Newport Beach to Palm Beach & Barrenjoey Lighthouse

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Route: Newport Beach, South Bilgola Headland, Eric Green Reserve, Bolgola Beach, The Serpentine, North Bilgola Headland, Barrenjoey Road, Surfside Avenue, Avalon Beach, Marine Parade, Bangalley Park, Bangalley Head, Careel Headland Reserve, Whale Beach Road, Whale Beach, Whale Beach Road, Palm Beach, Station Beach, Barrenjoey Track, Barrenjoey Lighthouse, Smugglers Track

Date: 16/01/2022
From: Newport Beach

Parking: N/A
Start Point: Newport Beach
Finish Point: Barrenjoey Lighthouse
Region: Sydney / Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Route length: 15.2km
Time taken: 03:46
Average speed: 4.6km/h
Ascent: 465m
Descent: 467m

Points of Interest: Newport Beach, Bilgola Beach, Bilgola Headland, Avalon Beach, Bangalley Headland, Whale Beach, Palm Beach, Barrenjoey Headland

I've been spending some time hiking along Sydney's coastline, a route that includes the recent Bondi to Manly Walk. After completing the Bondi to Manly Walk over several shorter hikes, I decided to extend that philosophy north and south to the extremities of Greater Sydney. The result has been several hikes along the Northern Beaches coastline in the direction of Barrenjoey Lighthouse, with this being the last piece of the jigsaw.

My previous hike saw me reach Newport Beach, having hiked from Collaroy Beach in the south so, unsurprisingly, Newport Beach is where this hike begins. After leaving the car on a side street, I made my way down to Bert Payne Park to make a start.

The park lies near the centre of Newport Beach so I continued down to the surf and walked along the firm, wet sand next to the sea, keeping a watchful eye for any large, rogue waves. At the northern end of the beach are a concrete path and a set of steps that climb up to Bigola Headland and a viewing platform. If you are wondering why there are so few people enjoying the beach, that's because there was a tsunami warning on this particular day and the beaches were essentially closed.

Newport Beach

Newport Beach

Newport Beach

If you don't want to hike along the sand, there is a concrete path along the rear of the beach

The path makes its way across the headland before a steep descent to Bilgola Beach and the small car park next to the Surf Lifesaving Club. A short walk along the shifting sands leads to a set of wooden steps leading away from the beach and on to The Serpentine, a snaking road befitting of its name. At the eastern end of the road is the Bilgola Head Lookout where there is a view southwards to Long Reef, some 10km away, almost lost among the haze.

The Bilgola Headland track

Bilgola Beach

Bilgola Head

North Bilgola Lookout

Avalon Head

The Serpentine leads around to Barrenjoey Road, the main route between Palm Beach and the main Northern Beaches suburbs. After a short section walking alongside the road, Surfside Venue cuts between some houses to Avalon Beach.

The Serpentine

Avalon Beach

Avalon Beach

As with the previous beaches, I made my way along the firm sand to the northern end. This quiet suburban street climbs the lower slopes of the imposing Bangalley Head.

The headland can be accessed through a small, signposted reserve off Marine Drive that leads into Bangalley Park, a small strip of grass perched atop the cliffs below Bangalley Head.

The cliffs at Bangalley Park

The headland is one of the largest bushland reserves on the Northern Beaches coastline and requires a stiff climb up many steps to reach the top, but it is well worth the effort as it is the highest point in the Northern Beaches area. Several informal lookouts can be found on the top with precipitous views along the coast to the north and the south.

Bangalley Park and Avalon Head

Careel Head, Little Head and Barrenjoey Head

Little Head and Barrenjoey Head

From the lookouts, the path winds through the bush before descending steeply to Whale Beach Road. The coastline is inaccessible here and it's over 1km before I reached the same again at Whale Beach itself.

The path along Bangalley Head

There is a steep set of steps on the north side of Bangalley Head

After following the 600m long beach, another set of steep steps climb back to the road and it's another 1.5km along the road to reach a narrow cut-through between some houses that leads to the southern end of Palm Beach, arguably one of the finest beaches in the Sydney area.

Whale Beach

Little Head

Careel Head and Bangalley Head

Palm Beach rockpool

Palm Beach

Aussie soap fans may recognise Palm Beach as the exterior setting for Home & Away. The beach is a tombolo, a landform in which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. In this case, Palm Beach is the spit and Barrenjoey Head is the tied island.

Barrenjoey Headland

I followed Palm Beach north until I reached Governor Phillip Park, named after Admiral Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, who founded the British penal colony that later became the city of Sydney. Pittwater was the first place in Australia formally named by Governor Phillip, in honour of William Pitt, then Prime Minister of England.

Governor Phillip Park

Pittwater and West Head

Station Beach

On the opposite side of Palm Beach is Station Beach which leads into the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park where the path divides. While both options climb to the Barrenjoey lighthouse, one consists of a series of steep steps (the Smugglers Track) and one a longer, more gradual 4x4 track (the Barrenjoey Lighthouse Track, though it is still steep in places). I opted for the latter, taking the track that winds up through the bush onto the headland (the Smugglers Track is the best option for descent). Clearings in the trees revealed a superb view of Palm Beach.

Accessing the Lighthouse Track

The Lighthouse Track

Pittwater

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

Barrenjoey and Palm Beach

Before long I reached the lighthouse atop the headland. It was completed in 1881 and is located on the most northerly point of Sydney, overlooking Broken Bay and the entrance to Pittwater. Close by is the grave of George Mulhall, the first keeper at the lighthouse and a short trek beyond are the remains of a Stuart Tower - the first such lighthouse on Barrenjoey.

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

The vast Broken Bay

The marker for the old Stuart Tower

Barrenjoey Lighthouse

The grave of George Mulhall - the first lighthouse keeper

I had a wander around the headland before making my way back towards Palm Beach along the Smugglers Track. While its name suggests a more illicit purpose, the Smugglers Track was actually built by customs officers in around 1850 (prior to the lighthouse's construction) to monitor any smugglers bringing contraband into Broken Bay.

Palm Beach

The Smugglers Track

After being deposited back on Station Beach, it was time to start making for home - or at least back to Newport Beach to collect the car. Buses frequrntly run up and down the coast, connected the northern most suburbs to either the ferries at Manly or the main trains at Wynyard Station.