If your idea of heaven is walking for kilometres along sweeping golden beaches and cliff top tracks offering panoramic ocean views, then the Botany Bay Coastal Walk should definitely be on your list.
As well as amazing views, you’ll also visit the Cape Baily Lighthouse and the only beach you can drive on in Sydney. If you’re lucky enough to be able to walk the track during the annual Humpback whale migration (May to October) you’re very likely to spot some of these incredible animals.
Here’s what to expect from one of Sydney’s best coastal trails.
The Botany Bay Coastal Walk
The stats
Distance: 11.8km
Elevation: 100m
Difficulty: Easy
Type of trail: One way
The Botany Bay Coastal Walk is an easy, but relatively long coastal walk. There’s almost no elevation at all.
We recommend allowing at least three hours to do the walk (the sand slows you down a bit!) and more if you want to see whales or just take in the views.
The walk logistics
Due to the length of the trail - unless you’re happy to do a really long walk - you’ll probably want to organise a car shuffle or use public transport. The trains run frequently from Central Station to Cronulla, one end of this walk, but buses run less frequently to Kurnell.
It’s definitely best to start your day at the Kurnell/Botany Bay end of the trail, so that you can catch a convenient bus, and end in Cronulla where you won’t usually wait long for a train.
The first 3.5km follows the Cape Baily track to the lighthouse, if you’d prefer a shorter walk, we’ve got a detailed guide to that track as a return walk here which is why you’ll see the time of day change in the photos, as they’re taken from two separate trips : )
Starting the trail in Kurnell
We were hiking with friends, so could do a car shuffle - which is definitely the most convenient way to do the walk. We decided to park at Polo Street, which doesn’t incur any parking charges, but you could also park at Cape Solander and knock 1.2km off the trail if preferred.
If you’re starting at Polo Street, you’ll head through the gate, past the national park sign and along a wide path lined with forest on either side.
It’s a flat and easy start to the walk, a theme which continues all the way through. It’s probably one of the flattest trails we’ve ever walked in Sydney, especially as you cover almost 12km!
After 400m take the narrow bush trail on your left, which can get really muddy after rain.
You’ll head down this path for a further 400m before you need to make another left turn, the trail is unmarked. It’s wide and stony, and again can become a bit boggy after rain.
You’ll meet the road in less than five minutes and turn right to get to Cape Solander Lookout, just a few hundred metres away.
Cape Solander Lookout
Cape Solander Lookout is one of Sydney’s premier whale watching spots. If you’re visiting during whale season on a weekend you’ll find it’s an incredibly popular spot.
For a few months of the season you’ll see volunteers here on the weekends doing the annual whale count.
We always stop for a chat and find out how the season is going and what they’ve seen that day. They’ll help you spot whales if you’ve never tried before and aren’t sure what to look for.
Although we’re pretty sure we’ve only seen Humpbacks, you can also see Minkes, Southern right whales and even dolphins and seals.
You can stand at the lookout and try and spot them, or sit on the cliff top in front of the viewing platform, but you’ve got a high chance of spotting whales along most of the track, so if it’s busy you can find a quieter spot further along the walk.
Heading to Cape Baily Lighthouse
I love this part of the walk as you’re following the cliff tops for the majority of the way.
You can carve out your own track along the cliff tops for part of the way and the chance to spot whales is really high, we were particularly lucky when walking in June, where we saw many, very close to the cliffs.
In July, when we returned to walk the whole route to Cronulla we still saw quite a few but at a much greater distance. It’s all luck when it comes to wildlife I guess! Either way it’s pretty magical, and even if you’re walking out of whale season this track is still spectacular.
There are also long sections of metal boardwalk on the 3.5km section of track between Cape Solander and Cape Baily Lighthouse.
The first time we did this walk, many years ago, that wasn’t the case and it was so boggy! The new boardwalks are a delight and make this walk so easy and enjoyable.
You’ll have fab ocean views to your left and heath and hanging swamps to your right. It’s an absolutely stunning part of the walk.
When you arrive at the lighthouse you can take the little sandy path right up to the lighthouse itself, although to be honest it looks better from a distance, as up close you can’t see the top very well!
Don’t forget to look back on where you came from for some great city views.
Onto Doughboy Head (yes, really)
Continuing on from Cape Baily Lighthouse, you’ll follow the narrow bush track and then metal boardwalk along the coast before coming out to a huge rocky platform where you can choose your own route.
Although sometimes there was boardwalk running further away from the cliff top, we chose to walk beside the ocean for as long as possible.
