Hermitage Foreshore Walk, Sydney

The 1.8km Hermitage Foreshore Walk in Sydney offers cute beaches such as Queens Beach and Milk Beach. The Sydney National Park walking trail also includes the Hermitage Foreshore Reserve, Strickland House in Vaucluse, rare native trees and rock overhangs.

As cities go, Sydney has an unusually high number of excellent walking routes. The most famous of these is the Bondi to Coogee Clifftop Walk from Bondi Beach. But there are several fine walking routes around the edges of Sydney Harbour, too – including the Spit Bridge to Manly Walk and the Hermitage Foreshore Walk.

The latter is part of Sydney Harbour National Park, and stretches along wealthy harbourside suburb Vaucluse. The official Hermitage Foreshore Walk is only 1.8km long, but it forms the centrepiece of a longer harbourside walk from Rose Bay to Watsons Bay.

13 brilliant experiences in Sydney you should book

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.

(💲Great value 💲) Tick off several bucket list items on a highlights-packed Blue Mountains day tour.
Get perfect views of the world’s most beautiful city on a Sydney Harbour helicopter tour.
Save money with a multi-attraction pass.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoy the romance of a tall ship cruise on Sydney Harbour.
Eat all you can at the Skyfeast at the top of Sydney Tower.
See migrating humpbacks – on a whale-watching cruise.
(Highly recommended ✅) Go behind the scenes of Australia’s most famous building on an Opera House tour.
Dine as the city lights up on sunset dinner cruise around the harbour.
Combine beers and stories on a historic pubs tour through the convict-era Rocks district.
Stand on your board and catch waves during Bondi Beach surfing lessons.
Go to wombat and kangaroo-spotting hotspots on a Southern Highlands tour.
Enjoy Sydney’s wild side on a Manly snorkelling & nature walk.
(🥇Top choice in Sydney) And, best of all, paddle to hidden beaches on a harbour kayaking adventure.

Hermitage Foreshore Walk starting point

Start at Rose Bay Beach, next to the kayak hire outlet, seaplane terminal and Catalina restaurant. The Hermitage Foreshore Walk starts just to the north, with the access point on Bayview Hill Road.

Once in the Hermitage Foreshore Reserve, nature takes over. The early parts of the track pass through a wealth of native flora. Species include coastal tea trees, Port Jackson figs, Sydney red gums and endangered she-oaks. Keen eyes will also encounter coastal Banksia, bushy needlewood, cheese trees and Sydney peppermint gums.

Sydney Harbour from Queens Beach on the Hermitage Foreshore Walk in Sydney Harbour National Park. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

The first key stop, however, is Queens Beach. This is otherwise only accessible by boat or a series of very steep steps from the main road. This feels like a wonderful little secret, and has tremendous views out towards Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and Shark Island.

After Queens Beach, there’s a wooden boardwalk past giant fig trees. Then, at Hermit Point, some picnic benches look out over the moored yachts. A creek flows into the harbour and rocks overhang on the southern side of Hermit Bay.

Hermitage Foreshore Walk: Strickland House, Vaucluse

The next major sight after Hermit Point is Strickland House, which is the focal point of a large, cleared area with tidy lawns. Built with Italian marble, Strickland House was originally called Carrara, and was completed in 1856. Sydney’s first elected mayor, John Hosking, lived there.

Strickland House in Vaucluse on the Hermitage Foreshore Walk between Rose Bay and Nielsen Park in Sydney. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Following Hosking’s death, Strickland House underwent several reincarnations. It became a school and the Strickland Women’s Convalescent Home. It finally closed as a hospital in 1989. Afterwards, it doubled as Government House in Darwin for Baz Luhrmann’s 2007 film, Australia.

Beyond Strickland House, the Hermitage Foreshore Walk offers two more small beaches, Tingira Beach and the properly lovely Milk Beach. The latter is one of the best Sydney Harbour swimming beaches. The track then heads up hill past Aboriginal shell middens and intact native bushland towards Nielsen Park.

The story of the Nielsen Park she-oak

It was in this section that a new species of plant was discovered in 1986. The Nielsen Park she-oak does not appear anywhere else in Australia. It’s remarkable that such discoveries can be made in a big city, and it’s testament to how wild and natural Sydney can appear at times.

Seeds were taken from the Nielsen Park she-oaks found here, and they were grown in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens. They were then planted in Nielsen Park, where they stand today.

The park itself is a 20 hectare recreation reserve, with a snack kiosk that dates back to 1914. Plenty of wildlife can be spotted here, too. Powerful owls, sacred kingfishers, brush-tailed possums and grey-headed flying foxes are known to hang out around Nielsen Park.

Nielsen Park is where the Hermitage Foreshore Walk ends. But it’s worth continuing for 3km through Vaucluse towards Watson’s Bay. The highlight on this stretch is Parsley Bay, with its unfathomably cute pedestrian bridge spanning the water.

Other great Sydney walks include the Bradleys Head to Chowder Bay Walk, the Glebe Foreshore Walk and the Federation Clifftop Walk.