Cathedral Rock National Park

Had a great hike and enjoyed the scenery.

The long hike through the park is not worth it, though we saw a lot of butterflies. The loop around the rock and the summit climb are really nice though, wear good shoes for the climb it's definitely grade 5, amazing views around the park. Overall well maintained track.

The national park is about 1hr10min from Armidale. We travelled here to do the loop track around Cathedral Rock. So glad we came here - it was stunning and we had a wonderful time. We decided not to scramble to the top of the rocks as my ankle had been giving me grief and I didn't want to aggrevate it further. The loop track is rated 4 however I think it should be a 2. The track is easy walking. Getting into the national park to Barokee Campground was pretty easy. It is gravel road so take care. There were some cows just roaming around plus we saw the odd kangaroo too. You can do this in a car - just go slow. We have a 4WD which handled the road without any issue.

What a stunning place. The summit loop track is very accessible (grade 3 walk, although officially grade 4). Still significant fire damage along the way in June 2020. The grade 5 climb to the summit is not for the faint-hearted! It starts simply with a fairly steep ascent up to the base of the rocks. There are many places where you need to squeeze through crevices, jump over decent drops, and clamber up step rocks. There is one chain to assist in the final ascent to the 1500m summit. Spectacular views of Round Mountain radar station and the surrounding areas.