Mount Hay, a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

that is part of the Mt Hay Range of the Blue Mountains Range which is a spur off the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, is located in the

Blue Mountains National Park The Blue Mountains National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney, and the park boundary is quite ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located approximately west of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and north of the nearest town, Wentworth Falls. Mount Hay is approximately

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

and is one of several basalt caps located within the UNESCO World Heritage Greater Blue Mountains Area.

Description

Mount Hay has a dome-like shape at the summit and it can be found on the southern escarpment of the

Grose Valley The Grose Valley is a rugged valley in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. It has been formed by the Grose River, the headwaters of which are in the Mount Victoria area. The valley is located between the Great Western Highway and ...

, one of the main valleys of the Blue Mountains. There is a walking track that goes to the top of the mountain, but the initial approach is via the Mount Hay Road, which branches off from the Great Western Highway at the town of Leura. The road, which is unsealed and fairly rough, winds generally north-east for or so and terminates at the Mount Hay picnic area. The latter is extremely basic, with an unreliable water tank, a stone fireplace and enough room for one tent at a pinch. From the picnic area, a track goes to the mountain, which is just over a kilometre away. There are good views of the Grose Valley as the track approaches the mountain, but the views disappear as the track gets higher up. At the top, there is a

trigonometric station A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

, but there are no views because of the timber. The top of the mountain is above sea level.

Activities

The area is popular for bushwalking but not as overused as some parts of the Grose Valley, because it is some distance from the nearest residential areas. About south of the picnic area there are other walk possibilities, in the form of the Lockley Track, which goes down to the

Blue Gum Forest The Blue Gum Forest is a forest located in Blue Mountains National Park within the Grose Valley of the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains in New South Wales west of Sydney, southeastern Australia. It is one of the best-known bushw ...

, in the Grose Valley. There is also a short walk to the top of the plateau known as Flat Top. Just a little north of the picnic area, there is another track that goes west to Butterbox Point, which provides dramatic views of the valley. The area is also popular for photography because of the extensive valley views. There are no authorised camp sites, but camping is allowed at a reasonable distance from any road. From the summit,

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

is barely visible in the far distance.

References

{{New South Wales mountains , state=autocollapse

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

Description

Activities

See also

References