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northernbeaches.net.auWhich beaches are best for swimming?

Twenty beaches, one by one

Beachwatch graded all twenty of the Northern Beaches ocean beaches, Palm Beach to Shelly Beach, for its 2022 to 2023 report. Three came out Very Good, the water of a very high standard and suitable for swimming almost all of the time: Palm Beach, Whale Beach and Avalon Beach. The other seventeen were graded Good, and two of those, Mona Vale and South Curl Curl, were downgraded that year on a slight decline in microbial water quality.

The Northern Beaches coast turned on its side, north to the left: Beachwatch's twenty ocean beaches numbered from Palm Beach to Shelly Beach, with the coastal lagoons, the other shore's sites and the aquatic reserves Narrabeen LagoonDee Why LagoonCurl Curl LagoonManly Lagoon Barrenjoey HeadNarrabeen HeadLong ReefCabbage Tree BayNorth (Sydney) Harbour Barrenjoey BeachGreat Mackerel BeachThe BasinParadise Beach BathsClareville BeachTaylors Point BathsNorth Scotland IslandElvina BaySouth Scotland IslandBayview BathsNarrabeen Lagoon (Birdwood Park)Bilarong ReserveDavidson ReserveGurney Crescent BathsManly CoveFairlight BeachForty Baskets PoolClontarf PoolLittle Manly Cove Palm Beach1PalmWhale Beach2WhaleAvalon Beach3AvalonBilgola Beach4BilgolaNewport Beach5NewportBungan Beach6BunganMona Vale Beach7Mona ValeWarriewood Beach8WarriewoodTurimetta Beach9TurimettaNorth Narrabeen Beach10North NarrabeenCollaroy Beach11CollaroyLong Reef Beach12Long ReefDee Why Beach13Dee WhyNorth Curl Curl Beach14North Curl CurlSouth Curl Curl Beach15South Curl CurlFreshwater Beach16FreshwaterQueenscliff Beach17QueenscliffNorth Steyne Beach18North SteyneSouth Steyne Beach19South SteyneShelly Beach (Manly)20Shelly Barrenjoey HeadPittwaterNarrabeen LagoonLong ReefManly North is to the left
  1. 1Palm Beach
  2. 2Whale Beach
  3. 3Avalon Beach
  4. 4Bilgola Beach
  5. 5Newport Beach
  6. 6Bungan Beach
  7. 7Mona Vale Beach
  8. 8Warriewood Beach
  9. 9Turimetta Beach
  10. 10North Narrabeen Beach
  11. 11Collaroy Beach
  12. 12Long Reef Beach
  13. 13Dee Why Beach
  14. 14North Curl Curl Beach
  15. 15South Curl Curl Beach
  16. 16Freshwater Beach
  17. 17Queenscliff Beach
  18. 18North Steyne Beach
  19. 19South Steyne Beach
  20. 20Shelly Beach (Manly)

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The twenty, north to south

Beachwatch publishes its results one site at a time: each entry gives a beach a description, its grade and the year its monitoring began, most give a patrol season, and some a length.

Beachwatch, State of the beaches 2022 to 2023: the twenty ocean beaches, north to south. A length is given only where the report states one.
BeachLengthPatrol season2022 to 2023 gradeMonitored since
1 Palm Beach Rock baths in the southern corner. 2.3 km September to April Very Good 1989
2 Whale Beach Rock baths at the southern rock platform. 600 m September to April Very Good 1989
3 Avalon Beach Backed by a park and picnic area. 500 m September to April Very Good 1989
4 Bilgola Beach Rock baths at the southern end. 500 m September to April Good 1989
5 Newport Beach An open, east facing beach. around 1.3 km September to April Good 1989
6 Bungan Beach Backed by a steep escarpment. 600 m late December to the end of January Good 1989
7 Mona Vale Beach Downgraded to Good for 2022 to 2023 on a slight decline in microbial water quality. 1 km September to April Good 1989
8 Warriewood Beach Below a steep bluff. 500 m during holiday periods Good 1989
9 Turimetta Beach Backed by steep bluffs. 350 m not patrolled by lifeguards Good 1994
10 North Narrabeen Beach At the northern end of a beach that runs 3.5 km. September to April Good 1989
11 Collaroy Beach Backed by a park and picnic area. September to April Good 1989
12 Long Reef Beach Near the entrance of Dee Why Lagoon. September to April Good 1989
13 Dee Why Beach At the southern end of the stretch of beach. late August to May Good 1989
14 North Curl Curl Beach Near the entrance to Curl Curl Lagoon. September to April Good 1989
15 South Curl Curl Beach At the southern end of Curl Curl Beach; downgraded to Good for 2022 to 2023. September to April Good 1989
16 Freshwater Beach approximately 350 m late August to May Good 1989
17 Queenscliff Beach At the northern end of Manly Beach. September to April Good 1989
18 North Steyne Beach The middle section of Manly Beach. September to April Good 1989
19 South Steyne Beach At the southern end of Manly Beach. year round Good 1989
20 Shelly Beach (Manly) Backed by a picnic area and reserve. not patrolled by lifeguards Good 1989
  • Two of the twenty, Turimetta Beach and Shelly Beach, are not patrolled by lifeguards.
  • Two keep longer seasons than the usual September to April: Dee Why and Freshwater, patrolled from late August to May, and South Steyne Beach is patrolled year round.
  • Bungan Beach keeps the shortest dated season, late December to the end of January, and Warriewood's patrols follow the holiday periods.
  • Nineteen of the twenty have records reaching back to 1989; Turimetta Beach's monitoring begins in 1994.

What a grade means

The grades are Beach Suitability Grades, and the report explains what each one says about the water. Good, the grade seventeen of the twenty beaches carry for 2022 to 2023, is the report's way of saying microbial water quality is "considered suitable for swimming most of the time" and may be susceptible to pollution after rain.

For several of them the report names the source it suspects. Warriewood and Turimetta share the Warriewood Wastewater Treatment Plant. North Narrabeen Beach has the discharge from Narrabeen Lagoon; Long Reef Beach, Dee Why Lagoon; North Curl Curl Beach, Curl Curl Lagoon. Queenscliff carries Manly Lagoon, and North Steyne both Manly Lagoon and stormwater.

Very Good, the grade for Palm Beach, Whale Beach and Avalon Beach, describes water that was "of a very high standard and suitable for swimming almost all of the time".

Put the two definitions together and the difference between them is small and plain: both describe water usually fine for swimming, and the gap is how close to always. The three Very Good beaches are suitable almost all of the time; the seventeen Good beaches most of the time, with rain named as the moment their water can change.

The current grade is on Beachwatch

These grades are the 2022 to 2023 results, from Beachwatch's State of the beaches report. For the current grade, look to Beachwatch.

More of this coast: the lagoons between the beaches, and the aquatic reserves.

The whole coast, Palm Beach to Shelly Beach

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