8 Best Spots in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase
Over the past couple of months, as the public restrictions started to ease, I decided to continue exploring new areas around the city. When I moved to Australia earlier this year, I thought I would spend the winter season exploring some trendy urban areas and trying out new restaurants. Instead, I’ve decided to play it safe and stay in nature to avoid close encounters with other human beings as much as possible. In this blog article, I will discuss my favourite spots in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park which is located about an hour north from Sydney’s city centre. The park is quite large and there is a lot to see. Almost all of the locations listed below require their own day trip.
Note: some areas of the park have a $12/day entry fee per vehicle.
Located at the very end of Palm Beach, Barrenjoey Head is by far one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sydney. I was surprised to learn that this area of Palm Beach is part of the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. If you walk to the end of the inner beach (Station Beach) you will see the starting point of the short hiking trail that takes you to the top of the hill. The view from the lighthouse is absolutely phenomenal and is a must-do for anyone visiting Sydney!
Tip: when visiting Palm Beach, especially during the summer months, make sure you arrive early. The parking lot tends to get packed very quickly.
Palm Beach is the perfect place to do a family/friends barbecue or a picnic on the beach. However, if you’ve forgot to pack something or just prefer eating at a restaurant, I would recommend checking out The Boathouse.
All the way down Pittwater Bay, there is a very beautiful and quiet area called Bayview/Church Point. I drove there a bit randomly on my way to West Head, and I just had to stop. The area is incredibly peaceful and the view is breathtaking (not to mention the beautiful mansions located in the background). There is a walking path along the water which I strongly encourage you to take. If you happen to be there and hungry, I saw a cute restaurant called The Marina Café which looks good, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try it myself yet.
Next on the list is West Head lookout, which is probably the second most popular destination in this park after Palm Beach lighthouse. In fact, from there you get a stunning view on Palm Beach and Barrenjoey Head. The beach looks ridiculously small and narrow from that angle! On the other side of the lookout, you get to see the beaches of Central Coast & Bouddi National Park.
Tip: #3, 4 & 5 can be done within the same day if you leave early :)
From West Head lookout, I encourage you to go on a hike to Resolute Beach, a place only accessible by foot or by boat. You can park your car near West Head and hike down to the beach from there. You can chose to go to the beach and return via the same path, or do the full loop. The latter takes about 1:30 hour in total. On your way, you will pass a couple of aboriginal sites including the famous Red Hands Track.
This beautiful bay is a 5-min drive down from West Head. This easy hike takes between 1.5 to 2 hours (return) and is THE perfect spot for a sunset picnic! The view is just mesmerising and the colours reflected on the water keep changing as the sun goes down.
Jerusalem Bay is located on the complete opposite side of America Bay near a town called Cowan. You can get there by train or car. The hike starts from the train stations and it takes about 45 minutes to reach the bay. On your way, you will see some amazing plant species and will feel like you’re visiting some sort of rainforest.
Tip: #6, 7 & 8 can done the same day if you leave really early in the morning.
Once you have reached Jerusalem Bay, you have different hiking options. Your first option is to simply go back to Cowan train station. Your second option would be to climb all the way up to Taffy’s Lookout then back to Cowan train station. Now, please note that this is quite a challenging hike. Not only is it very steep but the nature in this area is pretty raw; the hiking trail hasn’t been maintained. My friends and I have used the app Maps.Me in order to find the exact path that leads to the lookout. A third option would be to hike all the way to Brooklyn, but please note that the total duration of the trail (Cowan to Brooklyn train station) is 5:30 hours minimum. If you decide to also explore Taffy’s Lookout, you will need to add 1:30 hour to that.
I personally chose not to do the full Cowan to Brooklyn hike (#7) as I was too short on time and already very tired. Instead, I headed back to Brooklyn on a separate day and spent a full day there, which was absolutely awesome. I flew the drone over Dangar Island, which I also intend to visit in the near future, but I will wait for the summer months. I then had lunch at Kind Tide Café followed by a walk to Upper McKell Park. I then ventured along the train track until I got to Hawkesbury River Bridge where I stayed and read a book for a few hours. I got blessed with a bright purple sunset on my way back! What a dream!
Fun fact: Brooklyn is home to the Riverboat Postman, a local post office that delivers mail by boat to some of the surrounding homes.