Scenic trail
Wallarah National Park
Overview
Scenic trail is a challenging mountain bike ride - a steep scenic hike through coastal forest and heathland to views of the rugged coastline and access to Pinny Beach.
- Where
- Wallarah National Park in North Coast
- Distance
- 2.8km one-way
- Time suggested
- 1hr
- Grade
- Hard
- What to
bring - Hat, drinking water, sunscreen
- Please note
- Remember to take your binoculars if you want to bird watch or whale watch.
- There is limited mobile reception in this park
Scenic trail is to mountain bikers what a good flight of office block stairs are to a jogger. Can you keep cycling for the entire 2.8km, no matter how steep the trail becomes? Set yourself the challenge.
The track is also an alternative access route to Pinny Beach and a great hiking trail. From Scenic Drive, the track begins in open forest and then takes you down a steep hill, across a small creek, and ends in coastal heath with scenic views of the coastline. Look out for glimpses of palm gully rainforest along the way and the woodland-dwelling blue wren. In summer, you’ll appreciate the cooler shaded gullies.
Even if you can’t ride the trail the first time, Wallarah is free to visit and always open, so just keep coming back as you build your strength and skills.
Map

Map legend

Local alerts
For the latest updates on fires, closures and other alerts in this area, see https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/cycling-trails/scenic-trail/local-alerts
General enquiries
- National Parks Contact Centre
- 7am to 7pm daily
- 1300 072 757 (13000 PARKS) for the cost of a local call within Australia excluding mobiles
- parks.info@environment.nsw.gov.au
Park info
- in Wallarah National Park in the North Coast region
Wallarah National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.
Visitor info
All the practical information you need to know about Scenic trail.
Maps and downloads
Learn more
Scenic trail is in Wallarah National Park. Here are just some of the reasons why this park is special:
Don't just stand there

Do you like to surf, or are you more into fishing? Are you the type who loves to hike, or do you prefer cycling? Are you an ocean-gazer or a forest-walker? Wallarah allows you to do any or all of these activities, so bring your gear and enjoy this natural playground.
- Scenic trail Scenic trail is a challenging mountain bike ride - a steep scenic hike through coastal forest and heathland to views of the rugged coastline and access to Pinny Beach.
- Yondeo trail A scenic walk or cycle on Yondeo trail in Wallarah National Park with places to picnic, birdwatching and whale watching opportunities and fishing at Pinny Beach.
Happy wandering

There are various vegetation communities in Wallarah, including heathland, spotted gum and ironbark forest, open smooth-barked apple forest and palm gully rainforest with a canopy dominated by cabbage-tree palm. Follow the various walking tracks through the park to experience these. Keep an eye out for blooming wattle and the intriguing scribbly gum, whose attractive artwork is, in fact, the tunnelling journey of scribbly gum moth's larvae. By the way, the purple-flowered vine you'll see growing throughout the park is known commonly as happy wanderer.
- Scenic trail Scenic trail is a challenging mountain bike ride - a steep scenic hike through coastal forest and heathland to views of the rugged coastline and access to Pinny Beach.
- Yondeo trail A scenic walk or cycle on Yondeo trail in Wallarah National Park with places to picnic, birdwatching and whale watching opportunities and fishing at Pinny Beach.
Living Aboriginal culture

Bahtabah Local Aboriginal Land Council represents the Aboriginal community in the area that is now covered by Wallarah National Park. Physical evidence of Aboriginal people's lives in the area has remained in the form of middens found just south of Swansea. Only a few middens have been recorded, though it is probable that sand mining along this coast over the years has destroyed a large portion of middens that were there prior to European settlement.
Wild and free

Wallarah has an awesome collection of birds and animals due to the diversity of vegetation and habitats in the park. During the day, look out for sea eagles soaring along the coast, honeyeaters in the springtime flowering heath, lizards lolling on warm boulders, pods of dolphins in the ocean and passing whales during the winter months. At night, you may see the predatory powerful owl, a microbat, or the threatened squirrel glider that glides for up to 50m between trees. Bring along your binoculars to get a closer look at these natural beauties.