Pearl Beach has Brisbane Water National Park on three sides and the water on the fourth, so every walk starts at the front door. These are the ones worth doing, from a stroll to a full day, roughly in order of effort. Distances are from NSW National Parks and Wildwalks track notes.
The beach, end to end
Easy, 20 to 30 minutes return. Down to the sand, south to the rock pool and around to Green Point, or north towards the cliffs of Mount Ettalong. It is the morning walk, the sunset walk and the walk with a coffee from the van at the hall. From the house the beach is a level 250 metres, so this one happens without planning.
Green Point and Paul Landa Reserve
Easy, 30 minutes. Past the rock pool, or via the end of Green Point Road, to the rock ledge on the point. Broken Bay in front of you, Lion Island in the middle of it, and in season the best chance in the village of a whale from dry land. Fishing off the rocks if you brought a rod.
Crommelin Native Arboretum
Easy, 20 to 60 minutes. At the western end of Crystal Avenue, the Arboretum is 5.5 hectares of tended bush with flat tracks, boardwalks and bridges, a creek, picnic spots and a lot of birdlife. Shaded, pram-friendly, and good on a hot afternoon or a wet morning. Free, open in daylight, no dogs.
The fire trail to Warrah Lookout
Moderate, 5.1 km return, about 2 hours, 190 metres of climbing. The walk that starts from the village. Follow Crystal Avenue past the Arboretum to the gate of the Pearl Beach–Patonga fire trail and climb steadily through the woodland, past sandstone caves, to the signed side track for Warrah Lookout: a fenced platform on a sandstone shelf with Lion Island, Barrenjoey, West Head, Cowan Creek and the Hawkesbury laid out below. Come back the same way. Wildflowers along the ridge in spring; lyrebirds if you are quiet. Keep to the fenced lookout; the informal side tracks lead to unfenced cliff.
Pearl Beach to Patonga on the Great North Walk
Moderate to hard, 3 km one way, 1.5 to 2 hours each way. Continue past the Warrah Lookout turn-off and the trail becomes the Great North Walk track down to Patonga: red gums and angophoras, water views, then steps down to the beach and the wharf, where the Boathouse Hotel is waiting with lunch. Walk back the same way, leave a car at each end, or time it for the 54 bus. NSW National Parks grades this track at the top of its scale because of the steep, rough sections; it is one for older children rather than toddlers, and the climb out of Patonga is the harder direction. Water, hats and proper shoes; the ridge is exposed. Check the park alerts before you go, and after heavy rain.
Warrah Trig from the car park
Easy, a short walk. If you would rather drive to the view: up Patonga Drive, left onto Warrah Trig Road (about a kilometre of dirt), and the Tony Doyle track leads from the car park to the same lookout in a few minutes. The road also makes a 10-kilometre cycling loop through the park for anyone who brought bikes.
Mount Ettalong Lookout
Easy, from the car. On the Umina side of the hill, at the hairpin on Mount Ettalong Road, a lookout over the length of Umina and Ocean Beach to Ettalong and Wagstaffe, and out over Brisbane Water. Ten minutes from the house and a good stop on the way back from a supermarket run, or a different angle on sunset.
Bouddi Coastal Walk
Moderate, half a day to a full day, about 35 minutes by car. Across Brisbane Water on the Bouddi peninsula, the Bouddi Coastal Walk runs along clifftops, boardwalks and beaches between Putty Beach and MacMasters Beach, with Maitland Bay in the middle. The short version, Putty Beach to Maitland Bay and back, takes a couple of hours and includes a swim; the full walk is a proper day. Pack lunch, or finish at Killcare for something better than sandwiches.
Before you go
Check NSW National Parks for track alerts and closures, particularly after heavy rain or during fire season, and tell someone at the house where you are headed if you are walking the headland. Phone reception is patchy on the ridge. Then come home to a long lunch in the backyard; that is the other half of every walk in Pearl Beach.
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