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Sydney's Northern Beaches Coast Walk: Manly to Bilgola, Beach by Beach
Four walks run between Manly and Palm Beach. Each asks a different amount of your day, and the trip north does not always repay the morning.
Door Bram de VriesThe long way round Sydney — coastlines, ferries and the streets between
The Manly Scenic Walkway runs 10km from the north side of the Spit Bridge in Mosman to Manly. Allow three and a half to four and a half hours. There are a lot of steps and several short climbs. Walk it in that direction and you finish with a swim at Manly and a ferry back to the city.
The Spit Bridge to Manly
The first stretch follows the shoreline past Clontarf Beach. Then the track enters the national park at Castle Rock and swings around Dobroyd Head. The second half is the better half: bush on a sandstone headland, the harbour below you and yachts on it.
Along the way you pass the Aboriginal rock engravings at Grotto Point and the small white lighthouse out on the bare rock there. Arabanoo lookout is one of the good places on this coast to watch for whales.
Check the tide before you leave, because the track detours inland in a few places when the water is high. The beaches you pass are unpatrolled and the rips can be strong, so save the swim for Manly. There are toilets at Clontarf and Reef Beach, and dogs aren't allowed.
If you only have an hour or two, or you want something flat and paved, pick another walk.
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Cabbage Tree Bay snorkelling
Bring a mask. The Cabbage Tree Bay Eco Sculpture Walk follows Marine Parade around the bay from Manly Beach to Shelly Beach. It's about 1.3km, and a slow stroll takes 15 to 20 minutes. The path is flat, with steel fish sculptures set into it towards the Shelly Beach end.
You come for the water. The bay is a no-take reserve, so swimming, snorkelling and diving are all fine, while fishing and collecting anything are not. Snorkellers regularly see blue groupers and giant cuttlefish, and a green turtle lives in the bay. Get in from Shelly Beach itself, or down the steps at Half Way Beach. Shelly Beach has toilets, change facilities, gas barbecues and a restaurant, with a car park on the headland above.
Fairfax walk on North Head
This is the one walk here that works with a wheelchair or a pram. The Fairfax Walk on North Head is a 1km paved loop and takes 30 minutes to an hour. Yiningma lookout faces the open ocean, and Burragula looks back across the harbour mouth to the city skyline.
It's also one of the better whale-watching spots in Sydney, with animals passing in June and July and again from August to October. Parking is $5 per vehicle for the day, paid by card or phone at the machines. The Fairfax machines are the only ones up there that still take coins. The North Head gates open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. during daylight saving, 6 p.m. the rest of the year.
Barrenjoey Lighthouse at Palm Beach
Palm Beach sits at the far northern tip of the beaches. The Barrenjoey Lighthouse Track climbs about 1km from the Governor Phillip Park car park and takes roughly 30 minutes each way. It's short and you will feel it. There's a second way up, the Smugglers track, shorter again and considerably steeper. From the top you look over Broken Bay, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and across to the Central Coast. Whales pass between May and September.
This is the one walk here where you can get inside the lighthouse, and only on a Sunday. Tours run hourly from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., last about half an hour, and cost $15 for adults and $11 for children. Book in advance. The guide meets you at the lighthouse, so allow at least 40 minutes to get up there. Parking at Governor Phillip Park is paid, no vehicle can reach the lighthouse, and the park can shut in bad weather or high fire danger.
If you have a single free day in Sydney, give this one a miss. Getting up and back eats most of a morning before you've climbed anything. With two or three days in town, go.
Walking it over several days
The Bondi to Manly Walk is an 80km route along the ocean coast and both shores of the harbour. Manly is one of its two ends. There are itineraries of two to seven days, plus a set of shorter walks. Ferries serve most of the section ends, so you can walk one day of it and come home by boat. Signage is still thin in places, so use the companion app. The printed Walker's Guide is $11.95.
One section is on a detour. The foreshore track between Whiting Beach and Taronga Zoo Wharf is closed for construction until the end of 2027. Walkers go up Whiting Beach Road, then down Bradleys Head Road, and rejoin at Athol Hall.
Before you set out
The lighthouse tour is the only thing on this coast you have to book, and Sunday is the only day it runs. Everything else is a public path, tide and park gates permitting.
See the Sydney guide and the Sydney hotel search.
Voor vertrek
How long does the Manly Scenic Walkway take?
It's 10km one way from the north side of the Spit Bridge to Manly, and you should allow three and a half to four and a half hours. There are many steps and short steep hills, so it isn't a flat seaside stroll. Check the tide first, because the track detours inland in places when the water is high.
Do I need to book any of these walks?
No. They are free public paths, so you can turn up and walk. The only booking is the guided tour inside Barrenjoey Lighthouse at Palm Beach, which runs on Sundays only. Organised groups of 40 or more need prior written approval from the park office for the national park tracks.
Where's the best snorkelling near Manly?
Cabbage Tree Bay, between Manly Beach and Shelly Beach. It's a no-take aquatic reserve, so swimming, snorkelling and diving are allowed but fishing isn't. Snorkellers regularly see blue groupers and giant cuttlefish, and a green turtle lives in the bay. Enter from Shelly Beach or the steps at Half Way Beach.
Is any northern beaches walk suitable for a wheelchair or pram?
The Fairfax walk on North Head is. It's a paved 1km loop, takes 30 minutes to an hour, and still gets you the cliff and skyline views from its two lookouts. The Manly Scenic Walkway is not. It has repeated steps and climbs, and is no route for wheels.
When can I see whales from these walks?
North Head is the pick, with whales passing in June and July and again from August to October. At Barrenjoey Lighthouse they go by between May and September, and Arabanoo lookout on the Manly Scenic Walkway is another reliable spot.
