Looking for the ultimate Sydney coastal walk? The Spit to Manly walk delivers one of the best urban hikes in Australia, blending stunning harbour views, secluded beaches, and rich indigenous and colonial history. From the hidden cliffside shacks of Crater Cove and the peaceful shores of Reef Beach to the historic resort town of Manly, this iconic 10-kilometre trail offers a front-row seat to Sydney Harbour's dramatic landscapes.
The Spit Bridge to Manly Walk
📍 SYDNEY AND SURROUNDS
Distance10.0 km
Duration02:50 hrs
Elev Gain+228 m
Elev Lost-219 m
Date
29 October 2023
Starting Point
Spit Bridge
Difficulty
Moderate
Pace / Gear
4.4 km/h — Light day pack
Highlights
Fisher Bay, Clontarf, Grotto Point, Crater Cove, Dobroyd Head, North Harbour
🗺️ Interactive Route MapPinch or use wheel to zoom
The Spit Bridge to Manly walk is the crown jewel of the Manly Scenic Walkway and comfortably ranks among the most popular coastal walks in Sydney—if not the world. According to TripAdvisor, it sits proudly in the top 10% of global attractions, and it's easy to see why. Today, it also serves as one of the standout highlight sections of the much grander Bondi to Manly Walk, the epic 80 km urban coastal trail linking Sydney's two most iconic beaches.
Bondi to Manly has become a popular challenge for many
The true appeal of the trail lies in its sheer variety. As it winds through the Sydney Harbour National Park and several protected bushland reserves, it takes in ancient Aboriginal rock engravings, hidden coves, and some of the finest viewpoints on the harbour. Because it’s a point-to-point walk, you can tackle it in either direction, though finishing up in Manly is hard to beat—trading quiet bush tracks for a celebratory post-walk pint and a ferry ride home.
For us, getting to the trailhead first requires a train into the city followed by a bus heading north across the harbour, disembarking right at the northern foot of Spit Bridge. There are public restrooms here, and you can easily grab a pre-walk coffee and a bite to eat at the waterside cafe before setting off on the trail.
The hike begins by crossing the busy Spit Bridge along a narrow footpath, before ducking sharply down beneath the northern abutments to meet the shoreline of Middle Harbour. Here, you step straight onto the official Spit-Manly Track. Originally opened back in 1988 as the "Manly Scenic Walkway"—a formal title that lives on in maps and official signage while everyone locally just calls it the Spit to Manly—it remains one of the finest stretches of walking track in Sydney.
Middle Harbour - gloomy for now but the weather was forecast to cheer up
Below Spit Bridge
The current highway traffic owes its existence to a bit of local history. The very first crossing at The Spit was a wooden bridge built back in 1924; before that, a local farmer named Peter Ellery ran a rowing boat to ferry passengers across the water on request—a history commemorated today by the small park bearing his name, Ellery's Punt Reserve. The modern lifting bridge went up in 1958 and remains a crucial bottleneck across Middle Harbour, still swinging open at set intervals throughout the day to let mast-bearing yachts through, much to the despair of peak-hour drivers.
The foreshore path winds quietly through Ellery's Punt Reserve and around the lush, sheltered fringes of Fisher Bay. Along the way, you'll spot some weathered old water pipes embedded in the landscape—surviving relics from the days when water was pumped here to supply the steam trams that once ran the local lines. The trail continues past Bradley's Point and into the idyllic idyll of Sandy Bay before rolling into Clontarf Reserve. Named after the coastal suburb in Dublin, Clontarf is a pleasant spot today, but it holds a grim place in history.
Manly Scenic Walkway
Fisher Bay
Fisher Bay
On that fateful afternoon, Prince Alfred—Queen Victoria’s second son—was guest of honour at a massive charity sailor's picnic. As he mingled with the crowd, Henry James O’Farrell stepped out from the picnickers, pulled a pistol, and fired point-blank at the Duke's back. In what sounds like historical fiction, the bullet was deflected by the thick rubber buckle of the Duke’s braces (or suspenders, depending on who you ask), saving him from a fatal wound and leaving him with nothing worse than a nasty bruise.
Fisher Bay
Sandy Bay
Unsurprisingly, O’Farrell was found guilty and hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol just a month later, despite the merciful Prince actively petitioning the court for clemency on his behalf. In the wake of the shock, grateful citizens across the colony dug deep into their pockets to raise funds for a "substantial monument in testimony of the heartfelt gratitude of the community at the recovery of HRH". That public fund ultimately laid the foundation stone for the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) in Sydney’s inner west, which officially opened its doors in 1882.
