A tour of the Narrabeen Lagoon trail, located in Narrabeen, a suburb on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia.
The Narrabeen Lagoon trail is an 8.5km loop with a combination of dirt, elevated walking platforms, and paved paths. Although many sections have been in place for decades, the large final pieces of the loop, the large bridges at the western end of the lagoon, were put in place in 2015.
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The trail is well maintained and is also pram friendly. It is widely regarded as one of the best walks in Sydney. In November 2019 yet another section of the trail was opened, a raised metal boardwalk, which takes above the water and avoids the need to be pinned against the Wakehurst Parkway, which was the most narrow section of the loop and a problem if you ever needed to overtake a slow group. You can see this section under construction at 4:26min in the video.
There are many interesting sights around this trail. On the animal side you can keep a keen eye out for the black swans, which you are almost guaranteed to see somewhere along the path. There is also the occasional snake around, including red belly black snakes, green tree snakes and a well known large diamond python living not far from Jamieson Park. Having said that, and before you start to get worried about coming to your death via snake bite, after circling the lagoon dozens and dozens of times I have personally only seen 3 snakes. Ducks can be found all around the lagoon, particular around the Narrabeen shops section, where ducklings are also seen almost year round.
Bilarong Reserve on the northern side of the Narabeen Lagoon offers plenty of space for BBQs and picnics. There is a large playground, public toilets and lots of grass space, and of course easy access to the water.
Further west at Middle Creek Reserve are yet more BBQs, water refills, new public toilets and a very handy bike repair stand, complete with pump and basic tools.
Jamieson Park is yet another popular BBQ location on the trail, located on the southern side of the lagoon. There are more BBQs here, along with public toilets and a shop for renting stand-up paddle boards, kayaks and other water equipment.
The eastern side of the lagoon runs up against the back of shops on Pittwater Road. Along here is the best spot to find lunch, as there are a large variety of options within a short distance. There is also a Coles supermarket located just across Pittwater Road, easily reached by foot within a minute or two.
Narrabeen Lagoon Trail – Other Adventures Nearby
The Narrabeen Lagoon Trail is ideally placed along the Sydney Northern Beaches to place you in the driver’s set for several other excellent walks. Head towards the ocean and North Narrabeen Headland Trail, which takes you along Turimetta Beach to Warriewood Beach. From there you can then link up with the Mona Vale Beach Path and beyond there to the Mona Vale Headland Reserve Trail. Or for something different, consider a visit to the Warriewood Downhill Trail, hidden away in a bush setting just seconds from suburbia. To the south you could start with the Long Reef Headland Trail.
Narrabeen Lagoon Trail – Getting There
The trail is easily accessible via public transport with the B-Line bus stop getting you right next to the trail at Narrabeen. If you are coming by car then there is a wide variety of paid council car parking surrounding the lagoon. Various free street parking options are also available, particularly around the eastern side of the lagoon.
View our big list of walks, to check out our other adventure options.
Gear used:
- Camera: https://amzn.to/2YU36Zu
- Awesome value camera mount kits: https://amzn.to/2LFJF34
