Great North Walk: Somersby Store to Ourimbah Valley Trackhead

Downloads GPX PDF

Safer Bushwalks
Before you start any bushwalk ensure you;
• Tell someone you trust where you are going and what to do if you are overdue
• Have adequate equipment, supplies, skills & knowledge for the whole journey
• Consider the impact of weather forecasts, park/track closures & fire dangers
• Can respond to emergencies & call for help at any point
• Are healthy and fit enough for this journey
If not, change plans and stay safe. It is okay to delay and ask people for help.

Getting There

Start	At the intersection of Wisemans Ferry Road & Smiths Road (-33.3580778,151.2902824)
Mode	Bus Car (There is free parking available.) Special (A bus service runs along Wisemans Ferry Rd passing Somersby store. The service runs between Gosford and Spencer only a few times a day. Please check timetable for more info or Phone Busway on (02) 4368 2277. The bus only picks passengers up from Somersby to head to Gosford on the morning runs. More info)
Directions	From , Somersby.
Finish	(-33.3174483,151.2999462)
Mode (end)	Car Shuttle Car (There is free parking available.)

Track Notes

Getting started
From the Somersby Store, this walk heads north, gently downhill along the side of 'Wisemans Ferry Rd', past the public toilet. After about 120m, this walk crosses an on-ramp then heads over the bridge crossing Peats Ridge Road, then past another on-ramp. The walk continues along Wisemans Ferry Rd for about 700m to then turn sharp right at the three-way intersection, onto 'Dog Trap Rd'. Just over 100m along Dog Trap Rd, this walk turns left into 'Kilkenny Rd'. The walk follows Kilkenny Rd past the rural properties for about 1.2km, where the walk continues along the now dirt road. About 50m after becoming dirt, the road leads across a rock ford that can be extremely slippery when wet. The walk continues up along the dirt road for another 300m to come to the end of the road and a 'Great North Walk' sign, beside 'Illawong' (farm).....

Turn map	Directions & comments
	At the intersection of Wisemans Ferry Road & Smiths Road Start heading along Wisemans Ferry Road (a road). Find the Somersby Store at the start. Somersby Store Somersby Store Somersby Store offers a good place to have lunch or pick up the basic food supplies. The store serves hot food including burgers, chips, pies etc and cold drinks. Opening hours are 6am - 6pm Monday to Friday and 6.30am to 4pm on Saturdays (closed Sundays). There is a pay phone and a bus stop however services are limited to two buses a day. Contact details are (02)4372 1269, at 841 Wisemans Ferry Road Somersby, NSW 2250. The store owners are happy for you to phone ahead. If you are a large group you can order ahead to save the stress. I always encourage people to use local stores like this on track, but since it is a small store it is worth phoning ahead to see what they have what you want in stock. + - Somersby Store offers a good place to have lunch or pick up the basic food supplies. The store serves hot food including burgers, chips, pies etc and cold drinks. Opening hours are 6am - 6pm Monday to Friday and 6.30am to 4pm on Saturdays (closed Sundays). There is a pay phone and a bus stop however services are limited to two buses a day. Contact details are (02)4372 1269, at 841 Wisemans Ferry Road Somersby, NSW 2250. The store owners are happy for you to phone ahead. If you are a large group you can order ahead to save the stress. I always encourage people to use local stores like this on track, but since it is a small store it is worth phoning ahead to see what they have what you want in stock. After 55 m pass the car park (15 m on your left). After another 20 m pass the toilet (15 m on your left). After another 80 m cross the bridge (about 20 m long)
	After another 750 m (at the intersection of Dog Trap Road & Wisemans Ferry Road) turn right, to head along Dog Trap Road (a residential road).
	After another 105 m (at the intersection of Kilkenny Road & Dog Trap Road) turn left, to head along Kilkenny Road (a vehicle track).
	After another 910 m continue straight, to head along Kilkenny Road.
	After another 45 m continue straight, to head along Kilkenny Road. After another 295 m cross the ford.
	At the intersection of Kilkenny Road & Bumbles Creek continue straight, to head along Kilkenny Road. After another 2.5 km find the "Palm Grove Campsite" (30 m on your right). Palm Grove Campsite Palm Grove Campsite A Great North Walk signposted campsite with plenty of room for a few tents but providing minimal facilities ie. no water, toilets or tables however there is a bench and barbeque plate and room for a fire. + - A Great North Walk signposted campsite with plenty of room for a few tents but providing minimal facilities ie. no water, toilets or tables however there is a bench and barbeque plate and room for a fire. Then come to the "Palm Grove camping area" (30 m on your right). Campsite managed byCrown Lands (Great North Walk).
	The starting point of an optional sidetrip. Side trip to Palm Grove camping area. To start this optional side trip turn right here. On returning from this side trip veer right when you get back to this intersection. Details below. Turn left. After another 950 m come to "Great North Walk".
	The end.