Clontarf Beach
Clontarf Point
Clontarf Beach
The hike really kicks into gear just past Clontarf Point as you cross the threshold into Sydney Harbour National Park. The track becomes a gorgeous, undulating ribbon of sandstone and bushland hugging the coastline, winding towards Castle Beach and the heights of Dobroyd Head with magnificent water views opening up at every turn. Along the way, there's an optional signposted detour out to Grotto Point Lighthouse; however, it tacks on an extra kilometre of rugged, boulder-strewn bush track to the tip of the peninsula, so it’s definitely not for everyone if you're keen to keep a steady pace.
The rugged shoreline of the Harbour National Park
On the Clontarf Track
Castle Rock Beach
There are plenty of filtered views across the harbour
The path begins to climb Dobroyd Head
Sydney Harbour National Park
Sydney Harbour National Park
As the path climbs up towards Dobroyd Head, a short, easy diversion just off the main track brings you to the Grotto Point Aboriginal engraving site—some of the most accessible and impressive Indigenous rock art in the Sydney area. The site occupies a classic traditional location on an elevated, sloping shelf of flat Hawkesbury sandstone. Large timber frames have been constructed around each of the deeply carved figures to protect them from foot traffic, but deliberately without intrusive fences, allowing you to get right up close.
South Head
Middle Head
A closer look reveals a rich snapshot of coastal Indigenous life etched into the rock, including outlines of boomerangs, fish, sharks, a large kangaroo, and even a fairy penguin. Aboriginal history relies on an unbroken oral tradition where law, ecological knowledge, and spiritual history are passed down through generations of storytelling. These ancient carvings on the sandstone shelf directly connect the traditional custodians of the area—the Gai-mariagal people—to their Creation and the living landscape of Sydney Harbour. Estimated to be around 1,000 years old, the engravings were meticulously made by pecking a series of holes using the sharp edge of quartz implements or hard stone axes, then smoothing or joining the grooves to form the striking silhouettes we see today.
Grotto Point engravings
Leaving the engravings behind, the track climbs higher towards the summit of Dobroyd Head, where the surrounding vegetation shifts dramatically. The tall eucalypts pull back, giving way to a dense, rugged expanse of gnarled Banksia bushes—a classic signature of New South Wales coastal scrubland. The broad, easy-walking path soon opens out onto a sun-bleached sandstone ledge and lookout, revealing the breathtaking and dramatic drop of Crater Cove down below.
Crater Cove
From the ledge, the view across the harbour mouth is nothing short of world-class: the rugged bluffs of North Head and South Head stand guard over the ocean, complete with the distinctive red-and-white stripes of Hornby Lighthouse, while Middle Head juts out sharply in front of the distant city skyline. Standing here, it's wild to picture the deep-time scale of the landscape. During the last ice age, sea levels were roughly 100 metres lower than they are today, pushing the ancient coastline several kilometres further east. What is now the sparkling blue expanse of Sydney Harbour was once a deep, tree-lined sandstone gorge, looking remarkably like the dramatic slot canyons of the Blue Mountains.
South Head
Crater Cove
Middle Harbour
Tucked into the cliffs of Crater Cove is a curious cluster of weathered cabins. The first was built in 1923 from driftwood, eventually replaced by sturdier dwellings made of local stone and corrugated iron. While informal shack settlements once dotted Sydney's coast—peaking during the Great Depression as people sought a rent-free life of fishing—almost all have vanished. Today, these cabins and those in the Royal National Park are the final surviving examples of this coastal era.
Crater Cove huts
From the Dobroyd Head lookout, the trail serves up one last sweeping panorama of the harbour entrance before beginning its descent past the cliffs toward the shore, bringing you out onto the peaceful sands of Reef Beach as the track loops around toward North Harbour.
Fairlight Lookout
Dobroyd Head
North Harbour
Sydney Heads
Manly
South Head
Dobroyd Head
Reef Beach is a formally declared Aboriginal Place of the Gai-mariagal people, protected under New South Wales law in recognition of its deep cultural significance. Tucked just off the track, a quiet, overgrown shell midden—the ancient remains of countless centuries of coastal meals—lies hidden in the landscape for those who know where to look. The Spit to Manly track passes right along the edge of the beach as it winds onwards toward North Harbour.
