Jenolan Caves Is Closed: What It Means for Your Trip

TL;DR: Jenolan Caves has been closed to the public since April 2024 because of damage to Jenolan Caves Road. Major repairs and precinct upgrades are underway, and the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust is working toward a reopening in early 2027. Six Foot Track access from the Jenolan end is also closed.

You can’t visit Jenolan Caves right now. That’s the answer, and everything else on this page follows from it.

The caves have been closed since April 2024. As of the most recent official updates, the target is a reopening in early 2027, with an exact date to be confirmed once the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust finalises its plans. If you’re planning a Blue Mountains trip in the meantime, you’ll need a different itinerary.

Why it’s closed

The Two Mile section of Jenolan Caves Road was severely damaged by a run of major weather events between 2021 and 2024. The road is the only vehicle access into the valley, and the damage made it unsafe to carry public traffic.

Repairs are being delivered by Transport for NSW, working with the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. This is a large, slow piece of civil work on a steep, unstable descent into a limestone valley, which is why it has taken years rather than months.

What’s changing for when it reopens

The closure has been used to do work that would have been difficult with visitors on site.

Road access is being reconfigured. Two Mile Road is back to a driveable condition, but it will not reopen to public vehicle access. Instead, a new car park is being built at the top of Two Mile Road, and visitors will be transferred down to the caves by shuttle bus. If you’ve driven down that road before, expect a different arrival experience.

Caves House is being restored. The heritage guesthouse is getting new ensuites, air-conditioning and accessibility improvements.

A new Blue Lake Boardwalk is under construction, designed as an accessible route to one of the site’s best-known features.

Track and trail upgrades are being carried out across the precinct.

More caves are expected to be open than before the closure.

That last point is worth sitting with. The reopened Jenolan will offer more than the one that closed.

What’s still closed nearby

The Six Foot Track is closed at the Jenolan end, specifically the section between Jenolan Caves House and Binda Bush Cabins.

The Six Foot Track is a 45km walking route from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves, usually done over three days, and the traditional finish is arriving at Caves House. That finish isn’t currently available. Check current NPWS advice before planning any part of the route.

What’s closed and what isn’t

What you can still do in the Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains without Jenolan is still a full day, and for most visitors it was always going to be a full day without ever reaching the caves. Jenolan is a 90 minute drive beyond Katoomba, which is why it usually sat on a two-day itinerary rather than a one-day one.

Scenic World, Katoomba. The Scenic Railway (the steepest passenger railway in the world), the Skyway across the gorge, the Cableway down to the valley floor, and the boardwalk through the rainforest below. Four rides, and enough time on a standard day tour to do all of them.

Echo Point and the Three Sisters. The view everyone comes for. Also the trailhead for the Giant Stairway down into the Jamison Valley.

Evans Lookout, Blackheath. A quieter alternative to Echo Point, looking out over the Grose Valley, and the start of the Grand Canyon walking track.

Wentworth Falls. The best waterfall walking in the mountains, with tracks ranging from a ten-minute lookout stroll to the National Pass, one of the finest cliff-face walks in New South Wales.

Kings Tableland. High open views over the Jamison Valley without the crowds.

When to plan a return trip

Early 2027 is the current target. An exact date hasn’t been published, and given the history of this project it’s fair to treat that as a plan rather than a promise.

If Jenolan is the reason you’re coming, don’t book flights around it yet. Watch the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust website for a confirmed date, and consider booking once tours are actually on sale rather than on the strength of a target window.

Doing the Blue Mountains in the meantime

Our current Blue Mountains day tours run to Katoomba, Scenic World and the Three Sisters, with lunch and free time at Leura. The itineraries vary from self-guided walks and wildlife encounters to First Nations cultural experiences and Scenic World rides, so the experience depends on which tour you choose.

Frequently asked questions