8 Best Royal National Park Walks

Just south of Sydney, Royal National Park is among our favorite day trips from the city. It offers spectacular hiking trails running at the top of high coastal cliffs, fabulous wild beaches and swimming holes, exciting sandstone rock formations, lush green temperate rainforests.

We spent a day here even on our very first Australian campervan trip. That was followed by countless more visits after we moved to Sydney. It’s a stunning park for hiking all year. In summer you can take a dip in the wild swimming holes, between May and October you have a chance to catch a glimpse of migrating Humpback whales.

A bit about the history of Royal National Park

Established in 1879, it’s actually the third oldest national park in the world. Originally, it was simply called National Park. Then after the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954, it was renamed to Royal National Park.

Oddly enough, there were efforts to turn the national park to a neat English park in the first days, introducing exotic flora and fauna. The main goal was to give the increasing number of Sydney residents a space for recreation, not to protect the natural environment – as it is today.

Best Royal National Park walks

Royal National Park is home to some of the best coastal hikes in New South Wales. Most of its beaches are dangerous to swim due to the large waves and strong currents, but the untamed, untouched coastline is part of the magic. And you can find safe places for a swim, too.

It’s a huge park, with hiking trails spread throughout, it’s not only the famous Coast Track. Visiting it certainly qualifies as a day trip from Sydney. It’s not far, but Sydney is huge, and traffic is heavy, so it usually takes about 1-1.5 hours to drive to Royal National Park.

We’ve hiked many trails in the park, and in this post we collected our favorite walks in Royal National Park:

Wattamolla to Curracurrong Falls & Eagle Rock

It’s an easy and incredibly scenic section of the Coast Track. It starts at the popular Wattamolla Lagoon, and takes you to two iconic sights of Royal National Park: Curracurrong Falls and Eagle Rock.

Most of the trail is on a flat metal boardwalk, with very little elevation change (there are some gradual uphills and downhills) and fantastic coastal views that you can enjoy for much of the way.

Providential Point

Don’t miss Providential Point in the beginning, it has the first amazing views of those characteristic coastal cliffs, and it’s also a popular whale-watching spot in winter.

Eagle Rock (or Eagle Head Rock)

Eagle Rock is a magnificent rock formation, jutting out of the cliff wall, that looks like an eagle’s beak. You can stand on it, but be careful as there’s no fence. It’s a large enough area, so you don’t need to be anywhere near the edge, and you can still get a good photo – as long as the photographer stands in the right place, further along the trail.

Curracurrong Falls

I think the best views of Curracurrong Falls can also be enjoyed from Eagle Rock. Curracurrong Falls is a twin waterfall, cascading directly into the ocean. You can have a stunning view both before you reach it (from Eagle Rock) and after it, so it’s worth venturing a bit further than the waterfall.

Detour to Curracurrang Falls

An optional detour takes you to a gorgeous swimming hole. Look for a side trail at the creek crossing, and the extra 200 meters path takes you through a fairy tale palm jungle and ends at another waterfall, called Curracurrang Falls (there’s one letter difference), with a deep swimming hole in front of it.

Then simply turn back and get back to Wattamolla the same way. Sunset is a spectacular time to enjoy the views at Curracurrong Falls, then hike back under the stars.

Bundeena to Wedding Cake Rock

Another iconic section of the Coast Track leads from Bundeena to Wedding Cake Rock. Wedding Cake Rock is probably the most famous spot in the park, thanks to all the photos posted about this unusual white limestone cliff edge. It’s truly worthy of attention: a completely natural vivid white rock formation, surrounded by yellow sandstone, and yes, it looks like a perfectly cut piece of wedding cake.

But before you even think of standing on it and taking that photo: don’t. It’s fenced off, because it’s unstable and can tumble into the water any time. It has been closed for years. You can walk to it and see it, but you can’t stand on it.

Still it’s spectacular rock formation to witness and photograph, and this part of the Coast Track follows the cliff edge for the most part, spoiling you with fantastic views of the rugged coastline. You’ll have a chance to spot migrating whales in the water between May and October.

If you have time, continue to Marley Beach, or even Wattamolla Lagoon, the head back the same way. The return hike to Wattamolla is a full day hike though.

Jibbon Beach Loop

Jibbon Beach is one of our favorites near Sydney, it’s among the few protected Royal National Park beaches, and there are usually a few boats anchored in the bay. The sand is perfectly golden, soft and fine, the water has a magically turquoise shade, and the lush green backdrop behind the beach makes the whole scene perfect. If you spend the full day sunbathing and swimming here, I won’t blame you.

If you’re after some exercise though, the Jibbon Beach Loop easily fits into about 2 hours. While it’s one of the easiest walks in Royal National Park, it doesn’t run on the coast for the most part. The best views are from the headland between Jibbon Beach and Shelley Beach. I also recommend visiting some well-preserved Aboriginal rock engravings, they’re only a few steps detour from the main track.

Dating back 2000 years, these engravings are an impressive display of respect for the animals the Tharawal people shared their land with. You can observe them from a boardwalk with a viewing platform.

Then continue to Port Hacking Point, an impressive coastal lookout, and further to Shelley Beach. After the beach the trail leaves the coast and continues in the bush. There’s a track that continues on the coastline, and I planned to take that, then return to Bundeena through The Balconies, but it turned out it’s not an official trail, and it was quite obvious it’s closed when I reached the crossing. So into the bush I went.

The terrain is gradually ascending, and if you don’t forget to look back from time to time, you can catch a few distant coastal views. Then you reach the parking lot for the Bundeena side of the Coast Track, and make your way back to Jibbon Beach on a narrow trail running by the edge of the town.

