The Best Walks in Newcastle: The Bathers Way, Awabakal Nature Reserve and the Hunter Valley
Updated
From the famous Bathers Way clifftop coastal walk to the Watagans National Park, Newcastle offers outstanding walking in the city and beyond. Here is your complete guide.
Verified by The Daily Newcastle editorial teamLast verified: 4 July 2026
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Newcastle's walking landscape is anchored by the extraordinary Bathers Way coastal walk (the finest urban coastal walk in NSW outside Sydney) and supplemented by the Awabakal Lake Macquarie Nature Reserve, the Glenrock State Conservation Area (the remarkable bush reserve immediately south of the inner city), and the Hunter Valley's wine country walking. The city's geography (built on a rocky headland between the Hunter River and the Tasman Sea) creates dramatic coastal and clifftop walking opportunities within walking distance of the CBD that are genuinely world-class.
Bathers Way — Newcastle's signature coastal walk (7km, Nobbys Beach to Merewether, graded easy to moderate with some cliff steps) follows the clifftop and beach foreshore from the historic Nobbys Head lighthouse through Bar Beach, Strzelecki Lookout, Toadpool, and Merewether Beach to the Merewether Ocean Baths. The walk passes through Newcastle's finest coastal scenery and the elevated sections above the sea cliffs provide some of the finest coastal views in NSW. The walk is outstanding at sunrise and in winter when the clifftop is quiet.
Glenrock State Conservation Area — the remarkable coastal bush reserve immediately south of the Newcastle inner city (accessed from Wharf Road, Merewether Heights, or the southern end of Merewether Beach) provides 1,000ha of coastal sandstone bushland with excellent walking tracks through heath and woodland to the pristine beaches of Glenrock Lagoon and Pipeline Beach. The area is largely unknown outside Newcastle and provides a genuine wilderness walking experience within 10 minutes of the CBD.
Awabakal Nature Reserve — the Awabakal Nature Reserve at Pelican (Lake Macquarie, 20 minutes south of Newcastle) provides excellent coastal heath and woodland walking with views across Lake Macquarie. The Dobell Drive to Third Point walk (6km circuit) is the reserve's finest track.
Watagan Mountains — the Watagans National Park (60 minutes west of Newcastle via the M1 and Cessnock) provides excellent eucalypt and rainforest walking in the northern Hunter Valley hills. The Congewai Valley and the Watagans State Forest contain excellent unmarked bush camping and walking for more experienced walkers.
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