For those wondering
You might think you don’t know the Seven Valleys, but chances are you have seen it, driven through it, or heard stories from someone who has.
Glen Alice
Glen Alice is a friendly locality in the spectacular Capertee Valley, home to the Capertee National Park and the endangered Regent Honeyeater.
Capertee Valley is a place of vast scale and quiet drama, framed by towering sandstone cliffs and defined by wilderness, rare ecosystems and a deep industrial past. It sits within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and offers access to some of the most significant national parks and bird habitats in New South Wales.
To the east, Wollemi National Park stretches across a maze of canyons, escarpments and undisturbed forest. As the largest wilderness area in the state, it feels expansive and remote, shaped by deep gorges and rugged country that rewards those willing to explore further. Nearby, Gardens of Stone National Park is known for its striking pagoda rock formations, where ironstone caps sit atop weathered sandstone to form beehive-shaped domes. Wind-pruned heathlands of banksia and dwarf casuarina add texture and colour, giving the landscape its distinctive, garden-like character.
At the western end of the valley, Capertee National Park protects fertile river flats and open woodlands that are renowned for birdwatching. Kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies and gliders move through the landscape, while the woodlands attract a remarkable diversity of birdlife, including the endangered regent honeyeater. The valley itself is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area and one of the top birdwatching locations in the world. Positioned in a transition zone where the forests of the Blue Mountains give way to the woodlands of the western slopes, it supports habitats ranging from semi-rainforest and open forest to grassy woodland and farmland. Significant remnants of the critically endangered White Box–Yellow Box–Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland remain here, allowing many woodland bird species, now rare elsewhere, to still be seen with relative ease.
The valley also carries traces of a more recent chapter. The Glen Davis Ruins are the remnants of an oil shale operation that ran from 1938 to 1952, a short-lived but ambitious industrial effort set against an otherwise wild landscape. Together, wilderness, rare ecology and layered history make Capertee Valley one of the most distinctive and ecologically significant landscapes in the Seven Valleys.
Guides & Itineraries
For coffee lovers
Our cafés are places where good food, friendly faces and a sense of calm come together. These are some of our favourite spots to settle in with a cup and enjoy the moment.
For the Curious Wanderers
Some walks take half an hour. Others take a full day. A few end in darkness, with thousands of tiny lights overhead. We have a track to suit every kind of wander.
For for green thumbs and those that wish they were
Tucked between escarpments, along quiet country roads and behind unassuming gates, the Seven Valleys is home to gardens that reward those who take the time to wander.
For River Seekers
Wild swimming in the Seven Valleys is not something most people come here specifically looking for. It is something you discover along the way.
For the adventurous
The Glow Worm Tunnel is one of the most memorable natural experiences in the Seven Valleys. Set within Wollemi National Park, this former railway tunnel shelters thousands of soft blue lights that cling to the damp stone walls.
Gardens of Stone
· 70 KM
· 1 days
A long gravel ride through open ridgelines and quiet stone country.
For the History Lover
Vertical sandstone cliffs stand guard as you explore the crumbling, vegetation-covered Glen Davis Shale Oil Works structures.
For the Outlook Explorers
If you like your scenery served up without too much effort, the Seven Valleys delivers in spades.
For nature lovers
Towering sandstone pagodas, sheer cliffs, slot canyons and sweeping plateaus give the area a dramatic, sculptural feel. Welcome to Gardens of Stone.
For the explorer
The Bracey Lookout gives a 180° view of the Lithgow Valley, offering one of the best overviews of the city of Lithgow.
For nature lovers
Wolgan Valley is a place of wide horizons, deep stillness and long stories. The valley has been cared for by the Wiradjuri people for tens of thousands of years, and their presence can still be felt in the rock art that lines the sandstone shelters.
Wollemi National Park
· 26 KM
· 2 days
A long gravel ride through open ridgelines and quiet stone country.
Seven Valley's
· 180 KM
· 4 days
A slow camping route through Seven Valleys’ most secluded bush camps.
For the railway enthusiasts
A heritage train ride just outside Lithgow that lets you hop aboard and watch bush, escarpments, and valleys roll by, without needing to be a rail expert to enjoy it.
For lake seekers
Each lake in the Seven Valleys offers its own way of spending a day, shaped by the land around it and the people who know it well.
For the history lover
Built in the 1840's, Eskbank House and Museum showcases a fascinating historical collection of Lithgow's social and industrial heritage.
For the Sky Watchers
Once the sun drops behind the ridgelines, the noise fades, the air cools, and that 7V sky starts to do its thing.
For the Refined Retreaters
Our luxury stays are not about excess, but about quiet beauty, deep rest and experiences shaped by nature.
For the Eccentric Stay Seeker
Staying in the Seven Valleys often means something a little unexpected, with accommodation that reflects the landscape and rewards slowing down.
For the history lover
A heritage-listed 19th century village, Hartley has one of the finest collections of historic buildings in Australia, including its 1837 courthouse.
For the Family Days
Play spaces across the region are practical and easy to use, giving kids freedom to run, climb and explore while the rest of the day unfolds around them.