Wattamolla to Wattamolla Dam

Wattamolla Dam has a calm, picturesque water hole, a bit more hidden than the lagoon and great for a refreshing dip. You can reach it on a ~740 meters walk from the Wattamolla picnic area parking, and it’s very easy and runs on a boardwalk for the most part.

First you’ll pass Wattamolla Falls, the lookout is at the end of the picnic area. And after a short bushwalk, you’ll be at Wattamolla Dam. It has some water all year, but after rain lots of small waterfalls cascade down into the swimming hole, making the scene even prettier.

Wattamolla to Big Marley Beach

Another scenic section of the Coast Track leads from Wattamolla to Big Marley Beach, passing Little Marley Beach on the way. They’re two of the wildest beaches in Royal National Park, but they never get busy. Granted, swimming is not recommended at any of them due to rips, but you’ll be amazed by the powerful waves, birds and maybe even whales (you can often spot them from May to October).

The hike is easy, with little elevation gain, and boardwalked for most of the way, so you can focus on the ocean views instead of watching your footing. You’ll pass Wattamolla Falls and Wattamolla Dam, the path is the same as for that easy hike we mentioned previously, you simply continue beyond Wattamolla Dam.

There’s a short section after the Wattamolla Dam where you lose the ocean views and hike in the bush. Bird life is very rich here though, so let the parrots entertain you. Then once you reach the edge of the clifftop and the ocean views, they’ll remain with you until you reach Big Marley Beach. This is the best section for whale-watching.

Wattamolla Dam or Wattamolla Lagoon are great choices to take a dip on a hot day.

Little Marley and Big Marley Beach are both incredibly romantic for beach strolls and have a unique wild feel, but swimming is not safe at either beaches. Bluebottle jellyfish are also often washed to the shore in the summer months. (While no fatalities ever happened due to Bluebottles, getting stung can be painful and even dangerous, especially for very young and elderly people.)

Garrawarra Farm to Figure 8 Pools (accessible at low tide only)

Figure 8 Pools had a crazy phase when everyone wanted to visit it, but luckily, the hype seems to be over. It’s still popular, but an enjoyable visit is possible, even in the summer (opt for mid-week though). We visited in early 2023.

The highlight of this hike is not only the Figure of 8 Pool. Imagine about a dozen fabulous rock pools, sitting on a rock shelf at the bottom of a dramatic cliff on a really wild coastline. Untamed, beautiful nature – it’s an overwhelming experience! And the trail there also offers scenic ocean views and passes Burning Palms Beach, one of the most beautiful wild beaches near Sydney.

When to visit safely?

But there’s an important thing to keep in mind when you visit these rock pools: they can only be accessed a couple hours either side of low tide (and only in calm conditions). The rock shelf is under water at high tide, and large, powerful waves frequently break across the entire platform. Don’t attempt a visit at high tide or rising tide.

To figure out the safest time period for a visit, check the risk chart created by Parks NSW. It gives you the conditions hour by hour up to four days in advance. Pick a low risk time period, and make sure it remains low risk long enough to relax at the pools and get back.

The path to the Figure Eight Pools

But where to start this hike? There are two possible starting points, Garrawarra Farm is the closest, it’s a 6.5 km return hike from there. (The other option is a 12 km return hike from Otford Lookout.)

First you descend through a temperate rainforest. After about a kilometer you reach the first coastal views, then continue to Burning Palms Beach. The risky section of the route is between Burning Palms Beach and the rock shelf. There’s no defined trail here, you walk over the rocks, with occasional scrambling. The terrain can be slippery or loose at places, so watch your steps.

The rock pools are on the second rock platform, and actually, there’s only one pool that’s shaped as a perfect 8. But there are lots of more rock pools of different shapes and sizes, and it’s fun to plunge into any of them. With that said, they’re mostly plunge pools, not large enough to swim.

Read our detailed guide to the Figure 8 Pools hike here.

Karloo Pool Track

Karloo Pool is a fabulous swimming hole in a river, surrounded by lush temperate rainforest. It’s a 2.5 km bushwalk from the Heathcote train station to reach it. It’s partly flat and partly downhill, with a few steeper sections, rocks and roots.

Karloo Pool is actually large and deep enough for swimming, and is surrounded by big, smooth rocks that provide plenty of space to sit and relax. A small waterfall cascades into the pool, you can even sit into it.

You can extend this hike in two directions. First, adding another 2.2 km (one-way) takes you to the top of Uloola Falls. An unofficial, very steep path even takes you down to the bottom of the waterfall.

To the other direction, you can hike an extra 1.6 km to Olympic Pool, another large, beautiful swimming hole.

A multi-day adventure: the Coast Track

The Coast Track, the crown of Royal National Park. It’s a 27 km long coastal trail that starts in Bundeena and ends in Otford. It showcases the best ocean and coastal views and beaches in the park, and it’s one of the best places near Sydney to catch a glimpse of migrating humpback whales in winter.

It’s usually hiked in two days, with an overnight stay at Era campground. You can complete it in one very long day if you’re determined enough. Several hikes we mentioned before are covered by the Coast Track, but since it has several vehicle-accessible points, you can do it in parts, too.

Before you visit Royal National Park

You can visit it in every season. Spring brings pretty wildflowers, summer brings warmer water, autumn and winter bring lower temperatures and migrating whales.

It’s important to check park alerts on the official website of the national park. Some trails and roads might be damaged or under construction

You need to pay an entrance fee to visit the park. It’s $12 per car per day. You can check the prices and the opening hours of the gates on the park’s website, as well. If you’re just driving through the park without stopping, you don’t need to pay.

Royal National Park is possible to access by public transport. Train line T4 runs along and through the park stopping at several stations, like Loftus, Engadine, Heathcote, Waterfall and Helensburgh.