Spit Bridge to Sandy Bay Track

Walk the first harbourside stretch of the Spit to Manly route and you reach Sandy Bay, where a signed off-leash area stays open around the clock. It is the part of the walk you can actually do with a dog, because the national park sections further on are closed to them.

Leads and the off-lead area

Keep your dog on lead along the track itself. Northern Beaches Council manages this foreshore, and at Sandy Bay the off-leash zone applies above the mean high water mark.

Next door, Clontarf Reserve has its own time-share rules for off-lead dogs, and dogs are banned from its swimming beach and tidal pool.

Turn around at Clontarf rather than pushing on towards Manly. The national park sections of the Manly Scenic Walkway do not allow dogs.

The walk

Expect a bit of everything underfoot: concrete paths, sandstone steps, sandy beach tracks and dirt bush trail. Views run across the sheltered inlets of Middle Harbour.

Water, shade and parking

Clontarf Reserve has drinking fountains with low dog bowls, and there are bins at Sandy Bay and through the reserve. Big old trees shade the grass, but the sand and beach tracks sit in full sun.

There is free parking at Sandy Bay and Clontarf Reserve, and street parking on Sandy Bay Road fills fast on weekends.

Make a day of it

Our Clontarf Dog beach guide has more on the off-lead sand, and The Deck at Grumpy's wharf Cafe in Mosman is a dog-friendly coffee stop.

Weekday mornings are the easy option, before the parking fills. The steps and sand suit a fit, sure-footed dog more than an older one that needs a smooth path.