Narrabeen Lagoon Loop

The Narrabeen Lagoon Loop is a flat 8.4 km circuit around the largest coastal lagoon on Sydney's northern beaches, on a formed shared path with no steps anywhere on it. Northern Beaches Council allows dogs on the trail on lead, and prohibits them from several wildlife protection areas the trail passes through, which is the distinction to keep in mind as you walk.

The walk

Council describes it as easy and AllTrails agrees, logging 8.7 km at around two hours. The surface changes as you go: boardwalk over the wetter margins, gravel through the bush sections, sealed path near the reserves. It is a multi use trail built to be accessible, so prams and wheelchairs use it alongside walkers and cyclists. You can start almost anywhere and do half of it, with Jamieson Park and Berry Reserve the two main gateways.

Leash status

Northern Beaches Council manages the lagoon and the trail, and dogs are permitted only on lead for the full circuit. There are several wildlife protection areas around the lagoon where dogs are not permitted at all. Those areas are signposted rather than fenced, so the signs are doing the work here. The path is shared with cyclists throughout.

Pepsi: The lagoon looks like an invitation on a hot day, but the protected margins are exactly the bits that look most swimmable. Read the sign before the water.

Water

Watering points and toilets sit at the main reserves rather than spread along the trail, so plan the loop around Berry Reserve and Bilarong Reserve if your dog needs a top up. Picnic areas and barbecues sit at intervals around the circuit.

Hazards

Very little, which is the appeal. The main one is bike traffic on a flat, fast, shared surface, particularly on sunny weekend mornings. Sections near the creek mouths get muddy after heavy rain. There is limited shade on the open stretches, so the full lap in summer heat is longer than it looks.

Getting there and parking

Parking sits at Middle Creek Reserve off the Wakehurst Parkway, Berry Reserve off Pittwater Road, and Jamieson Park off The Esplanade. Buses run along Pittwater Road to Berry Reserve, so the trail is genuinely doable without a car.

While you're out there

Progress Park is the closest open space off the loop. Lakehouse Cafe is the obvious coffee stop, Trail South Narrabeen extends the walk, and The Coachhouse on the Beach takes dogs if you are making a weekend of it. More walks are on the NSW trails list and around North Narrabeen.

When to go

Before eight in the morning or after four in the afternoon, when the cyclists thin out and the open sections cool down. Good for seniors and for big runners alike, since it is flat the whole way and you can turn back at any reserve.