A tour of the Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tracks, walking along both Smugglers Track and Barrenjoey Track. The trail is approximately 1km each way, world famous for Home and Away and easily on a list of the best walks in Sydney.
Our entry point to the track is from the north end of Governor Phillip Park carpark. There is then a beach walk across sand of approximately 300 metres before you reach the beginning of the tracks that lead up to the Barrenjoey lighthouse.
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After the beach walk you are left with a choice of 2 different trails to walk up to the Barrenjoey Lighthouse:
1) Smugglers Trail: Smugglers Trail is a steep express route up to the lighthouse. The route consists of stairs, stairs and more stairs. The trail has views south over Palm Beach the entire time.
2) Barrenjoey Track: The Barrenjoey Track is the default route for most people. This is a wide path, most likely the access road for any ranger vehicles. Although taking this path avoids stairs, there are still many very steep sections on the track, so taking a pram along is going to end up in a lot of hard work.
My recommendation for which track to take? Go up the Smugglers Track, get up to the lighthouse quickly and enjoy the views. Then take the Barrenjoey Track back down. Stairs down is always a lot harder on the knees.
Once you are at the Barrenjoey Lighthouse then also spend an extra 10 minutes taking the walk right out to the farthest point possible on the headland. This is where you will be even further rewarded with amazing views.
Now that we are talking about views, you will be spoiled with almost 360 degree views across to the Central Coast and south over the entire Northern Beaches Peninsula. Instagram-worthy photos can be had at many points, just remember to keep safety in mind when lining up these photos.
Partly due to the fact that Palm Beach is the fictional location of Summer Bay in the tv show “Home and Away”, and also of course due to the amazing views on this trail, it is very popular. This video was taken mid Sunday morning in the middle of Winter. Large crowds started to appear near lunchtime. It is recommended to take this walk either mid-week or early in the morning to avoid crowds.
Barrenjoey Lighthouse – Other Adventures Nearby
After finishing the the Barrenjoey Lighthouse Track you can then jump in the car and head 10 minutes south to Bangalley Headland and Careel Headland Trail, or another 10 minutes south towards Newport would take you to the South Bilgola Headland Trail.
Barrenjoey Lighthouse – Getting There
For public transport, the L90 (from the city) or 199 (from Dee Why) bus will take you to the entry of Governor Phillip Park. You will then need to walk a few hundred meters along towards the beach start that can be seen in the video. If you are driving then paid parking options are available in Governor Phillip Park. Free street parking anywhere close in the Palm Beach area is extremely limited.
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
