With it's numerous urban forests and spectacular beaches and harbour, it's easy to find a great short walk in Sydney.
A shimmering harbour city surrounded by national parks and rugged coast, Sydney presents hundreds of short walks within one hour of the city. Settled by British convicts over 200 years ago, the region's original inhabitants, the Aboriginal people, were nomadic. They maintained a sophisticated network of walking tracks that criss-crossed the land from the sea to the Blue Mountains and beyond. Many of these hiking tracks are still followed today by bushwalking fans. North of the city are the Hawkesbury River and the Kuring-Gai National Park, bordering Pittwater, and the whale-watching vantages of West Head and Barrenjoey Lookout. South is the Royal National Park, the second-oldest in the world and the oldest national park in Australia. The entire coastal border of this park can be hiked in two days, from the ferry port at Bundeena to the pristine beach at Wattamolla and southwards to the old railway towns of Otford and Helensburg. In the city itself there are swathes of harbourside parks and walking tracks once managed by the Crown and the navy, that are open to the public. Preserved for two hundred years by strict military regulations, expansive harbour parks safeguard aboriginal and colonial history - from rock engravings to British cannons, from hunting grounds to hanging yards. Being a green, semi-tropical place, most short walks in Sydney are set in fragrant, scenic forests, many following the course of the harbour for kilometres. And some of the most famous walking trails in Sydney are along the coast, such as the popular Bondi to Bronte walk. Whatever type of walk you prefer - coastal, harbourside, bushwalking or a historic city tour - Sydney has the walk for you
