If you are familiar with Sydney, you are aware of all the beautiful walks and hikes that are only a short drive from the city. My young family started exploring these walks a few months ago and it has made for a very interesting winter. To paint the picture, we are a family of four. My husband and I, our almost 3 year old son and our five month old daughter. These hikes started as a way of getting our very energetic boy outdoors, after all, he is up at 6 am everyday! They have now become something we all look forward to each weekend and are hoping to keep up for a long time to come. I will write about all the walks in good time, but today, I cover a hike we did this weekend.

Chowder bay to Bradley head. This is about a 5 km hike return (back track). Note that you can extend this hike by starting from Balmoral beach and walking all the way to Taronga zoo. We choose this hike because it ticked all the boxes we consider  when hiking with a toddler.  Easily accessible, not too difficult, great views and less than 5 km return.

If you do a search on Google maps, you can see that the walk can be accessed from different points. We started from Clifton gardens.  Once you walk past the beach, the track immediately takes you into some bush land. From here, you can catch glimpses of the ocean through the tree branches. Further down the track, views of the Sydney harbour and all her glory come into view.

The walk is nicely shaded by all the trees ensuring that you don’t get too hot or sunburned. Along the way, there are all sorts of native birds and plants. My son was able to walk the track easily as its flat enough to allow him to cover a  lot of distance without tiring. Half way along the hike, at Taylors bay, we stopped for a picnic and were joined by some Kookaburras who were happy to pose for a picture.

Things to note, like with every hike, we took basic precautions. Had enough food and water, (5 km is nothing but if you have ever been around a hungry toddler, you know food is a must!) we also checked the New South Wales national park website to ensure that the walking track was open on the day. As this is Australia, snakes are everywhere. There were signs along the track with details of the snakes found in this particular area, some poisonous some not. I am happy to point out that we did not encounter any. At the end of the hike, as we have done with any hike that has taken us through bushland, we checked my son for ticks  just as a precaution.

This hike is great for everyone. Its for families looking to enjoy the outdoors with their children, visitors to Sydney looking for a short hike with breathtaking views, or any Sydneysider looking for a good relaxing walk. Its guaranteed to take your breathe away!

We love sharing our hiking experiences with other young families.  Please let us know your favourite hikes in Sydney,  or share how you hike with children in different areas of the world. We hope you follow our blog for more hiking stories and tips. We look forward to hearing from you.