Lower North Shore Walking Tour

The Lower North Shore Walking Tour links Milsons Point Wharf, the Luna Park boardwalk, Lavender Bay, Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden and Bradfield Park in one 5.5 km circuit under the Harbour Bridge. Bradfield Park has designated off-leash areas; everywhere else on the route, the lead stays on.

The walk. Five and a half kilometres, graded easy, about an hour and a half to two hours with stops. Most of it is flat paved foreshore or gravel path, but the Secret Garden section is built into a steep hillside and the steps there are the only real effort. Small dogs and older dogs manage it, just slowly.

The rules. North Sydney Council manages the route. Dogs are on-lead through Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden, Clark Park and the Luna Park boardwalk, and must stay 10 metres clear of playground equipment at Bradfield Park and Watt Park. The designated off-leash areas at Bradfield Park are the exception, not the rule, so check the signage at the boundary rather than assuming. In the Secret Garden, keep your dog out of the planted beds and bring your own waste bags, because there are no dispensers in there.

Water. There are bubblers at Quibaree Park near Milsons Point and at Milson Park, and public toilets at Quibaree Park and Bradfield Park. Bench seating is plentiful through the Lavender Bay parklands if you need to stop.

Getting there. Take the T1 North Shore line to Milsons Point Station and you are two minutes from Bradfield Park, or catch the ferry to Milsons Point Wharf. Driving is the hard way: street parking is metered and scarce, and the Ridge Street car park means a walk down and a climb back.

Nearby with the dogs. Altitude Coffee House is closest to the station, and Cool Mac at Kirribilli has outdoor tables. The longer Lavender Bay, Kirribilli, North Sydney and Blues Point route covers the same foreshore with more of the harbour, and Waverton Park to Balls Head Reserve Loop is the rougher bushland option one stop up the line. View Sydney takes dogs if you are staying over.

When to go. Weekday mornings, or before 9 am on a weekend. From mid-morning the Secret Garden fills with picnickers and photographers and the boardwalk turns into a queue. Good for seniors and short-legged dogs, given how flat most of it is.

Sources

• North Sydney Council · www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au
• Lower North Shore Walking Tour, New South Wales, Australia - AllTrails · www.alltrails.com

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