Blue Mountains City Council this week voted unanimously on fast-tracked actions to protect Lincolns Rock area in Wentworth Falls and address the impacts of increasing visitors to the popular site.
The move comes as community members are being invited to nominate to join the new Lincolns Rock Advisory Group. The new group will bring together residents of the area, user groups and people with a diversity of interests including transport and environmental matters.
It will provide feedback to Council on active management strategies for the Lincolns Rock area and create a forum for shared understanding of key issues and opportunities for the precinct.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said Lincolns Rock is one of the city’s most iconic lookouts and needs careful ongoing management.
“Lincolns Rock has become an incredibly popular destination for locals and visitors, and a new Precinct Plan will help us to plan for the future of this special place, balancing visitor access, resident amenity, and the safety and protection of the environment,” Greenhill said.
While the new Precinct Plan informed by the Advisory Group will focus on medium to long term strategies, Council is also putting in place several immediate measures to improve safety and manage visitation to Lincolns Rock.
Council rangers will increase patrols of the area and target illegal parking at Lincolns Rock and surrounding streets, including where vehicles block resident driveways, pedestrian access or emergency access routes.
Council is also implementing a range of on-street improvements to make the area safer for residents and visitors walking along Hordern Road. This will include new advisory signage and parking restrictions to curb illegal parking and reduce congestion.
In addition, Council will introduce restrictions to limit buses accessing Hordern Road, recognising that large vehicles can contribute to congestion and create conflicts with people walking along the narrow road.
These measures will compliment Council’s broader work to manage visitor buses across the city through the Blue Mountains Visitor Bus Management Plan.
Lincolns Rock is a clifftop lookout in Wentworth Falls, which has seen a rapid growth in visitation in recent years, driven in part by social media, leading to concerns about traffic, parking, congestion, litter and resident amenity.
In 2021, Council constructed a formal car park and path to Lincolns Rock to better manage parking and access and has adopted a Plan of Management for the Lincolns Rock reserve.
In 2025, Council worked with the Blue Mountains community to create a citywide Visitor Bus Management Plan, to manage visitor bus movements across the city, reduce impacts on residential areas and support visitation.
Troy has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.