Barrenjoey, the northern end

The head and the lighthouse, in NPWS's words

Barrenjoey Lighthouse stands at Barrenjoey Head at Palm Beach on Sydney's northern beaches. It was built in 1881 from sandstone quarried on site, and the lighthouse, its oil room and the keepers' cottages remain unpainted in the original stone finish. The National Parks and Wildlife Service calls it a heritage lighthouse and an iconic Sydney attraction, positioned 91 m above sea level.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is Australia's second-oldest national park, the National Parks and Wildlife Service says, and the Barrenjoey Head section of it covers coastal land next to the Barrenjoey Head Aquatic Reserve, part of what makes this coastal area a place of great natural beauty. The 14,882 ha park, 20 km north of the Sydney CBD, runs from St Ives to the shores of the Hawkesbury River at Brooklyn, and it includes much of the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and Cowan Water, along with the head itself, 1 km across Pittwater at Palm Beach. From the top of Barrenjoey Headland, the NSW primary industries department (DPIRD) says, spectacular views of the reserve can be seen.

Around the head the park is lively. The service records over 160 bird species in Ku-ring-gai Chase, wood ducks, crimson rosellas, wedge-tailed eagles and pelicans among them, and more than 350 Aboriginal sites are recorded there too, among them rock engravings, burial sites and axe grinding grooves.

Below the lighthouse, the water is protected. The NSW primary industries department (DPIRD) describes the Barrenjoey Head Aquatic Reserve: about 30 ha, the headland's rocky shore, reaching 100 m out. It is focused on conserving the marine biodiversity of the rocky shore fringing the headland, in a mosaic of other habitats: rock walls and boulders below the tide line, seagrass, reef and sand. More on the five reserves

From the head, the service suggests bringing binoculars for whale watching between May and September. From West Head lookout, NPWS says, you look out with Broken Bay on your left, Pittwater on your right and Barrenjoey Headland and its lighthouse in front, with vistas across the Hawkesbury River to Lion Island Nature Reserve and the beaches of the Central Coast, including Patonga and Umina Beach.

The walks, dated

The service lists two walks to the top. Barrenjoey track is the easy and picturesque one, 1 km long, and Smugglers track is the more challenging hike.

The two National Parks and Wildlife Service pages date the Smugglers track differently, and the gap is worth having. The lighthouse page says the name comes from the customs officers who built the track to monitor smugglers bringing contraband into Broken Bay around 1850. The service's story of the lighthouse and The Basin says the Smuggler's track was built in 1881 to keep an eye on bootleg rum, the same year the lighthouse was built. Both accounts leave the same picture: a path built on the head to watch the water below.

The service's walk note says the climb requires moderate fitness and takes about 30 minutes each way from the Governor Phillip parking area, and that there is no vehicle access to the lighthouse, with paid parking at Governor Phillip Park. The department's access notes add that the aquatic reserve can be reached from either Palm Beach or Station Beach, and that it lies about 26 km north of the Sydney CBD, Barrenjoey Road being the nearest road in.

At the top, the service notes, the inside of the lighthouse is only accessible by guided tour, but you can walk around the outside. The service asks visitors to avoid the lighthouse when strong winds, heavy rain or extreme heat are forecast, and under the park's plan of management organised groups of 40 or more need prior written approval from the park office. Ku-ring-gai Chase is always open, though it may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.

More of this coast: the five aquatic reserves, and Pittwater, the other shore.

The whole coast, Palm Beach to Shelly Beach