Bicentennial Coastal Walk Long Reef Point

The Bicentennial Coastal Walk loops around Long Reef headland between Collaroy and Dee Why on Sydney's Northern Beaches, a roughly 3km circuit that mixes paved clifftop path with dirt track. It is one of the Northern Beaches' signature dog walks: panoramic ocean views the whole way, and it links straight onto an off-leash park at either end of the route.

The walk

Count on roughly 3km return and about an hour at a dog's pace, graded easy to medium with formed tracks, gentle hills, boardwalks and a few steps. The route climbs onto the headland and delivers open ocean views the whole way, looking north up the coast and south towards Manly.

Paragliders launch from the headland on good days, and the ground is a well-known sunrise vantage. Between May and November keep an eye on the horizon for whales heading up the coast.

Leash status

Dogs are welcome on-lead on the signposted shared paths and loop walk, and that lead stays on for the entire circuit. Dogs are prohibited from the Long Reef Aquatic Reserve and the declared wildlife protection areas on the foreshore, and from the sand at Long Reef, Collaroy and Dee Why beaches, so this is a headland walk rather than a beach run.

For off-lead time, the Griffith Park dog off-leash area sits beside the walk's Collaroy end. It is unfenced and sits near a main road, so it suits dogs with solid recall.

Pepsi: the lagoon side of Griffith Park is the place to cool your dog off before or after the headland, because the walk itself has no water access at all.

Water and watch-outs

There is no reliable dog water on the track, so carry your own. The path is exposed with little shade along most of its length, which makes summer middays hard work and early starts the better plan.

Sections near the reef are hazardous in high swell or at high tide if you stray off the formed track, and the cliff edges along the top demand a leash for any dog that wanders. Stick strictly to the signposted paths around the protected areas.

Getting there

Turn off Pittwater Road onto Anzac Avenue in Collaroy, and use the free Collaroy Tennis Club car park, which leads straight into Griffith Park and the trailhead. B-Line buses along Pittwater Road stop a short walk from the start of the walk.

When to go

Early morning and late afternoon are the pick, cooler for the dog and quieter underfoot on weekends. Whale season runs May to November, and after rain the clay sections of the dirt track get slippery, so check the ground before you go.

Coffee afterwards is easy: Ciao Bella sits at the Collaroy end, and the Long Reef Headland Loop makes a good second lap for fit dogs. More walks are on the New South Wales dog walk guide and the Collaroy destination page.