Walking and Cycling

Walking and cycling are convenient ways to get around, great for keeping fit and popular recreation activities.

There are easy walking trails and paths in the Newcastle area for you to explore and enjoy. Some of these, such as the Fernleigh Track and the Tramway Track, are shared paths suitable for riding at a leisurely pace.

Top Trails:

Bathers Way

One of the premier coastal walks in NSW, stretching 6km from Merewether Baths in the south to Nobbys Beach in the north.

Newcastle Memorial Walk

A breathtaking 450m coastal walkway, offering unparalleled views of Newcastle's coastline, the city, and the expansive Hunter Valley.

Fernleigh Track

The 15km route passes through the suburbs of Adamstown, Kahibah, Whitebridge, Redhead and Jewells, terminating adjacent to the Belmont TAFE college.

Other Trails:

Newcastle at War - 4.4km Moderate
Explore Newcastle through the conflicts that have shaped its landscape and character. Meet locals that left Newcastle to participate in some of the most devastating wars in history and walk in their footsteps, visiting places dedicated to their memory.

Newcastle Architecture Walk - 2.2km Easy
Explore buildings that have acted as cultural, political and economic icons for the people of Newcastle. Discover the works by architects not just of local, but national and international significance.

Convict and Industry Walk - 5km Moderate
Explore Newcastle's early years as a convict settlement. Visit remnants of the great industrial enterprises that once defined the city and discover amazing engineering feats that allowed the city and its people to prosper.

Newcastle Coastal Geotrail - 10km
Blending science with history, this 10km walk follows parts of Bathers Way and explores the rock platforms and cliffs of the coastline from Nobbys Beach to Merewether headland, revealing how 300 million years of geological history have shaped natural features and influenced cultural development.

Blackbutt Reserve
A popular nature reserve with over 20 kilometres of walking trails and native animal and bird life to observe. For details, visit Blackbutt Reserve

Kooragang Wetlands
Experience and explore 15km of boardwalks, cycleways and walking tracks. For details, visit Kooragang Wetlands.

Shipwreck Walk - 2km Easy
The fascinating Shipwreck Walk along the Stockton breakwall allows visitors to see Newcastle from a different perspective as you look back across the harbour. Along the 2km return walk you’ll see markers with the names of many ships that came to tragedy on the Oyster Bank, a sandbank at the entrance to the Hunter River. This notorious section saw scores of ship wrecks before the construction of breakwalls on either side of the harbour.

Tramway Track (Wallsend to Glendale) - 3.9km
This shared cycle/pedestrian path provides a link between the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. The corridor use to be part of the former steam tramway between West Wallsend and Speers Point, which operated from 1912 to 1930.