Three Sisters, Blue Mountains by JJ Harrison, Wikipedia
NSW has an astonishing array of
national parks and reserves – a whopping 877 of them, ranging from rainforest to mountains, coastal parks and desert. With so many parks and walking trails within them, there's a huge variety of day hikes to choose from. So exactly which day hike is the best?
The Blue Mountains seems as good a place as any to start the search. The park's not too far from Sydney and it's jam-packed with imposing sandstone cliffs and gorges - as well as gobsmacking views. It's no wonder this place is classified as a World Heritage Site. There's an absolute multitude of walking trails and the park even has an
annual festival of walking.
So is the Blue Mountains national park the home of the best day hike near Sydney? Which Blue Mountains hike would you choose? There's a lot to select from including the
Grand Canyon Track,
National Pass Walking Trail, the
Katoomba Falls Circuit
and the walk to
Ruined Castle.
If you prefer coastal walks, there's the aptly named Great Coastal Walk with amazing views of the sea. OK, at 100km, it's hardly a day hike, but as
Nick Bendel explains, this is a walk that can easily be broken down into manageable chunks that fit into day trips. For my money, it's hard to beat a walk by the coast, especially with a few sit-downs and some quality wave-watching.
You can't beat a long stare at the sea
Also worth considering, and pretty much on Sydney's doorstep, is the forested Berowra Valley Regional Park with the
Bluegum Walk around Joe's Mountain easily achievable in a day.
And if you have time to venture further afield, there are classic mountain walks in
Kosciuszko National Park . This park has alpine and sub-alpine areas containing plants found nowhere else in the world. It's also home to the rare mountain pygmy possum and corroboree frog. And, how about this? Within a day hike, you can climb Australia's highest mountain The mountain? Uh, well, that would be Mt Kosciuszko...
Alpine colour
Now it's over to you. If you have a favourite day hike near Sydney, or anywhere at all in NSW, please let us know by leaving a comment below.