Reef Beach
With the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip carried strict instructions from King George III to "endeavour by every possible means to open an Intercourse with the Natives and to conciliate their affections." When the local Indigenous Eora people understandably kept their distance from the newly established settlement of Sydney Town, a frustrated Phillip decided to force the issue. He ordered the capture of an Indigenous man to act as a forced intermediary, translator, and cultural go-between—a tragic practice that began with the kidnapping of a man named Arabanoo from Manly Cove later that year.
Reef Bay
Reef Bay
It was right here in present-day North Harbour that Captain Phillip had earlier observed the "manly behaviour" of the local Indigenous men—prompting him to name the area Manly Cove, a title that stuck permanently. The capture of Arabanoo was deeply distressing and violent, yet after his initial imprisonment and the removal of his manacles months later, Arabanoo chose to remain among the colonists. He spent his remaining time living at Government House, working to bridge the cultural divide by sharing his people's language, customs, and names before tragically dying of smallpox just over a year later.
Forty Baskets Beach
Forty Baskets Beach
Reef Bay
Tragically, Arabanoo's life was cut short when he contracted smallpox during the devastating epidemic that swept through the Indigenous population. He was buried in Governor Phillip's garden, and Phillip later wrote of his deep sorrow and respect for him. With zero immunity to introduced European diseases, an estimated half of the Sydney region's Aboriginal population was wiped out within just fifteen months of the First Fleet's arrival.
The path around North Harbour is entirely dependent on the tides—or your willingness to get your feet wet. On a warm day, wading straight through the shallows is the best option, splashing across the clear water to reach the grassy expanse of North Harbour Reserve. After a brief diversion along the local residential streets, the track dips back down to the shore, bringing you out onto the scenic boardwalk and historic stone ocean baths of Fairlight Beach and Fairlight Pool.
Kookaburra
North Harbour Sailing Club
North Harbour
Fairlight Pool is a direct remnant of Manly's early days as a planned resort. Often remembered as the "Father of Manly", a retired English merchant and banker named Henry Gilbert Smith arrived in the 1850s and bought up vast tracts of land with a singular grand vision. He set out to transform the rugged peninsula into an English-style seaside resort town, commissioning a grand estate called Fairlight House (which ultimately gave the surrounding suburb its name) and laying out infrastructure—including the original wharf and tidal swimming baths—so that day-trippers could escape the bustle of Sydney Cove and enjoy the fresh coastal air.
North Harbour
Fairlight Beach
To attract Sydneysiders across the water, Smith launched the area's first dedicated steam ferry service and built the grand Pier Hotel right opposite the wharf. While residential blocks sold slowly at first, he heavily subsidized the town's growth by building the necessary infrastructure—donating land for parks, schools, churches, a School of Arts, and a police station. Today, only the sandstone fence remains of Fairlight House, the magnificent two-storey Georgian mansion Smith built for his family in the 1850s. Meanwhile, those iconic, towering Norfolk Island Pines that line the waterfront path were actually planted by the property's subsequent owner, shaping the postcard-worthy Manly silhouette we see today.
One of the contemporary ferries that ply the waters of Sydney Harbour
We followed the path a short distance to the ferry wharf at Manly Cove to conclude the penultimate leg of the Spit to Manly track. Manly has long celebrated its reputation as a premier tourist destination, thanks to its stunning setting flanked by the Pacific Ocean and easy, scenic accessibility by ferry. That relaxed coastal lifestyle, world-class beaches, and close proximity to Sydney have also driven Manly's real estate prices up to rank among the highest in Australia.
Manly Wharf
Manly
We stopped for a cold drink at one of Manly’s lively bars before strolling down the pedestrian-only Corso to sit right by the ocean, indulging in some classic people-watching while we waited for the next ferry back to the city. The iconic Sydney-Manly ferry ride remains one of the absolute best ways to experience the harbour, especially as the late afternoon sun casts a warm, golden glow across the water and the city skyline.
Many Wharf
Dobroyd Head
A perfect day for a sail in the harbour
The Gunners Barracks on Middle Head
Sydney Opera House
Sydney CBD
Approaching Circular Quay
Sydney Opera House
The Aboriginal and Australian flags fly over the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Manly ferry at Circular Quay
Arriving back in Sydney, it is hard not to reflect on the sheer variety packed into this section of the trail. From ancient Guringai and Gai-mariagal rock engravings and the hidden history of the Crater Cove shacks to the tranquil waters of Reef Beach and the vibrant buzz of Manly, the Spit to Manly walk delivers a remarkable cross-section of Sydney's coastal heritage. It is a fantastic stretch of walking that finishes right where it should—with a cold drink, a golden harbour crossing, and the best view in town.
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