Visit Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pool in NSW

Visiting Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pool with kids – A review

A quick search on Trip Advisor and you’ll see that there are mixed reviews around the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pool and I can understand why. Yikes, I can understand that this might be an unpopular opinion!! Would I add it to my NSW top 10 things to do list? The jury is still out (there is far too much more of NSW to explore first!).

How exciting does it sound though? Finding a thermal pool that remains a perfect 27 degrees all year round.  A thermal pool hidden deep within Kosciuszko National Park no less!

For real life. No filters. No amazing Thermal Pool here.

Where are the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools exactly?

Yarrangobilly Thermal Pool is a natural thermal spring situated near the Yarrangobilly Caves at the northern end of Kosciuszko National Park. It does feel like a long way from anywhere!!

The Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal pool can be found just off the Snowy Mountains Highway in the Kosciuszko National Park.

It would be a huge day trip if you were coming from Jindabyne or Canberra for the day. The Yarrangobilly Thermal Pool is located around a 1-hour drive from Tumut, 1.5 hours from Cooma and around 3 hours from Canberra. If you were staying in Tumut or even Cooma it would be much easier for a day trip.

Parks NSW states –

• Yarrangobilly Caves entrance and exit roads are graded gravel. They’re suitable for 2WD and 4WD vehicles up to 12.5m in length, however, the Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) advise that the roads are unsuitable for caravans.
• RMS recommends snow chains are carried by all vehicles driving in the park in winter, including 4WD and AWD, in case of extreme weather.

Yarrangobilly Caves Visitor Centre

Access to the pool is via the Yarrangobilly Caves Visitor Centre. Once you enter the park you will drive to the visitor centre.  You will need to purchase a park pass for your vehicle which will cover you for the day.

Currently, it is $4.00. Check prices on the NSW National Parks website here.

Note, the Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pools is within the NSW National Park. Unless you have a Kosciuszko National Park day pass or NPWS All Parks annual pass you will need to buy a day park pass.

Walking to the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools

From the visitor centre, grab your snacks if needed (small selection available), ask as many questions as you like from the lovely staff, check out the map and get on your way! The map will show you the parking area for the Yarrangobilly Caves and the parking area for the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools. There are two tracks down to the pools.

The Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools can be found in the valley below the car park. There are two options to access the pools. There is a short and steep road which takes you down the 700m or you can go via the caves and along the river. This is about 3km with a few up’s and downs.

The main track down is steep on the way back up!! It’s a wide road and quite smooth, it just goes up (or down) for a long time. This always receives lots of attention. Yes it is a long steep road. No it is not particularly difficult but it depends on your level of fitness.

The Yarrangobilly River

Gorgeous Yarrangobilly River.

The Yarrangobilly River runs towards the back of the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal pools. It makes for a lovely walk.

The Yarrangobilly Caves

There are various caves available to book as a guided tour or self-guided tours. I feel like we have visited some epic caves before so were a little underwhelmed with Yarrangobilly (in saying that, if you have never been inside a cave before you should definitely visit!).

Yarrangobilly Caves. The entrance

We visited on Easter Sunday and the whole place was heaving. We hadn’t pre-booked a guided tour so took ourselves through a self-guided cave. It was massive and yes, impressive, but nowhere near as good as finding our own way through the caves at Nichols Gorge with head torches on. That was just the best!

Yarrangobilly Caves. Inside the caves. Great formations. Self guided tour.

If you are visiting over a peak period I would highly recommend pre-booking any cave tours you would like to visit.

Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools Opening Hours

Open all year round from 9am – 5pm but closed on Christmas Day. Refer to Parks NSW for updates.

Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pools  Costs?

If you don’t have a National Parks pass then the entrance fee is $4. There is a cost for each of the caves. Even the self-guided caves. Family tickets were $68 when we visited. Check the updated prices and how to book here .

Amenities at the Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pool?

The Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pool is in the Kosciuszko National Park. You can stock up on basic supplies from the visitor centre but come prepared with everything else you may need as you are not really close to anywhere.

There is plenty of space around to set up a picnic for the day.

You will also find a changing room and toilets at the bottom next to the pool. The toilets are drop toilets/self-composting toilets which may give some people the heebie geevies haha!

Swimming at the Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pool

The Yarrangobilly Caves Thermal Pool is around 20 metres in length, with a smaller, shallow wading pool at one end. The main pool has a depth of 2.5 metres for the whole length.

Yarrangobilly area in Kosciuszko National Park. Real life photo

The thermal pool….Hmmm the kids loved having a swim after the walk along the river. There was no way I getting anywhere near the water. It was not warm enough for me, too many people and a bit icky. If you do a search though, you can find some photo’s which make it look magical!

The pool is fed by a natural spring but I wouldn’t describe it as a magical swimming spot even if the water is naturally heated to 27 degrees (nowhere near warm enough for me ha!).

This is where my opinion might be unpopular as I know that there are loads of people who absolutely love the Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pool. It was just too busy for me, too icky, not warm enough and maybe it was the sheer number of people on the day but I just didn’t get the magical feeling.

Yarrangobilly area in Kosciuszko National Park. It felt a lot busier than the photo shows.

How long should I plan on staying at the Yarrangobilly Thermal Pools and caves area?

I think you should base your stay on half a day to a full day. Depending on how many caves you would like to see and if swimming in the Yarrangobilly Thermal Pools takes your fancy!

We had a few days in the general area as we camped in the National Park. Most would visit the caves as a day trip. Again, just remember to look at distances from where you are staying.

Is there anything special we should pack for visiting the Yarrangobilly Caves and Thermal Pools

• Water and snacks
• Jackets as the caves are cool
• Bathers and towels
• Picnic rug if planning on setting up for the day
• An open mind as you may love it or loathe it
• Shoes for the caves
• Thongs (slip on shoes) if you want to wear them to the loo’s

Is there Yarrangobilly Caves and thermal pool accommodation?

There is a house and cottage at Yarrangobilly Caves and thermal pool.  We were camping in the National Park which was amazing. There are quite a few different camping areas and a few local huts you may be able to stay in. Check out the NSW parks site for more information. Plug the distances into google maps before deciding though as distances are quite far.

Overall thoughts on the Yarrangobilly Caves and thermal pool

It’s one of those places you have to see for yourself and decide if you love it or loathe it.

Definitely enough to keep you busy for a day trip with caves, walks, picnic and a swim if you do visit.

I personally wouldn’t rush to visit as a day trip, but I can understand that it is one of the places to tick off on your Snowy adventure! After all, that’s why we went!

Thoughts???

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