Glow Worm Tunnel

Excellent place to take the family or friends. A lot of interesting history. Don't forget your torch, and remember, when you are in the tunnel, keep the noise to a minimum, turn your torch off, and let your eyes adjust, then you will see all the Glow Worm 🪱

Beautiful camp spot, give yourself plenty of time to walk to & from the glow worm tunnel, stunning scenery.

If I could return and just put a sleeping bag and sleep under the glowing worms I would. Such a beautiful sight. The walk is easy and beautiful to the tunnel, just two lots of small stairways. You don't need to walk too far into the tunnel to see the worms either. Go in and turn off your lights, look up and they are everywhere.

The drive there was fine as I had a 4wd. I did see smaller cars go but they were struggling and going probably 5km an hour, losing nuts and bolts on the bumpy road.

We brought our red light so that we can see inside the tunnel and not hurt the glow worms.

It's a nice experience. Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Also bring drinking water for yourself.

There is a nice car park and a drop toilet. There are no taps, so bring an extra bottle for yourself to wash your hands.

30km dirt road to get here. It’s a nice drive but can be a little bumpy. Gets narrow in some parts, just give a friendly beep to let oncoming traffic you’re there because there is a lot of blind corners. Can be done in a hatchback or any 2WD car just be careful as there is no phone reception so check the spare Tyre before you head out. You’ll know youre getting close to the glow worm tunnel after you pass through a tunnel on the road.
There is a toilet at the car park and that’s about it. The walk to the actual tunnel is fairly easy but it’s not a path. It’s a natural track with rocks, water and tree roots.
We only went about 100m into the tunnel as it was pretty much the same when we asked people that had walked through the whole thing. You will need at least your phone torch but a decent torch will be an advantage. The worms are awesome when you turn all the lights out and they are the only thing you can see. Great for a day trip from Sydney or something to do if youre around Lithgow.
About a 40 min drive from Lithgow and to get the tunnel is about half hour depending how fast you walk. Plan about 3 hours for the whole experience.

The walk from the car park to the glowworm tunnel is about 1.2 km (one way). It's almost a flat path, with a few staircases about midway on the path. The view of the glow-worms was beautiful. There were so many of them. The glow worms can be spotted easily. The tunnel is quite dark and has an uneven path with a small stream of water flowing . So we used headlights while walking through the tunnel. We could even see the reflection of the glow worms on the steam of water once the eyes got adjusted in the darkness and lights were off for a while. It's beautiful out there!

Awesome fun for the kids. Only a short 2km walk to the tunnel from the south side parking lot

Walked from one end of the tunnel to the other... Need a flashlight (obviously) but some people were able to do it with just their phone torch.

Lots of little creatures to discover other than the glow worms (see pics)

Regarding the parking: only 5 4WDs when we arrived at 10:30am on Saturday (early November). Only saw two couples in the tunnel and we took our time and hand lunch on the other side. Returned to the parking lot at 1:30pm there were about 30 4WDs and no spots left. Some groups that knew each other double parked which was nice of them to allow more people park. Hint - get there early!

This place is like the land time forgot, the plants look like something out of Jurassic Park and it's so remote and beautiful.

It was absolutely breathtaking to stand in the darkness looking up at the glow works, they looked like stars in the sky.

Some very good hiking trails too, although the distance signs were incorrect.

Be prepared for a gravel/dirt road that gets rough in a few area's and make sure you take water.

Wow this is a great place to visit. The final 30Kms in side the forest was a great drive on dirt road. No phone signal, but GPS works most of the time. Always better to drive in an SUV. I have seen people drive cars, but not sure about their experience :-)

If you go early will be able to find parking. Space is for about 20 cars. If not park by the road side, find a good spot. One Nature toilet is available and couple of seating outside.

Take plenty of water, check your spare wheel :-) Because you wont be able to call Roadside assistance from there.

1km walk from car park to tunnel is great. Uneven, water flows on the path but easy.

Definitely take a torch, if not your phone torch is more than enough. inside the tunnel is pitch dark. But have to be extremely quite, if not glow worms will shut off. Once you are inside, switch off the lights and wait for few minutes before you see all worms glow, its an amazing view to experience. We had a family loudly singing inside the tunnel despite the notices; that sucks. People need to realize the purpose of their visit also there are others who have traveled long distance for the experience.

When you are on the other side of the tunnel its a different world altogether.

