The Spit to Manly Walk is the best harbour walk in Sydney. It’s pretty amazing how close to the city this walk is, yet within just a few minutes of setting foot on the trail you feel like you’re completely immersed in nature. We’ve walked it many times and always find something new to see each time.

With beautiful bushland, fab harbour views and some spectacular secret beaches, this trail is really diverse and has something for everyone. You’ll be serenaded along the way with the frequent sound of the Whipbird or the rolling waves which add a relaxing soundtrack to your walk.

The fact you can access both ends of the trail using public transport is another bonus, and it really is a Sydney must do.

Here’s what to expect from the trail, including a couple of un-signposted but very worthwhile side trips.

The Spit to Manly Walk

The stats

Distance: 9.6km not inc side trails
Elevation: 283m
Difficulty: Moderate
Type of trail: One way

On the face of it, the Manly to Spit Walk looks like a relatively easy walk. However, we’ve often found ourselves stopping a lot, and when you add in the side trails, you’ll soon find the trail is moderate in difficulty.

Don’t let that put you off though. The uphill sections aren’t very steep and the trail is in great condition the whole way through.

Which direction to choose

You can walk the trail in either direction, and we’ve done it both ways many times. Our personal fave - and recommendation - is to start at the Spit Bridge and finish at Manly Wharf.

It means you finish the walk with an option to grab a coffee or some food in Manly and then get to take the scenic ferry ride back to the city. In terms of difficulty, we’ve never noticed much difference between the two so opt for the one that suits your travel plans best.

Insider tips for the trail

There are plenty of fab picnic spots along the way, but if you want to hike light there are a couple of cafes you can access without ever leaving the trail, there’s also often an ice cream van too!
A few of the beaches on route are great but busy, if you’re like us and love the secluded secret spots instead there are many. We’ll share out faves in the track notes.
You can walk the track in three hours, or spend a whole day hanging out at the beaches. You could even start or finish your walk with a bit of a paddle by hiring a kayak at The Spit or Manly.
There are some great Indigenous sites along the way which most people walk straight past, but are worth stopping to appreciate.
If you don’t want to walk the whole 10km you can shorten the track at various exit points along the way.
On the opposite end of the spectrum if you want a longer walk, you can add on the North Head Circuit and complete the whole Manly Scenic Walkway which will be just under 20km long.
If you time your walk to finish at sun down, Manly has one of Sydney’s best sunset spots.

The views of Manly from the Spit to Manly Walk

What to expect and see on the Spit to Manly Walk

Starting the trail at Spit Bridge

Assuming you arrived by bus, it will drop you off just before the Spit Bridge and you take the pedestrian walkway over the bridge and down the stairs by the underpass.

Within 150m you’re past Ellery's Punt Reserve and straight into the bush. For a little while longer there will be some residual road noise, but it’s muffled by the loud calls of the resident Whipbirds and you soon lose it altogether.

I love the little overhang which you come to almost immediately after entering the bush and sets the tone for the rest of the walk, it’s a pretty one!

As you head up the stairs just beyond the overhang you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re entering the rainforest, there’s even some hanging vines!

The rainforest at the start of the Spit to Manly Walk

You’ll pass a small cave 750m into the walk which is an old Indigenous shelter, for the next stretch of the walk you’ll notice some other Indigenous sites, with little plaques explaining what they are.

Sydney is rich with Aboriginal history, and I always appreciate it when things you would have otherwise missed are marked like this.

Onto Clontarf Reserve

After 1.1km you’ll briefly leave the bush and walk past Sandy Bay, before arriving at Clontarf Marina. There are a couple of cafes here.

The Sandy Bear has a deck right on the water, which makes a nice spot to stop for a coffee along the way.

You’ll then head around to Clontarf Beach, which has a picnic area behind it, which is really popular with families. It’s a nice enough beach, but if you’re looking for somewhere to take a dip there are much better beaches along the way.

If it’s low tide you can follow the sand all the way along until you enter the bush again which is just over a kilometre from when you entered Sandy Bay, if not there is a high tide trail behind the beach.

I can never believe how close people live to the beach when I see Clontarf, their houses actually stop on the sand itself! Amazing!

The path of the secret beaches

The whole Spit to Manly walk is gorgeous, but this next stretch is my favourite. This is the section where you will be walking in beautiful bush land but with outstanding harbour and beach views to your right for much of the way.

On a sunny day the water looks tropical, you won’t get the full gist from our photos as it was heavily overcast but hopefully you’ll see it in person!

One of the secret beaches on the Spit to Manly Walk

Just 200m after heading back into the bush, you’ll find a turn for the first of the secret beaches. Despite the fact this walk is a really popular one, very few people actually head down onto these beaches so we’ve regularly had them all to ourselves.

The first beach is lovely, but I like the second one which you’l come to 300m later, even more.

The water is calm at both beaches, and they have that feeling of seclusion that makes you feel like you’ve really got away from it all.

After another 300m (just over 3km into the walk) you need to turn right to continue on the main track, the left one is a cut through to the street.

You can then follow the staircase down to Castle Rock Beach, which is another lovely little cove, a couple of kayakers had just pulled up when we arrived which is another nice way of exploring all these little bays. One for another time!

If you’re bringing a picnic on the walk I think any one of these little beaches make for a nicer spot than Clontarf Reserve unless you want the facilities that the reserve offers (toilets, drinking water, playground, netted swimming area).

A side trail to one of the best beaches in Sydney

Additional distance: 1.7km if you want to see the beach and the lighthouse

You’ll continue on the undulating trail - there are more stairs than you’d think - through the bush. The bushland is beautiful and you’ll pass a really dense patch of trees which I always love.

