Tracks accessible by public transport

[Channas]

Any suggestion for routes accessible by public transport within 5hrs of travel time (by train) from Sydney. Alternatively, access within 25km from nearest train station for me to take a bike, cycle to a start of a track, hide it in a bush a pick it up on the way back. In that case it has to be circuit. Royal NP or Blue Mountains and etc. are abvious choices but I'm looking to explore new areas.

[johnw]

Any suggestion for routes accessible by public transport within 5hrs of travel time (by train) from Sydney. Alternatively, access within 25km from nearest train station for me to take a bike, cycle to a start of a track, hide it in a bush a pick it up on the way back. In that case it has to be circuit. Royal NP or Blue Mountains and etc. are abvious choices but I'm looking to explore new areas.

Are you looking for day walks or overnighters, or both? Yes, Royal and the Blueys are obvious ones in the Sydney region. I mainly day hike these days and have preferred getting around by train in recent years due to the frustratingly huge increase in traffic. As various day trips by train I've walked pretty much all of the Great North Walk between Thornleigh and Brooklyn. You can also camp along there if desired. Sometimes I've linked those walks with tracks in Kur-ing-gai, although I think some are still closed due to storm damage. I've also started thinking outside the square a bit and looked at maybe the same locations like Royal, Heathcote etc but combine them with more obscure tracks and trails within or adjoining those reserves. Best to sit down with the map and suss out what might work. I actually enjoy pouring over SIX Maps online and designing new walks. Another one that comes to mind if you haven't already done it is Bruces Walk in the Blue Mountains. Gets very little traffic in my experience and I've done it as a series of day walks using the train. I pretty much had the place to myself each time (note - there is some road walking needed in places to get to/from the train). Southern Highlands is another option. Train to Mittagong gets you into that part of the Nattai, and walks like the Skip Incline circuit, 40 Foot Falls, 60 Foot Falls and others are possible. I haven't done it but Mittagong to Katoomba is obviously an option if you want a multi day trip. I've even done a couple of short day hikes from Bowral station - Mt Gibraltar and Gibbergunyah Reserve. Mt Gib is very popular but the latter I had it to myself. I've also been thinking of taking the train to Kiama and walking to Gerringong via the Coastal Walk, some of which I've done before by car.

p.s. I stumbled onto this site recently and have started to use it to research things I might have overlooked:
https://sydneydaywalksbytrain.com/

[crollsurf]

http://wildwalks.com/ has a heap of walks around Sydney. Each walk has a "getting there" link, so you can pick car/bus/train to work out how to get there.

[tom_brennan]

Pretty much anywhere in Nattai NP meets those criteria.

For access to the Wanganderry Walls area, catch a train to Mittagong and ride ~25km to Ben Har.
eg Bonnum Pic: https://bushwalkingnsw.com/walk.php?nid=826

For access to the Wattle Ridge/Starlights area, catch a train to Yerrinbool and ride ~22km to Wattle Ridge.
eg Starlights Track: https://bushwalkingnsw.com/walk.php?nid=1005

For access to Couridjah, catch a train to Tahmoor and ride ~10km to Thirlmere Lakes NP
eg Couridjah Corridor: https://bushwalkingnsw.com/walk.php?nid=1009

For access to Bargo Gorge, catch a train to Tahmoor and ride ~4km to Rockford Road Bridge