Side trip to Palm Grove camping area.

Turn map	Directions & comments
	Start heading along Palm Grove camping area track. After 30 m find the "Palm Grove Campsite" (15 m on your right). Palm Grove Campsite Palm Grove Campsite A Great North Walk signposted campsite with plenty of room for a few tents but providing minimal facilities ie. no water, toilets or tables however there is a bench and barbeque plate and room for a fire. + - A Great North Walk signposted campsite with plenty of room for a few tents but providing minimal facilities ie. no water, toilets or tables however there is a bench and barbeque plate and room for a fire. After another 8 m come to the "Palm Grove camping area" (6 m on your left). Campsite managed byCrown Lands (Great North Walk).
	After another 5 m come to the end. Turn around and retrace your steps back the 45 m to the main route.

Turn map

Directions & comments

Start heading along Palm Grove camping area track.

After 30 m find the "Palm Grove Campsite" (15 m on your right).

Palm Grove Campsite

A Great North Walk signposted campsite with plenty of room for a few tents but providing minimal facilities ie. no water, toilets or tables however there is a bench and barbeque plate and room for a fire.

+

-

A Great North Walk signposted campsite with plenty of room for a few tents but providing minimal facilities ie. no water, toilets or tables however there is a bench and barbeque plate and room for a fire.

After another 8 m come to the "Palm Grove camping area" (6 m on your left).

Campsite managed byCrown Lands (Great North Walk).

After another 5 m come to the end.

Turn around and retrace your steps back the 45 m to the main route.

Terrain

Great North Walk: Somersby Store to Ourimbah Valley Trackhead

Grading

	Class 4/6 Hard track
Length	5.7 km
Time	2 h 15 min to 2 h 30 min

Quality of track	Rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely (4/6)
Gradient	Very steep (4/6)
Signage	Minimal directional signs (4/6)
Infrastructure	Limited facilities (such as cliffs not fenced, significant creeks not bridged) (4/6)
Experience Required	Moderate level of bushwalking experience recommended (4/6)
Weather	Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6)

Some facilities on route

Camp site: There are 2 on route, on average they are 1.9 km apart with the largest gap of 4.7 km.

Toilet: There is one 75 m from the start.

Order of key facilities on route

Item	From Start	Name & link to notes
Toilet	75 m	[toilet]
Campsite	4.7 km	Palm Grove Campsite
Camp site	4.8 km	Palm Grove camping area

Articles

Somersby Store
Somersby Store offers a good place to have lunch or pick up the basic food supplies. The store serves hot food including burgers, chips, pies etc and cold drinks. Opening hours are 6am - 6pm Monday to Friday and 6.30am to 4pm on Saturdays (closed Sundays). There is a pay phone and a bus stop however services are limited to two buses a day. Contact details are (02)4372 1269, at 841 Wisemans Ferry Road Somersby, NSW 2250. The store owners are happy for you to phone ahead. If you are a large group you can order ahead to save the stress. I always encourage people to use local stores like this on track, but since it is a small store it is worth phoning ahead to see what they have what you want in stock.

Get more information
Wildwalks
Videos

Reviews & Feedback

Weather & Alerts

Show Full Weather

Alerts and Closures

Show all alerts

Show all alerts

Show all alerts

Other Journeys

Some of the information and maps on this page was generated using data from the awesome © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Please see how you can embed some widgets, access data and other stuff to that might be helpful.

Weather Forecast for {{location.name}}

Alerts and Closures