The Great North Walk is a mammoth 250km track that leads from Sydney to Newcastle and it’s not for the faint-hearted. The total route is designed to take anything between 16 to 30 days to complete but the trail offers a fair gamble with postcard-worthy views, emerald waters, lush bushland, and charming country towns dotted along the way. Those who don’t have two weeks to spare can opt to tackle shorter sections of the hike at their leisure. With warmer days inching closer, this is the perfect time to reintroduce yourself to the great outdoors and discover some of the most fabulous sights the state offers in one fell swoop. Here are some of the highlights of the Great North Walk.
The Great North Walk, NSW
Touted as the gold standard of multi-day hikes in NSW, the walk kicks off from an Obelisk at Macquarie Place Park in central Sydney and takes hikers all the way to downtown Newcastle, over 2 weeks later. The walk rolls through three national parks: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Brisbane Water National Park, and Berowra Valley National Park, plus picturesque cafes, small towns, and excellent architecture if you also want to get a taste of local culture.
Needless to say, if you’re planning to do the entire stretch you’ll have to spend a good amount of time planning out your logistics and resources well, thankfully there are plenty of accommodation options in the form of motels, campsites, and Airbnbs along the route. Find the full map here.
Highlights of the Great North Walk
The track is best divided into six sections each offering something fresh and unique to hikers.
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Lane Cove Valley
Travellers typically start from the sandstone landmark at Macquarie Place in Sydney CBD and learn more about Sydney’s history, and the lives of early convicts and settlers. Take a ferry ride to Woolwich and enjoy the local vibe before embarking into the bush at Lane Cove River. You can walk the length of the river and through striking forest areas and mangroves before reaching Thornleigh.
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The Benowie Track
This section of the walk journeys through Berowra Valley National Park and offers hikers a chance to truly disconnect and be one with nature. Highlights here include serene waterfalls, gorges, wild swimming spots, and ample bush scenery. This walk can be broken into smaller sections with easy access to train stations.
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Hawkesbury
This is where hikers will traverse the enormous Ku-ring-gai Chase and Brisbane Water Parks so this will take a good chunk of time as there’s a lot of wonderful wilderness to explore. Dense bushland, scenic lookouts, local scenery, and tranquil waterways make up this part of the walk with stunning views over Berowra Waters, Jerusalem Bay, Hawkesbury River, and more. Brisbane Water National Park offers cycling, fishing spots, and waterfalls and can be accessed from Wondabyne Station. The northern section of this part of the walk follows the Mooney Mooney Creek campground.
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Cedar Bush Track
Highlights in this section of the Great North Walk include Palm Grove Nature Reserve and Jilliby State Conservation Area which offer rainforest trails and eucalypt forests. It also leads to the small town of Yarramalong where you can enjoy photogenic scenes comprising pastures, farms, and grazing horses and book accomodation in the Yarramalong Valley if you want to stay a while. The walk then winds past the Basin Campsite and Wollombi Brook before reaching Mount Warrawolong. The walk leads to Watagan State Forest with beautiful mountain scenery. The official GNW website warns that this section of the walk can get hot and dry in the summer so plan accordingly.
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Watagan Creek
Connecting Flat Rock Lookout to the town of Teralba, this part of the walk passes farms, forests, small patches of rainforest, and native wildlife. Highlights include the Congewai Valley, the Watagan State Forest, Freemans Drive, and Heaton Gap where hikers will find a motel, cafe, and service station, and Awaba State Forest. This area may be closed off during summers due to the risk of fires so it’s best tackled in winter.
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Yuelarbah into Newcastle
The final section of the Great North Walk stays within constant sight of the sea and is studded liberally with beaches, cafes, lookouts, ocean pools, and plenty of coastal lookouts. The track runs along the northern stretch of Lake Macquarie to Warners Bay and Charlestown, eventually ending at Newcastle.
Find the full breakdown of each of these sections including the length of each track on the Great North Walk website.
Key features
Here are some facts to remember about the giant multi-day hike.
Total distance: 250km one way
Total duration: 16 days
Difficulty: Grade 5 – this means the walk is suitable for very experienced bushwalkers only and needs special skills and navigation abilities. The walk also includes many arduous climbs and steep sections.
Find more information here.
The best time to go on the Great North Walk
Cooler weather makes for the perfect time to go on the Great North Walk trail as there is less risk of fires and a more compatible climate for challenging hikes. Spring, autumn, and winter are all good times to plan your hike with late July to late September especially preferable months. Find more information including the full track details, accomodation options, and short walks on the Great North Walk website.