Long Reef Headland Loop

A short clifftop circuit on the headland between Dee Why and Collaroy, with views north to the Central Coast and south to Manly. The deciding fact for dog owners is that the walking track is the only part of Long Reef your dog can legally be on. The beaches, dunes and rock platform around it are protected areas where dogs are banned at all times.

The rules. Dogs are permitted on lead on the loop walk, in the designated areas as signposted, under Northern Beaches Council. They are prohibited at all times in the three protected areas that surround it. The Long Reef Wildlife Protection Area takes in Fisherman's Beach, Long Reef Beach, the headland foreshore, the dune systems, the golf course and Dee Why Lagoon. The Long Reef Aquatic Reserve covers the rock platform from the Collaroy rockpools to the surf club. The Dee Why Lagoon Wildlife Refuge is closed to dogs as well. In practice that means the formed track and nothing either side of it. For off-lead running the council points you to Griffith Park just inland.

The walk. AllTrails logs the circuit at 3.5 km and easy. The council describes a 3 km medium grade loop of formed tracks, gentle hills, boardwalks and occasional steps. Either way it is under an hour at a dog's pace, and it is exposed the whole way round, which is the point in whale season and the problem in February.

Water. Nothing on the loop beyond what you carry, and with the beaches and rock platform out of bounds there is no swim at the end of this one. Amenities sit near the Fisherman's Beach huts and the Long Reef Surf Life Saving Club.

Hazards. Clifftop edges without fencing in places, wind straight off the water, and no shade at all on the headland. A hot afternoon is the wrong time to bring a thick-coated dog up here.

Getting there. Easiest access is off Anzac Avenue, Collaroy. Car parks sit near Fishermans Beach and at the Long Reef Surf Life Saving Club, free for vehicles displaying a Northern Beaches Council parking permit and pay and display otherwise, at $6 an hour or $10 all day Monday to Friday and $26 all day on weekends, public holidays and school holidays. By bus, the B1 B-Line to Collaroy leaves a walk of roughly ten to fifteen minutes.

Nearby with the dogs. Bicentennial Coastal Walk Long Reef Point runs the same stretch of coast, and Ciao Bella in Collaroy takes dogs at the outdoor tables.

When to go. Early morning or the last hour of light, on a weekday if you can manage it. Winter is the season, with whales going past and no heat on the exposed track. Good for seniors and steady walkers who are content on a lead the whole way.

Sources

• Long Reef Reserve, Northern Beaches Council · www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au
• Long Reef Aquatic Reserve, NSW DPIRD · www.dpird.nsw.gov.au
• Long Reef Headland Loop - AllTrails · www.alltrails.com

Compiled from public sources and verified listings. Always confirm current rules with the venue or council before you travel.