There’s some great rock formations along the way and it’s fun to climb up and down the rocks as you go. This part of the walk is also significantly quieter on a weekend than the part up to Cape Baily.
After 1.6km you’ll come to Potters Point which has huge metal poles coming out of the ground, we looked them up online after the walk to find out what they were.
They’re actually marking a sewage outlet, it’s then described online as a favourite spot with fishermen……eeeek!
The views continue to be fantastic, you can see Cronulla in the distance as well as all the way to Royal National Park. It’s just 100m from Potters Point to the wonderfully named Doughboy Head!
The sand here is made up of lots of tiny shell fragments, many of which are pink, which was quite lovely and not something we’d seen before.
There are also some little rockpools which are protected from the big waves by a series of rocks and we could see lots of red sea anemones clinging to them which made for quite a trippy photo!
Heading onto Boat Harbour
We’re not sure if you can carry on walking along the rocks for longer or not, but we felt it was too close to the waves at this point so we opted to take the inland track running behind Doughboy Head.
The inland track is quite narrow and as with the very beginning of the track from Polo Street, a little muddy. Nothing that you can’t get around but if it’s been really wet, prepare for mud!
You’ll soon get views of Boat Harbour which is a unique beach in Sydney, in that it is the only one you are allowed to drive on! It transported us back to Lighthouse Beach in Seal Rocks which is the last place we’d sat watching the 4WD’s thundering up and down the sand.
It’s a really pretty beach with quite calm water in the first bay. If you’re walking on the weekend you’ll likely see lots of 4WD’s lined up and people picnicking nearby. We even saw people who’d brought blow up sofas and their own BBQs!
It’s just under a kilometre from when you leave Doughboy Head to when you set foot on the sand at Boat Harbour.
Finishing the walk to Cronulla
For those that love nothing more than walking along the beach, this next section is probably one of the longest stretches of beach walking we’ve done in Sydney.
From the beach at Boat Harbour to Cronulla Beach we walked along the sand for 4.4km (it’s even longer if you are using public transport). As well as the joy that you can ditch your walking boots if you like, the other great thing about this stretch is that the sand is compact! That means that it’s really easy, which isn’t often the case when walking along the beach.
We found this stretch really relaxing. It might not sound very tranquil to walk along the beach when cars can drive down it, but there aren’t that many cars and the beach is wide enough to keep considerable distance from them. They’re also only allowed to drive on the first part of the beach!
All in all, I really enjoyed this part of the walk and could just zone out and enjoy the sound of the waves. It’s a beautiful beach and a really nice place for a swim at the end of the walk.
If you’re catching the train, you will walk further along the beach than we did and then up through the town to the train station. There are lots of nice places in Cronulla to grab a coffee or a glass of wine before heading back to the city.
Packing suggestions for the walk
Having the right gear can make a huge difference. Here’s what we pack and have relied upon for years:
Sunscreen: Cancer Council Active. With a high SPF, but not the greasy feel of other sunscreens. Makes a big difference when you’re working up a sweat on a sunny day! Check it out on Amazon
Good Rain Jacket: North Face This is an essential item we always pack in our bag! This jacket from North Face is designed to keep you dry but also comfortably warm (many rain jackets will make you feel like you’re in a sauna). Check it out on Amazon
Day Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). Check on Amazon or direct with Osprey
Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Check them out on Amazon
Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. Check them out on Amazon.
Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic. Check them out on Amazon
Essential information about the Botany Bay Coastal Walk
Parking for the walk
The Kurnell end - you can park on Polo Street, Kurnell which has free and unlimited parking. You park along the road and we never have trouble find a space. Alternatively you could skip the first 1.2km of the walk and park at Cape Solander which has a $8 day parking fee.
The Cronulla end - we parked one of the cars at the Wanda Surf Live Saving Club, which has masses of free and unlimited parking. We had no trouble finding a space even on a gorgeous sunny weekend.
Public transport to and from the walk
This is a walk which may be better on public transport if you don’t have two cars! It means you don’t have to retrace your steps and double the length of the walk!
The best way to get to the start of the walk at Polo St is to hop on the train and take the Illawarra Line from Central to Cronulla. From there you can get on the 987 bus which stops just outside Botany Bay National Park.
Once off the bus, walk down to the southern end of Polo Street to start the walk.
The end of the walk can finish at Cronulla Station. This will add on a little extra distance, but the train goes directly to Central Station.
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Are you planning on doing the Botany Bay Coastal Walk? What is your favourite coastal walk in Sydney? Let us know in the comments below!