Roughly 500m beyond Castle Rock Beach you’ll come to a side trail (on your right), which if you have the time is well worth it. There is a sign post at the start of the side trail, but it doesn’t tell you where it goes - the answer is an incredible beach and a lighthouse.

Follow the trail and after 120m you’ll come to a junction, again neither path is marked. First head left. The path deteriorates substantially and we’re not going to lie, it was a bit of a muddy mess. But persevere!

After 130m of downhill muddy and rocky track you’ll come out at a cliff edge and the absolutely phenomenal Washaway Beach.

I mean this is the kind of beach I could just sit on for hours and listen to the rolling waves - it sounds exactly like those meditation soundtracks! There is very rarely anyone on this beach and it feels incredibly wild, there might be harbour views ahead of you, but it really doesn’t feel like a harbour beach. It makes for another fabulous picnic spot.

When you first arrive on the beach you might be wondering how on earth you could safely get down the cliff side and onto the sand!

You need to head to the very far left of the beach where the cliff is much more tiered and then it’s a short scramble.

The second part of the side trail to Grotto Point Lighthouse

After enjoying the beach (it is really hard to leave but you must!) head back to the junction and take the opposite path if you want to see the Grotto Point Lighthouse.

The track is much easier than the one to Washaway, it undulates but it’s not overly muddy or steep.

After 350m on this track you’ll see an unmarked turning on your left, this leads to a good lookout point, and the best view of the lighthouse.

It’s another great spot to sit and relax and soak up the views if you have plenty of time.

The lighthouse itself is a further 150m down the trail, and we’re not going to lie, it looks a bit better from further away than it does up close! There are some good views from here though, you can even see Balmoral Beach in the distance!

If you’ve spotted the trail leading away from the lighthouse to the shore don’t bother taking it. It just leads to a staircase which can be used for people who have arrived by boat and want to check out the lighthouse.

Back on the main trail: onto the Aboriginal engravings and epic harbour views

At this point, if you’ve done the side trails you will have walked 5.3km - if not you’re 3.6km in. That probably shows you just how action packed this trail is as we’re not even half way yet!

You’ll start heading uphill now and after 150m will reach some Aboriginal engravings which are just off the main track along the boardwalk.

The main carvings have a very small fence around them, but look all the way along the boardwalk because there are more that are not within the fenced section.

The fenced section of the Aboriginal Engravings on the Spit to Manly Trail

As with many engravings which are so exposed to the elements, they’re not all in great condition, but you can make out quite a few of them, particularly the fish, of which there are several.

After the engravings, you have a little more uphill to go before the trail predominantly flattens out and eventually starts to head downhill.

Crater Cove Lookout

After just over half a kilometre you’ll start to get the most spectacular harbour views, one after another, starting with Crater Cove Lookout.

You can see the city, Watsons Bay, both the North and South Heads, and Manly in the distance.

Looking down into Crater Cove you can still see the old fishing shacks which were used by fishermen between 1923 and 1963 as weekend retreats. After the Great Depression some were used as permanent homes until the area was declared a national park in 1984 and they were evicted.

They look precariously placed but undoubtedly have spectacular views and great access for fishing.

After Crater Cove you’ll reach several even more expansive views, a couple of which are offical railed viewpoints.

Continuing on for yet more great beaches

You’l soon reach a signpost on the left for Arabanoo Lookout, it’s 250m each way to get there (the signpost says 200m), but it’s not really worth it.

The lookout has quite a bit of bushland in front of it obscuring the view, and it’s nowhere near as good as what you have seen already, or what’s to come.

Instead continue 200m past the sign along the main trail to Fairlight Lookout. It offers a great view of Manly and is close enough that you can even see the wharf.

The trail then begins heading downhill with more great views including another railed lookout, Dobroyd Head.

It’s not long before you then begin the next section of walk which has lots more beaches. They’re not as good as the earlier ones in our opinion, but they’re still nice.

The first of which, Reef Beach is the best if you want to spend a bit more time relaxing on the sand.

You’ll then continue on to Forty Baskets Beach which it says is not always accessible due to the tide, but we’ve walked this track dozens of times, and have never checked tide times and always been able to cross without problems.

The final stretch

You’ve then got a couple more bays to cross before you have to turn briefly inland on residential streets. It’s all very well signposted.

You’ll then begin following a paved walkway for the last few kilometres into Manly, which is still residential but has gorgeous harbour views on your right.

You’ll pass several more beaches, and also the popular Fairlight rockpool. You’ll start to see signs for the elusive Little Penguins which we’ve always wanted to see but have never been lucky enough to.

You’d have to be very fortunate to spot them, as even our friends that have lived in Manly for years have only seen them a handful of times.

Little Manly Beach - Spit to Manly Beach

The walkway takes you all the way to the Manly Pavilion before you turn right to walk along the last little beach to Manly Wharf. You can then treat yourself to any one of the many cafes, restaurants or ice cream shops before hopping on the ferry to Circular Quay.

If you love this walk and are looking for other trails in the area, we have a whole guide on the best walks in Manly.

Essential information about the Spit to Manly Walk

Public transport to and from the trail heads

One of the great things about this trail is that there are good public transport connections at both ends. Spit Bridge has regular buses that run to/from Manly and the B1 Bus goes to/from Wynyard.

The Manly end of the trail has regular ferries to the city.

Parking at Spit Bridge or Manly

This is a trail where we’d recommend taking public transport, as parking is limited at both Spit Bridge and Manly, as well as pricey.

However, both Spit Bridge and Manly do have free street parking if you manage to get a space.

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