A tour of the Chiltern Trail Reserve trail, located in Ingleside, a suburb on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia.
The Chiltern Trail is a feeder trail into the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, where you can find many more hikes. As such, this track is often viewed as a “transit route”, also frequented by horses and MTBs. So many walks in this area could be added to a list of the best walks in Sydney.
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There are two main sections to the trail. First, the “Chiltern Trail” which runs into the National Park. This is a 1.5km fire trail running from Chiltern Road, Ingleside down to McCarrs Creek Road inside the National Park. Be sure to check out the rock platform on the side of the Chiltern Track for great views over the National Park. This is your run-of-the-mill fire trail, lots of small rocks scattered about and although at times it can be steep, it is not exactly difficult to walk. Children will be able to manage with encouragement.
The second section is “Chiltern Trail North” which is a small loop at the northern most end of Chiltern Road. This is flat, no more than 1km and an easy walk. In the video you can see that I also stumbled across an open area, most likely used for parties over the year. The Chiltern Trail North is a fabulous option if you are nearby the area and have a spare 30 minutes and just want to get into nature. This loop seems to be popular with locals, including dog walkers. There are also a couple of spots which have sweeping views of the valley.
Chiltern Trail – Other Adventures Nearby
At the end of the Chiltern Trail you literally cross the road and arrive at the location of the Gledhill Falls. There are also plenty of other trail options to be found throughout the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. If your plan is to try some others a little closer to suburbia then a few nearby options are the Irrawong Falls in Warriewood, Dundundra Falls in Terrey Hills or maybe even venture over to the Mueller Track inside the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens.
Chiltern Trail – Getting There
Finding public transport to the start of the track will be on the difficult side. Relatively regular buses should get you as close as Mona Vale Road, Ingleside, but you will then need to walk the approximately 1km to the beginning of the trail. If you have a car then it is all easy going. The properties located around this area are all semi-rural, resulting in free street parking being found easily almost everywhere.
If you want to start from the end of the trail and work your way back up then there is parking located inside the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. There are a few car spots on West Head Road, near the corner of McCarrs Creek Road, these are within the National Park, but outside of the park gates, so the parking is free. These spots are very popular on weekends, so it will be a gamble as to whether or not you get one. Take the easy option at start at the Ingleside end!
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
