Six Foot Track

Six Foot Track
Overlooking the Megalong Valley at Nellies Glen lookout
Length	44.3 km (27.5 mi)
Location	New South Wales, Australia
Trailheads	Explorers Tree (Katoomba), Jenolan Caves
Use	Hiking
Elevation
Elevation change	1,600 m (5,200 ft) approx
Highest point	Black Range, 1,200 m (3,900 ft) approx
Lowest point	Coxs River, 400 m (1,300 ft) approx
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Medium
Season	All
Sights	Caves, escarpments, wilderness, fauna

The Six Foot Track was originally a bridle trail from Katoomba (New South Wales, Australia) to the Jenolan Caves, and is now a walking trail of 44.3 kilometers.

The Jenolan Caves are a tourist attraction that first became popular in the mid and late nineteenth century. The journey to the caves from Sydney was a long one, though, and even after the western railway was completed to Bathurst in 1870, the journey involved a lengthy horse ride from the nearest station at Tarana.

In 1884 a New South Wales government party marked out a new horse track from Katoomba across the Coxs River to shorten the journey. The track was constructed to be six feet wide (in order that two loaded drays could pass each other at any point), and was completed at a cost of ₤2500, although it was not until 1937 that the track became known as the Six Foot Track, by which time it was already close to impassable.

The first recorded journey on the track was in 1887 by the NSW Governor, Lord Carrington, and his wife. The journey from start to finish took approximately eight hours and was very popular until motor vehicles gradually took over in the twentieth century, and an alternative route to Jenolan was built.

Starting on the western outskirts of Katoomba at the Explorers tree, the track descends via steep steps through the temperate rainforest of Nellies Glen to the Megalong Valley floor. Here in the valley the track passes the historical site of the abandoned shale mining Megalong Village and continues on through farmland past the Megalong Cemetery (this is just off the track).

The track winds along the steep-sided banks of the Coxs River. The river is crossed either via ford or by using a suspension bridge, called Bowtells Swing Bridge, built by 3 Troop, the 'Tunnel Rats' of the 1st Field Squadron of the Royal Australian Engineers in 1991. It was named in honour of CPL Bob Bowtell a former member of 3 Tp. Bob was born in Katoomba and he died in Vietnam. He was one of the famous 'Tunnel Rats' and he died in a tunnel clearance. His children attended the opening of the bridge in 1992.