Guide Falls

Ridgley, Tasmania, Australia

About Guide Falls

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Guide Falls was one of the more satisfying waterfalls that we encountered in Tasmania.

It an easy waterfall on the eyes with its wide block shape as the Guide River fell around 25m (probably closer to 35m counting the upper drop) over an imposing basalt face.

Guide_Falls_17_024_11302017 - Guide Falls
Guide Falls

In addition to being easy on the eyes, the waterfall was also very easy to experience.

That ease of viewing came in handy when we visited this waterfall in early December 2017.

During that visit, the same storm system that had been pummeling Victoria was also raining buckets in northwestern Tassie.

And yet, we were still able to have a successful visit seeing the falls from its top as well as from its bottom.

Guide_Falls_014_11262006 - Guide Falls when we first saw it back in late November 2006
Guide Falls when we first saw it back in late November 2006

When we first came to this waterfall back in late November 2006 under much drier conditions, the falls had significantly lower flow.

However, even with the diminished flow, we appreciated its segmented characteristic along with a faint rainbow in its mist.

Experiencing Guide Falls from the Upper Car Park

Each time Julie and I had visited Guide Falls, we started from the upper car park (see directions below).

From there, it was a short 50m walk to a pair of lookouts right at the top of the waterfall.

Guide_Falls_17_029_11302017 - Looking into the knife-like narrow gorge that Guide Falls spilled into while enduring a downpour
Looking into the knife-like narrow gorge that Guide Falls spilled into while enduring a downpour

The lookout on the far left side peered right down over the main drop into the knife-like head of the gorge with the upper drop also tumbling in profile from immediately upstream.

With the rain coming down hard, the downward viewing angle allowed the umbrella and the lens hood to minimize the amount of rain punishing the DSLR camera.

As we then walked over to the other lookout, we managed to get the familiar and very pleasing frontal view of the two-tiered block waterfall.

Again, with the downward viewing angle, we were still able to successfully capture the experience despite the heavy rain.

Guide_Falls_17_054_11302017 - Descending towards the Guide River to experience the bottom of the Guide Falls
Descending towards the Guide River to experience the bottom of the Guide Falls

This was where the photo you see at the top of this page was taken from.

Anyways, after having our fill of the falls from this spot, we then walked roughly 80m down some steep set of steps to the banks of the Guide River.

Then, we were able to walk along the riverbank upstream (being careful due to the slippery footing) to get up to the imposing wall of water from the main drop.

From this vantage point, we also got a better appreciation of the columnar basalt texture of the cliffs that gave rise to the Guide Falls.

Guide_Falls_17_066_11302017 - Guide Falls as seen from its base surrounded by dark columnar cliffs of basalt
Guide Falls as seen from its base surrounded by dark columnar cliffs of basalt

Once we had our fill of this spot, we then headed back up to complete the excursion.

Experiencing Guide Falls from the Lower Car Park

Of course, we also could have done this excursion to or from the lower car park.

This would involve hiking all along the Guide River over a 320m track.

Further downstream of the steps connecting with the upper car park, there was at least one intermediate waterfall as well as some wildflowers in bloom that we checked out.

Guide_Falls_17_075_11302017 - This was one of the intermediate waterfalls further downstream from Guide Falls
This was one of the intermediate waterfalls further downstream from Guide Falls

Since there was a picnic area and toilet facility at the lower car park, I’d imagine that approach would be the more popular way to go.

Authorities

Guide Falls resides by the town of Ridgley near Burnie, Tasmania. It is administered by the Burnie City Council. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: ridgley, burnie, somerset, braddon, north west, tasmania, ulverstone, devonport, australia, waterfall, guide river



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Guide Falls February 23, 2014 6:25 am by Jeff Crowe - Guide Falls is a small, amphitheatre - style waterfall, with a small tier at the top and then the largest falls drops into the naturally formed amphitheatre with steep cliffs surrounding, with continuing cascades located further down the Guide River. A deep hole directly below the falls provides for a great swimming hole in summer.… ...Read More

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About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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