Must visit on a trip to Sydney, bring your guests here. Only a 20 minute drive from Terrey Hills. Go later afternoon and it is free entry to national park. Heaps of parking.
Japanese friends say that its a long way for nothing, not really interesting to travel so far and there is nothing there. I have a different view, it is a natural haven for Australian flora and fauna and the area is full of history. For the $12 park entry fee, you can visit West Head Lookout and you can see information about the natural landscape, photographs of the World War 2 gun emplacements, see local aboriginal rock carvings and spectacular views at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, Lion Island, Barrenjoey Headland, Palm Beach and the seascape of Pittwater (with thousands of sailing craft on weekends).
Another slice of history to investigate is the location of a Japanese submarine that was scuttled off West Head during World Ward 2, after the highly publicised raid on Sydney Harbour in June 1942.
You need to take a picnic lunch and a thermos of hot tea or coffee and you will have everything you need to enjoy a half a day there. There are plenty of walking tracks for all levels of fitness, and so many aboriginal carvings from thousands of years ago, you will take with you a new level of expertise on these historical masterpieces.
If you visit in spring, the park is full of wildflowers. An easy place for viewing rock carvings is the tessellated pavements rock platform, just off West Head Road near the Elvina Bay car park. Find more information is Google and look up: "aboriginal carvings at west head", for the best locations. When you go the West Head lookout, the toilets and picnic areas are about 500 meters before the lookout and remember that there are no shops or cafes, so take your own food and drinks.
Have a great day, take some photos, breathe the fresh air and enjoy the area.
It's a long drive and you have to pay to enter the national park, but on a nice day this is SO worth it. The views are absolutely stunning for 270 degrees, and you get to see why the Pittwater area is such an attraction. Easily accessible, it is a great day trip.
Fantastic Lookout in the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park. It was a 30 minute drive from North Ryde. Keep in mind that there is an entrance fee into the park which is paid at the entrance at the booth manned by National Parks Staff. Such a beautiful drive to West Head Lookout with several stops along the way to other walks. There is a great picnic area and toilets near the lookout. This is a must !!!! We will be back
The West Head Lookout is located in Ku-Ring-Gai National Park off West Head Road in Brooklyn (about 25 kms [one hour’s drive] from Sydney’s CBD). From this Lookout there are gorgeous views up the Hawkesbury and Pittwater Rivers and across to Brisbane Water & Bouddi National Parks on the Central Coast and Barrenjoey Head. The Barrenjoey Lighthouse is the northern most tip of the land mass that includes Sydney and its suburbs. Ku-Ring-Gai National Park is the second oldest national park in New South Wales and was created in 1894. There are amenities in the Park for families to picnic and 15 different bush walking trails ranging from 1km to 5km varying from steep to flatter easier walks. Kayaking and canoeing is available from the park with boat hire at nearby Akuna Bay. The Park is also home to beautiful wildflowers, best seen in Spring and Winter with the Heath Banksia in bloom from May to August which has nectar that attracts hundreds of honeyeaters. Entry cost per day to the National Park is AUD12 per vehicle. From the Park, it’s about another half hour drive around Pittwater to Palm Beach where you can swim at one of the finest ocean beaches in the world and walk to the Barrenjoey Lighthouse.