Its a good place to add to your list.

beautiful piece of country. the road is not suited for 2wd cars. best to take a 4wd as there is a good 45~ km drive over unsealed pothole Rd. narrow at times and through a one way tunnel.

the walk is about an 1hr return. easy walk with a section with steep stairs. take a torch and a jacket as it may be cold.

you can contine hiking through the tunnel to the other side of Newnes Junction which is around 2hrs.

Once-in-a-life experience. Definitively worth a visit. The site is for free 24*365. The worms are present all around the year, but they usually grow more in warmer months.

Do not use a flashlight, including a mobile phone flashlight! It will NOT help you see the glow worms in any ways. All a flashlight can do is to scare the glow worms and put out their light. Also try to avoid the crowds since the worms don't like noise either.

To get to the site, you will drive for about 1 hour off the main road. The connection road is remarkably bumpy, muddy and dusty. I would avoid driving a 2WD there on a wet day. -- And be prepared to wash your car when you get back.

After you park your car at a small carpark, there's a short walk of about 1.7km. It's an easy grade walk but unfortunately there's no wheelchair access due to some stairs when crossing a creek. The tunnel opens to a little stream. It is this stream that led the glow worms to live here, since glow worms like to live on dark rock surfaces facing water.

Amazing place - both the tunnel itself (an abandoned rail tunnel) and the grotto just outside the tunnel bordered by hundreds of ferns.

Bring a torch, ideally a head-torch, and shoes with good grip (you'll probably get wet feet in the tunnel).

Most comments refer to the access being via road from Lithgow, from where there's a relatively short (1km) walk once you get to the car-park. You can also access the tunnel via Newnes, which is a better road, but it's a harder 9km return walk (it's a nice walk though, with views over the Wolgan valley).

Access details for both roads and track notes: hikingtheworld.blog/2015/02/15/glow-worm-tunnel-from-newnes/

Awesome place! Don't need to go to New Zealand to see glow worms, and this tunnel is free of charge. The only issue is that to gwt there you need to drive a pretty long gravel road and max speed is 40km/h unless you have a 4 wheel drive jeep or SUV and you don't care about suspension. There is a short stroll from the car park and you get to the tunnel. By the time we got to the other side it started raining, we got amazing pictures and videos. And then we realized that the tunnel is turning into a river and we might not be able to come back. We rushed through and the last few hundred meters we were walking through a water thigh-deep. Anyway, worth it!

Ita a fair drive (30km) from the highway, if you are careful you can drive in a sedan (we did in our Sports car but got many looks). It rained in the morning but it wasn't too bad to drive. About 50 mins there and just a little less back (we were less careful back). Stop by and take photos along the way. Glow worm Cave was stunning. Only waitomo in New Zealand was better. Ita a long trek from the car park and the tunnel you drive through before the car park was a little intimidating. Well worth the trip. Make sure you stop by Wild Woods gardens along the way

Amazing experience!!! I truly enjoyed it!! Such a great place to visit!! Just remember to bring your own lantern ( per person!) It is really dark inside the tunnel. When you are inside, turn off your lights and give yourself couple of minutes for your eyes to adapt...it will blow your mind!

What an experience.

The logging road out to the glow worm tunnel parking lot was super rutted and potholed. But was well worth the 35 mins of pain.

The walk from the car park is flat most the way with a bridge with short steep stepped sections either side not suitable for elderly people.

We did the trip late arvo midweek and had the place to ourselves.

Will definitely be back to do it again. Next time we will
Plan on getting there with plenty of time to explore some more.

Great place for a weekend drive and walk.The road leading to the place is unpaved for around 20kms.SUV is preferred. Was an amazing experience to walk into the tunnel and witness this nature wonder.

When you arrive the park. Just walk around 30 min and you can arrive there. Walk inside a little bit and trun off your light. No need to walk inside too much. Watch our your shoes.

The glow worms are great, plenty of them, but a rough road heading in with kilometres of pot holes, corrugation etc. The walk from the carpark does have a small number of steep stairs. There is a drop toilet (no hand washing) at the car park

Interesting old train tunnel. Seeing the glowing worms is worth the walk. I walked from the north end ('Start trail to the glow-worm tunnel' in google maps), about 3.5hrs return. Medium walk difficulty. After the walk from qhere I started, Newnes Industrial Ruins walk was nearby, half an hour drive north (in a medium 2wd car). Beware: dirt road has many holes to avoid. Drive slowly. 4wd recommended. Although possible to reach via 2wd still