A tour of the Long Reef Headland Trail, located on the Sydney Northern Beaches.
The Long Reef Headland Trail is a loop of approximately 3kms. Our start point to the track is at Fishermans Beach, located just off Anzac Avenue, Collaroy.
If you would prefer, you can check out the video directly on the Sunday Explorer YouTube channel (link opens in a new window).
There is a large amount of variety on this walk, with dirt paths, cemented paths, wooden boardwalks and even a bit of sand thrown in too. This makes it worthy of adding to a list of the best walks in Sydney.
We start the tour at Fishermans Beach. The Long Reef Golf Club overlooks this body of water, which is mainly popular for fishing, diving and the boat ramp making it frequently used by boaters, kayakers and stand up paddle boarders. Collaroy Beach, a surf beach, is just around the other side of the ocean pool to the north, accessible via the sand.
A paved pathway follows the road towards the top of the hill. The Long Reef Golf Course runs to the right side of the path, providing constant great views over the rolling fairways. At the top of the road section we walk through the car park area and take a quick detour (literally 30 seconds) left along a short dirt path, where we are rewarded of views across Collaroy Beach, Narrabeen Beach and beyond to the north.
Continuing back up the main path we wind our way to the top of the headland. This area is extremely popular with the paragliding community. On almost every weekend throughout the year, assuming that the winds are right, you will find paragliders waiting to take flight. The top of the headland provides 360 degree views, south across Long Reef Beach and as far as Manly Beach, north to the Narrabeen North Headland (where you can find the Narrabeen North Headland Trail) and beyond and also west across the Long Reef Golf Course.
At this point most people will continue along the paved pathway, following the Long Reef Golf Course, but not us. We take the stone stairs to the east, heading down towards the water and through the gate. The trail winds down to the sand, providing access to a small sandy beach on the north side, and a small sandy beach and rock shelf to the east. Mainly down in this area you will find rock fishermen and stand up paddle boarders who are looking for easy access to the water. These two sandy beaches are the perfect spots to have picnics, just remember to please take your rubbish with you. Also worth noting is that this is a marine aquatic reserve area, and dogs are not allowed.
Back up at the top of the headland we now head west, following the paved pathway beside the golf course. To the left we have expansive views over Long Reef Beach and to the right over the Long Reef Golf Course. At the bottom of the hill a wooden boardwalk begins, it is short at 50 meters at the most, but one of my favourite parts of the walk, there is just so much variety on offer.
After following a short stretch of gravel path, and then a paved path, we drop into a different raised boardwalk, this time surrounded by trees. You may notice a collection of garden gnomes here, a collection which has been updated regularly over the last several years. At the time of the video recording they had a Christmas theme happening.
Finally the path exits the raised wooden boardwalk area and follows the Griffith Park off-leash dog park area. There are always plenty of dogs in this area, and no fences, so if you are extremely dog-shy then consider cutting up one of the side access paths to Pittwater Road and walking along there instead. Having said that, I love dogs, and the worst I have ever had happen in this area was being on the receiving end of a dose of unwanted dog slobber.
We finish the trail at the tennis courts of the Griffith Park Tennis Academy. From here you can turn right and walk a couple of hundred meters along the road to take you back to the start point, or stay on Pittwater Road and walk back to Collaroy. A cafe and takeaway shop can also be found right on the corner of Anzac Avenue and Pittwater Road.
Long Reef Headland Trail – Other Adventures Nearby
One you have finished this walk then a 10 minute car ride north, or one stop on the B-Line double-decker yellow bus, will take you to Narrabeen, here you can check out the Narrabeen Lagoon Trail and the Narrabeen Headland Trail. A few more minutes north will take you to Irrawong Reserve, Warriewood Wetlands East and Warriewood Wetlands West and many more options. Check out our big list of walks.
Long Reef Headland Trail – Getting There
If you are coming to the area by car then take the turnoff for the Long Reef Golf Club and you will find plenty of paid/metered parking in front of Fishermans Beach. Free street parking is also easily available in Anzac Avenue and nearby streets in Collaroy Basin and will only add a couple of minutes to your walk. If you are on the bus then the big double-decker yellow B-Line bus from the city will take you to Collaroy Beach bus stop. From there it is a 10 minute walk south to the start of the trail, walk the backstreets close to the beach instead of Pittwater Road for much nicer views. Other all-stops buses also stop right at the corner of Anzac Avenue and Pittwater Road if you want something a bit closer.
Note: You may notice lots of helicopter noise in the video. Sadly, at the time of filming, there was a police search and rescue operation in progress for a boat which had capsized off the point. A man, believed to be in his 60s, lost his life. There was a large NSW Police and Surf Rescue presence largely around Fishermans Beach, where the body was recovered. I chose not to record any of those activities, so the very first part of the trail is not shown in this video.
Gear used:
- Camera: https://amzn.to/2YU36Zu
- Awesome value camera mount kits: https://amzn.to/2LFJF34
