Medlow Bath is set in a semi-rural area which includes fire-prone eucalypt forest, and has been subject to
bushfire threats many times during its history. The
Hydro Majestic Hotel was developed by Sydney businessman,
Mark Foy in the early years of the twentieth century and was the main economic activity in the area, until bushfires nearly destroyed the hotel in the summer of 2003. on the right. There is an elaborate network of walking tracks, which were developed in the bushland between the hotel and the escarpment of the
Megalong Valley. The tracks offer scope for many fine bushwalks and views of the Megalong Valley, but in more recent years have deteriorated due to lack of maintenance. Other tracks in the area include
Bruce's Walk, an old track that was upgraded by bushwalkers and other volunteers in the 1980s. Bruce's Walk is located a few kilometres east of Medlow Bath, on the fringes of the
Blue Mountains National Park, a huge park that is now a
World Heritage Site. Australia's first Prime Minister,
Edmund Barton, died at the Hydro Majestic Hotel in 1920. Medlow Bath was originally known as Brown's Siding when it gave its name to a railway siding in 1880 because Brown's Sawmill was the main business in the area. In 1883, the town was renamed Medlow because there was another Brown's Siding near
Lithgow. ==Heritage listings==