Balor Hut in Warrumbungle National Park

Nestled in beautiful Warrumbungle National Park, the Balor Hut offers a sheltered place to sleep for people hiking the Breadknife and Grand High Tops walk who want to stay the night out in the middle of the park.

The hut is only accessible on foot, and is located about 5km walk from the Pincham carpark, just before you reach the Grand High Tops. 

The hike is pretty easy until you reach the section just before the hut, where it is very steep.

The final ascent is stairs, which although they feel like they might kill you (especially with big packs on your back!) I promise it is all worth it!

When you get to the top of the stairs, the path forks, as you can see from the sign here. You can continue on to the left to the beautiful Grand High Tops, or follow the sign to the right to Balor Hut, which is only 100m away now. 

We recommend leaving your stuff at the cabin before continuing up to the High Tops. You’ll have a new spring in your step without your packs on! 

The hut is one of five that were built in this area between 1958 and 1967, when most of the park’s walking tracks were constructed. It is the only one that remains today and don’t expect anything fancy - it is very rustic, basically a shed built of corrugated iron!

You can book it on the National Parks website.

It can sleep 8 (although that would be a squeeze!) and the price is $24.60 for up to 4 people for a night and goes up to $49.20 for 8 people. 

You will need to pay the park entry fees on top of the booking fee and I recommend doing this in the National Parks office, and get them to stamp on your permit to say that you’ll be staying in a hiking camp (especially if you have a campervan) so they don’t think that you’re sleeping in the car park. 

Inside the Hut

Before your stay you’ll get an email from National Parks with an access code which unlocks the combination lock on the door. 

Inside the hut you’ll find 4 sets of bunks without mattresses, 2 small wood heaters, a table and a couple of old chairs.

People had left a few yoga / sleeping mats, which add a bit of extra comfort to the beds.

The top bunks don’t have safety rails, so we slept on the 4 bottom bunks. We brought our own sleeping bags and air mattresses that we put on top of the mats, it wasn’t actually too uncomfortable at all!

Previous occupants had left a pile of chopped wood by the wood heaters, which we only used for a short period to heat the hut before we went to bed.

There are 2 windows, which were great for letting air in, however they don’t have screens, so make sure you shut them before dusk so the bugs stay out!

Outside the Hut

Outside the hut you’ll find an undercover verandah area, a water tank with non-potable water, a campfire and a drop toilet.

The toilet is for hikers as well and we had a few groups come in to use it (and have a peak around the hut!).

There was toilet paper when we were there, but I’d always recommend taking your own just in case. 

As it is a National Park, you are not allowed to forage for wood for the campfire and should bring your own in. Previous campers had left us a pile of wood, which was lucky as we didn’t have the pack room to bring our own. 

The area around the hut is a campground where hikers can pitch their tents, so you may have other people there as well (although you book the entire hut to yourself). 

There isn’t a huge amount of space and they cap it at 4 people able to book the camp sites, which also cost $24.60 for 4 people.

There is a path behind the campfire which goes up to a little peak, looking over the cabin and the Breadknife. It’s a beautiful spot to go for sunset and sunrise! 

What to Bring

Since Balor Hut is remote, you will need to bring all the necessary supplies. This includes food, drinking water, sleeping bags, air mattresses, first aid kit, spare batteries, firewood and a torch / headlamp. 

It is important to leave no trace and take all your rubbish out with you.

Walks

As you can see on the map here and the photo at the top of this post, there is a circuit walk that you can do from the hut to the Breadknife and Grand High Tops. 

A fellow hiker had recommended that we do it in a counter clockwise direction from the hut, walking along the Dagda short cut first, in order to have the best views. 

At Dagda Gap you take the path up to the Grand High Tops and then continue on back to the hut. It is a steep climb up to the top, but it’s a path rather than stairs, and as you head back down to the hut, you are walking down the stairs. 

We were so happy that we had chosen that route and definitely recommend it rather than the other way around! 

To walk back to the Pincham carpark, you can either go back the way you came, or make it a loop by walking along the Dagda short cut to Ogma Gap and the following West Spirey Creek track back to the car park.  

This route is longer (14.5 km rather than 10km) but we were happy to walk on the different path and the views were incredible!