Yerranderie Ghost Town

The road

Yerranderie is a silver mining ghost town in the Burragorang Valley, south-west of Sydney. It sits just 100 kilometres from the Sydney CBD as the crow flies, but reaching it by road requires a 65-kilometre unsealed track from Oberon via Shooters Hill that takes over three hours. The town was established in 1893 when silver-lead deposits were found in the valley. At its peak it had a population of 2,000, two hotels, a school, a police station and a post office. The silver ran out by the 1920s and the town emptied. What remains is a handful of intact buildings, mine workings in the hillside and the cemetery on the ridge above the town. The track from Shooters Hill crosses the Great Dividing Range and descends through progressively wilder country. The upper sections are reasonable gravel road through pine plantation and native forest. Below the treeline the track deteriorates as it drops towards the Wollondilly River and the Burragorang Valley. The final descent is steep, loose and winding with limited visibility around the bends. The valley itself is striking - deep, enclosed and dramatically steep-sided, with the Wollondilly River running through the floor. Warragamba Dam, which supplies most of Sydney's drinking water, sits at the valley's eastern end. The dam's catchment restrictions have kept the valley undeveloped since the 1950s, which is why Yerranderie remains largely as it was left. The private trust that manages the town site allows camping and day visits. The old post office building serves as a basic shelter and information point. The isolation of the place is its primary quality - you are genuinely alone in a landscape that most people in Sydney have never heard of, let alone visited.

The region

The Burragorang Valley is the drowned valley behind Warragamba Dam. Before the dam was completed in 1960, the valley was farming and mining country with several small settlements. Most were abandoned when the dam was built and the water rose. Yerranderie survived because it sits above the dam's full supply level, but the road access from the east was flooded and the only remaining approach is the long track from the west via Oberon. Oberon itself is a small tablelands town at 1,100 metres elevation, known for timber and cold winters.

Before you go

Fuel at Oberon before departure - there is nothing between Oberon and Yerranderie. The track is best in dry conditions and can become very difficult after rain, particularly the descent into the valley. No phone coverage for the entire route. A PLB or satellite communicator is recommended. Camping at Yerranderie is managed by the Yerranderie Private Town trust - check availability before going. The return journey uses the same track, so allow a full day for the round trip. Water at Yerranderie is rainwater tank only - carry your own supply.

More roads like this

Bridle Track

New South Wales · 55 km

8.1 ★

Abercrombie River National Park

New South Wales · 50 km

7.4 ★