The back story
Ku-ring-gai Chase and Palm Beach
West Head, Aboriginal engravings, Barrenjoey Lighthouse and the long sand of Palm Beach.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Wyncliffe from Sydney, Australia · CC0 via Wikimedia CommonsKu-ring-gai Chase National Park, in NPWS’s words Australia’s second-oldest, covers the bush, creeks and mangroves of Sydney’s north, with significant Aboriginal sites and the lookout at West Head over Pittwater to Barrenjoey and Palm Beach.
West Head
The lookout at West Head looks over Pittwater to Barrenjoey Head and Palm Beach; the Aboriginal Heritage walk is nearby (NPWS).
Palm Beach
Palm Beach runs to Barrenjoey Head, where the sandstone lighthouse stands above Pittwater.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © File:Palm Beach from the Barrenjoey Lighthouse.jpg: Kapitan1999 derivative work: · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsOur advice: go on a weekday, when the roads are quiet.
Why it's on our list
- West Head
- Palm Beach
What’s nearby
Distances from Ku-ring-gai Chase and Palm Beach are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Harbour Bridge32 kmCar or taxi 103 min
- Royal Botanic Garden33 kmCar or taxi 107 min
- Hyde Park Barracks34 kmCar or taxi 109 min
- Darling Harbour34 kmCar or taxi 109 min
- Queen Victoria Building34 kmCar or taxi 110 min
- Sydney Opera House35 kmCar or taxi 112 min
- Bondi Beach35 kmCar or taxi 112 min
Main stations and the Quay
- Circular Quay33 kmCar or taxi 106 min
- Wynyard Station33 kmCar or taxi 108 min
- Central Station35 kmCar or taxi 114 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storySydney at the table: the harbour, the fire and the fishBennelong beneath the sails, Aria on the Quay, Oncore high over Barangaroo, Firedoor’s wood fire and Saint Peter’s fish: how Sydney eats, and where to book.
The back storyAustralian FoodRock oysters and prawns from the fish market, barramundi, the meat pie, lamingtons, pavlova and a flat white: what to eat in Sydney.
The back storyWhere Sydney sleeps: the harbour, the city and the eastern suburbsThe Park Hyatt beside the Harbour Bridge, the Four Seasons above Circular Quay, Capella in the sandstone heart of the city, Crown Towers at Barangaroo, and the design hotels of Surry Hills and Chippendale: where to stay in Sydney.