.

At the 900m mark you’ll reach the intersection with the Friendly Track, which is where you would join the fire trail if you had begun at the alternative start point.

The fire trail curves right here and begins descending. Roughly 400m later you’ll reach a bridge over the creek and if you’re walking in spring time, many beautiful gymea lillies will add some stunning colour to the trail.

Just 520m after the bridge, or just over 1.8km into the walk, you will see a signposted turn off on the right for Mirang Pool.

This is another nice spot, though it sadly sits beneath some power lines which does mar it slightly. The pool is just 50m away so it’s worth taking a look, you can read more about it here.

Reaching the Bullawarring Track

After passing the turn off to Mirang Pool the trail ascends for around 400m before flattening and then gently descending to the causeway, which you’ll reach at the 3.2km mark.

Cross the causeway and look for the signposted bush track leading left immediately after crossing. Waterfall station is signposted here (7km away).

The remainder of the walk is now on a pretty bush track which had an incredible array of wildflowers in bloom on our visit. I don’t know if it was a bumper year or it’s like that every spring, but it was gorgeous.

The path is narrow and rocky in places and it’s a mix of flat track and a few short inclines.

The turnoff for Miara Pool is not signposted, so you want to look for a worn trail leading into the bush around 650m from when you crossed the causeway and joined the Bullawarring Track.

The coordinates for the turn-off are: -34.1007696, 150.9791435.

The final descent to Miara Pool

From the turn-off the pool is less than 300m away. The dirt path is narrow with some encroaching bush to be mindful of, but it’s in good condition and it’s never steep or slippery.

Roughly 100m into the descent the path appears to go left but you need to bear right, just a few steps later you’ll pick up the clear path again.

Another 100m later you will reach a makeshift campsite, pass through it and continue on the worn trail which bears left.

You’ll arrive at the sandy area beside the pool less than 100m later.

Swimming at Miara Pool

Miara Pool is a beautiful place for a swim, it’s so relaxing to simply walk off the sand bank and into the water. The entire pool has a sandy bottom and barely any rocks at all. The only ones I really noticed were at the edges, so it’s a really leisurely swimming experience.

The water is shallow at first, but then it does get deep enough to swim, though I was rarely out my depth. It’s a good family friendly option as there’s a lot of space in shallower water, which would be nice for little ones.

There’s a small cascade which flows into the pool and the water was clear through to the bottom. It’s more than big enough for a proper swim and it has that lovely tucked away feeling.

The water had some warm and some cool pockets, but our visit was still pretty early in the season, so it probably warms up a fair bit over the summer months.

All in all it is a wonderful spot and the longer we stayed there the more we didn’t want to leave. It had a very soothing feel to it.

When you are ready to leave you simply retrace your steps back to the car park. There are a couple of minor uphill sections, but the only notable one is at the very end as you head back up to Oliver Street.

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 Miara Pool

The quickest route to the pool is from Oliver Street in Heathcote, just under 40km from the CBD, you can see it on Google maps here. If you want to take the train, the walk from Heathcote station adds on roughly 1km each way.

If coming by car remember this is a residential street, so please park respectfully.