The Yacaaba Headland walk is one of the best trails in the Hawks Nest side of Port Stephens. The walk starts at the most beautiful beach in the area, before heading into the bush and climbing uphill for some gorgeous views. If you’re lucky you might even see dolphins from the top.
The track does get steep and rough in places, but if you’re walking on a dry day it isn’t too difficult.
Here’s what to expect from the trail.
The Yacaaba Headland Walk
The stats
Distance: 6.4km
Elevation: 224m
Difficulty: Moderate
Type of trail: Return
The hike up Yacaaba Head is a short, but steep trail, best done on a dry day.
If you want to go up for sunset, we recommend leaving 1.5 hours before the sun drops below the horizon. This will give you enough time to walk up, admire the views and walk down. You should allow 2 - 3 hours in total for the walk.
Starting the trail at Bennetts Beach
Bennetts Beach is our favourite beach close to Hawks Nest, and one of the most beautiful in all of Port Stephens. It’s worth factoring in a bit of time before or after your walk to sit and relax here.
We chose to hike up to Yacaaba Head at sunset - which we definitely recommend - although sunrise would be even better, so long as you don’t mind early starts.
The first 1.7km is all along the sand, which is gorgeous, but as it is quite soft, it’s not the easiest to walk on. Our feet seemed to sink even in the wet sand, which made it more tiring than we had expected.
It’s relaxing spending so long walking by the water though, and the views towards the headland are fantastic.
Once you reach the end of the beach you’ll see the signpost directing you into the bush.
Into the bush and onto the viewpoint
You’ll head immediately uphill for around 200m. It’s nicely shaded by the dense vegetation, which will be a relief if you’re hiking on a hot day.
After that, the trail flattens before if begins to undulate. You’ll only get the occasional glimpse of the ocean, but the bush itself is really pretty.
There’s a particularly lovely patch with lots of ferns not long before you come to the first viewpoint.
After 2.6km from the start of the trail you’ll reach the viewpoint. The path up to this point is in great condition, with the odd rock and tree root but generally very easy. The gradient is also fairly gentle with climbs that are followed by flat sections to catch your breath.
The view is lovely, and though it is surrounded by trees, you do have quite a bit of open space.
The views of Bennetts and JImmys Beaches are stunning, and you can also see the sunset from here, which bathed the whole area in golden light.
The steeper climb up to the summit
After the viewpoint the track gets much rougher.
It’s very rocky and the first time I attempted this walk it was quite wet and slippery and I ended up turning back just before the top.
The second time the weather was perfect and though it’s rocky, it wasn’t too difficult going up (I found the descent more difficult).
It’s not a scramble as you never need to use your hands, but it gets rougher the higher you get and it’s a bit steeper than the section to the viewpoint.
It’s only 400m of the rougher track before it flattens though and the final 100m to the lookout is easy.
The summit
We didn’t realise until we arrived, that there isn’t actually a completely clear lookout at the top.
The vegetation is really dense in all directions, so you get absolutely jaw dropping views, which are partially obscured by trees.
Although for photos, a clear view is much nicer, I actually quite like that they haven’t removed trees and manicured the area - it’s left wild, as nature intended.
I also think it probably keeps the crowds away, as there isn’t a lookout as such. We hiked the trail on a Saturday night in gorgeous weather and never saw another soul.
The views in both directions are truly beautiful. Unfortunately they were doing controlled burns on our visit so it was quite hazy but it still looked great. In one direction you can see Tomaree Head and what I think is Zenith Beach as well as Shoal Bay itself. This was my favourite view, it really is breath taking.
In the other direction you can see John Gould Island which was also very picturesque. Despite the lack of clear views, or anywhere you can sit and still see the views, we loved this spot and stayed up there for a long time.
As we knew the first part of the descent was rough, we left a little before the sun fully set to make it easier getting down.
The descent
The only slightly challenging bit of getting down from the summit is that 400m rough patch.
Joe had no trouble and got down quickly and easily, whereas I was pretty slow with my walking poles - but then I am a really cautious descender, so I don’t want to make it sound overly difficult!
Once you’re over that bit, you’ll get some more lovely sunset views through the forest and the light filtering through the trees was really special.
There are a couple of other sections before you reach the viewpoint which have rocks and tree roots to watch out for, but it’s easier than the first bit.
We walked from the viewpoint back to our car in the twilight, which was the perfect end to the walk.
Essential information about the Yacaaba Headland walk
Where to park
The best place to park for the Yacaaba Headland Walk is the car park on Google Maps that is marked as “Jimmy’s Beach Reserve Car Park”. This is the furthest you can go (unless you are prepared to do some off-road beach driving).
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