Red Hands Cave, located in the Glenbrook area of the Blue Mountains, is a sandstone overhang that features well-preserved Aboriginal rock art.
You can reach the cave via a short walk, or by taking a longer bushwalk that begins near the Glenbrook Causeway. This article focuses on the longer route.
| Red Hands Cave Track | |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 6.5 km (return) |
| Time: | 2 hours |
| Grade: | Easy / moderate (uneven path, some steps) |
| Wheel-friendly: | No |
| Dog-friendly: | No |
| Maps: |  Interactive map |
Getting There
From the Great Western Highway, turn onto Ross Street in Glenbrook and enter Blue Mountains National Park via Euroka Road and Bruce Road.
Follow The Oaks Trail to the car park for the Campfire Creek Track and Red Hands Cave. The car park is quite large and sits on a bend in the road.
For the shorter walk, you can continue driving to the end of Red Hands Cave Trail via The Oaks Trail. From there, it’s only a 500-metre walk to the cave.
Parking in this part of the Blue Mountains costs $8 per vehicle per day, payable at the entry booth, a ticket machine, or through the Park’nPay app.
Track Notes
This 6.5 km return walk is fairly easy, though the track can be rough and uneven in parts. There are also some steep sections to manage, especially near the start.
The walk can be divided into two main sections: the first follows Camp Fire Creek, and the second follows Red Hands Gully.
Below is a map of the walk.
Camp Fire Creek
From the car park, take the trail that descends steeply into the bush via a series of wooden steps, leading down towards Camp Fire Creek and the junction with the Causeway.
From there, follow the track west along the creek, signposted as Red Hands Cave and Camp Fire Creek Track, keeping the flowing water on your right.
This section of the walk, the Campfire Creek Track, navigates through scenic bushland, with tall trees, rock overhangs, stone steps, and creek crossings.
After about 2 km of hiking along the creek, the path arrives at a junction with the Link Track. Keep going straight ahead to stay on the main walking track.
Red Hands Gully
From the junction, the track follows Red Hands Gully through a pleasant, rainforest-like setting, with the cave only 1 km away.
This second stretch is perhaps even more scenic than the first, with more creek crossings, lush ferns, and rock overhangs along the way.
The trail climbs gently before arriving at Red Hands Cave.
Red Hands Cave
The first thing you’ll notice is the metal platform and fencing in front of the cave. It might not look especially appealing, but it’s there to protect the Aboriginal art.
The artwork consists of numerous well-preserved hand stencils and prints in red, orange, and white, believed to be between 500 and 1600 years old.
These stencils and prints were created with a paste of ochre mixed with water. The mixture was either applied to the hands and pressed against the rock to make a print, or blown over the hand resting on the wall to form a stencil.
To return to the car park, you can retrace your steps along the same path or continue past the cave and onto the Link Track, which reconnects with the main trail at the earlier junction. Note that at the time of writing, the Link Track was closed.
More highlights nearby:
Beginners Guide to the Blue Mountains
Grab our ebook and discover seven of the finest walks and seven of the most scenic lookouts in the Blue Mountains, perfect for first-time visitors.
