Itineraries Home » New South Wales Itineraries » Sydney Itineraries » Lapstone Zig Zag Walk and Knapsack Viaduct
The Lapstone Zig Zag was a zig zag railway built in the 19th century between Emu Plains and Blaxland stations on the Main Western line. The Knapsack Viaduct is a sandstone arch viaduct that formed part of the Zig Zag, whose purpose was to carry the Main Western railway line across Knapsack Gully. In present day, the line of the old track and cuttings including the long abandoned platform of Lucasville station, and the old Knapsack Gully bridge are now part of a popular bushwalking track.
Parking
There are two options available to you when it comes to parking your car for this walk, viz. the car park at Mitchells Pass and street parking at Knapsack St.
If you would prefer to do Lapstone Zig Zag walk as well as visit the Knapsack bridge, you can park your car in either of these sites. However, if you'd like to only visit the bridge due to time constraints, then park your car at the car park at Mitchells Pass, which is the closest to the Knapsack viaduct.
This post explains everything about visiting the Knapsack viaduct and the Lapstone Zig Zag walk with the walking loop commencing and terminating at the car park at Mitchells Pass. Make sure to put on your hiking shoes (or the one here) especially if you’re visiting after rain as much of the trail gets very muddy and slippery. Packing a poncho would come handy as well, if you think it'd rain during your visit. Australia has some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world so make sure to apply sunscreen (SPF50+) every time you're out and about.
If you would prefer to do Lapstone Zig Zag walk as well as visit the Knapsack bridge, you can park your car in either of these sites. However, if you'd like to only visit the bridge due to time constraints, then park your car at the car park at Mitchells Pass, which is the closest to the Knapsack viaduct.
This post explains everything about visiting the Knapsack viaduct and the Lapstone Zig Zag walk with the walking loop commencing and terminating at the car park at Mitchells Pass. Make sure to put on your hiking shoes (or the one here) especially if you’re visiting after rain as much of the trail gets very muddy and slippery. Packing a poncho would come handy as well, if you think it'd rain during your visit. Australia has some of the highest levels of UV radiation in the world so make sure to apply sunscreen (SPF50+) every time you're out and about.
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| Lapstone Zig Zag Walk - Key Facts | |
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| Trailhead | Car park at Great Western Highway & Mitchells Pass |
| Trail Type | Out and Back |
| Distance | 5.11km |
| Duration | 2 - 3 hours |
| Accumulated Elevation Gain | 189m |
| Difficulty | Grade 3 |
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The walk from the car park to the bridge is on a well paved road and surrounded by lush greenery. This track is known as the Old Great Western Hwy Track.
After walking for around 850m from the car park on the Old Great Western Hwy Track, you will reach the start of the Knapsack bridge.
Now, look at the right side of the bridge where you’ll see a rough trail going down from the road. Follow this trail and make sure to take extra caution as this trail starts very steep and is slippery at the beginning.
As you climb down, you will start seeing steps that will lead you further down and to the other side of the bridge.
As we visited after a short rainfall, there was a creek that we had to cross on our way which wasn’t really hard anyways but I'm doubtful if there will be any water in this creek during Summer or anytime if there's no rain. After all the adventure in crossing this creek, you will see the trail taking you up to reach all the way to the top of the other side of the viaduct.
If you would like to conclude your walk without exploring the Lapstone Zig Zag walking track, then walk across the bridge and take the road back to the car park.
If you would like to explore the Lapstone Zig Zag walking track like us, then start going further up using the next set of stairs. The climb up is very steep though so be prepared.
The first stop will be in 150m, which is the Siding Lookout. From here, you will have a nice view of both the Knapsack bridge and the surrounding Penrith.
The trail from here to the end of the one-way walk at Knapsack Street is flat and easy, which is great! Next in 100m, you will stop at the historic landmark of Lucasville Station.
As you continue another 100m, the trail splits into two; take the trail to your left if you'd like to visit the Quarry Lookout. We weren't keen to visit the Quarry Lookout as it didn't carry great reviews for the amount of effort it takes to reach there so we continued on the trail to the right.
We found that both the trails merged after around 350m (450m if taking the Quarry Lookout walk).
Continue on for another 300m and you will reach the Knapsack Street entrance of the Lapstone Zig Zag Walking Track. This is where you will commence your Zig Zag walk if you're parking your car in Knapsack Street.
Now, it's time to commence our return walk!
Follow the Lapstone Zig Zag Walking Track for 300m until you see the trail splitting into two; again, take the trail to your right if you’d like to visit the Quarry Lookout otherwise continue on. After crossing the Lucasville Station, continue on to visit the Siding Lookout or take the slight diversion to your right to directly reach the Knapsack Bridge bypassing the Siding Lookout. Walk across the bridge and take the road back to the car park.
Follow the Lapstone Zig Zag Walking Track for 300m until you see the trail splitting into two; again, take the trail to your right if you’d like to visit the Quarry Lookout otherwise continue on. After crossing the Lucasville Station, continue on to visit the Siding Lookout or take the slight diversion to your right to directly reach the Knapsack Bridge bypassing the Siding Lookout. Walk across the bridge and take the road back to the car park.
The entire loop takes around 2 to 3 hours or slightly more if you would like to make more stops for photographs or if you’re with kids (with both applying to us!) but overall we can guarantee that you’ll certainly enjoy this walk.
By the time we finished our walk, it was time for our lunch and the kids were craving for Momo's so we headed to Icy Spicy in Paramatta. They have two branches one in Seven Hills and the other one in Parramatta. The shop serves different varieties of momos and ice-creams. We went with the Family platter that came with 6 varieties of momos with 6 momos per variety and we thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We tried ice-creams and they were delicious as well. Exotic Rose Faluda needs a special mentioning here as it was super delicious. We definitely recommend this place if you’d like to try momos and love ice-creams.
By the time we finished our walk, it was time for our lunch and the kids were craving for Momo's so we headed to Icy Spicy in Paramatta. They have two branches one in Seven Hills and the other one in Parramatta. The shop serves different varieties of momos and ice-creams. We went with the Family platter that came with 6 varieties of momos with 6 momos per variety and we thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We tried ice-creams and they were delicious as well. Exotic Rose Faluda needs a special mentioning here as it was super delicious. We definitely recommend this place if you’d like to try momos and love ice-creams.
Last but not least if time permits, take a detour walk between the car park at Mitchells Pass and the Knapsack bridge to visit Elizabeth Lookout and the 2nd Knapsack Viaduct, or visit the nearby Lennox Bridge, which is the the oldest stone arch bridge on the Australian mainland. I’ll explain all of these attractions in another post.
Our Itinerary
1 - 1.5 hours (assuming departing from Sydney) |
Reach the carpark. Refer to the Parking section above for parking options. |
2 - 3 hours |
Round walk either commencing from the car park at Mitchells Pass or from Knapsack St. |
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