Spit to Manly

Fast facts

• Sensational walk around Sydney Harbour’s northern foreshores

• Spit Bridge to Manly Cove, Sydney

• 9.5 km

Why walk it

This walk offers a backstage view of Sydney Harbour’s foreshores, and is packed with surprises. A study in contrasts, the walk takes you through some of Sydney’s most glamorous harbourside real estate, past gun emplacements, hidden beaches, subtropical rainforest, Aboriginal middens and tracts of wild coastal heath.

Although there are beach kiosks and shops along the way, you’ll need to take drinking water. The walk ends at Manly, from where there are buses back to Spit Bridge and ferries to the city, and another world of beaches and smart cafes waiting to be explored.

Along the way

• Pack your bathers and a towel - there are a couple of pristine beaches that you won’t want to miss.
• Make a detour to Grotto Point Lighthouse, and drink in a wonderful view across the harbour.
• Keep an eye out for wildlife - you might spot a lizard, a snake, a rainbow lorikeet or a fairy penguin, or even a humpback whale.
• Stop off for an ice cream or an espresso at the Clontarf Beach café.

Don’t miss

• The walk to the top of North Head near Manly along Blue Fish Track
• The underwater wonders of Oceanworld Manly at Manly Cove
• A dip in the sea at Manly Beach
• The fishermen’s huts at Crater Cove, abandoned since the 1980s
• Secluded Reef Beach – heaven on a hot day