The walks that locals love around Black Head, Red Head & Diamond Beach.
The pretty coastal area of Hallidays Point includes the beautiful beaches and laid-back villages of Tallwoods, Diamond Beach, Red Head and Black Head. There are plenty of walking options here for all energy levels.
Easy walks around Black Head.
No, not Blackhead, it's Black Head... the sister headland to Red Head at the other end of award-winning Black Head Beach. Get it right and you won't offend the locals, LOL!
1. Black Head Lagoon
The easiest walks of all are strolls along the beach and Black Head has a beauty! But if you don't feel like walking much at all, then sit yourself down at the picnic area under the Norfolk Island pines. Here you can cool your toes in the water watching the ducks on the tree-lined lagoon that winds its way behind the dunes. This is the place to imagine what the whole coastline used to look like before development... a very pretty natural space.
2. Black Head Beach
Cross the lagoon on the little timber bridge onto the dunes to discover Black Head beach: a multi-award winning beach under the Keep Australia Beautiful Program.
The beach is patrolled in the summer months and there's an excellent ocean pool, one of only three on the whole mid north coast (the others being nearby Forster ocean baths and much further afield at Sawtell near Coffs Harbour).
Black Head Beach is dog-friendly, all day, every day. (Please take a poop bag with you if you're walking your dog, there's really no excuse to leave your dog's poop on the sands or dunes.)
3. Black Head Flora Reserve
- START: Baywood Drive
- DISTANCE: 400 metres
- DURATION: 15 Minutes
- GRADE: Easy
This 21 hectare reserve connects rainforest at Red Head and Black Head, with high conservation value vegetation. This tiny patch of littoral forest is surprisingly thick and it swallows you up easily, so keep to the worn track. The track itself is flat and winds through tall flooded gum, swamp mahogany favoured by koalas plus an impressive stand of hard corkwood. The track starts midway along Black Head Beach and dogs must be kept on a leash if you are transiting through the reserve.
4. Black Head Rainforest Reserve, Pebbly Beach and Back Beach
- START: Black Head Headland Track
- DISTANCE: 5 km
- DURATION: 2 hours
- GRADE: Moderate
This track starts from the headland at Black Head. There are two lookouts, a dramatic sea stack and a large tilted rock platform with pools and a cave. You may see photos on social media of this cave that resembles the shape of Australia when standing inside it... except Tassie is missing, LOL!
At low tide you can reach there from Black Head ocean baths. The track meanders through littoral rainforest down to a small footbridge and continues south to Pebbly Beach with small rock pools and a pretty sandy beach.
Alternatively you can use the access track down the side of the bowling club which brings you more quickly to the timber bridge and access down to the beach. The rocky shores are mostly covered in - you guessed it - large pebbles but there's a pretty sandy stretch that can also appear as a sand bar at low tide.
The track continues south across the rocks to Back Beach which is dog-friendly and has views south to Forster. Returning through littoral rainforest, the track reaches the bowling club car park. Dogs are not permitted on this track.
5. Diamond Beach walks
Diamond Beach is a beautiful 6km beach that's ideal for fishing, surfing or just enjoying a long beach walk watching the dolphins frolic in the waves. And it's dog-friendly too so your well-behaved pooch can join you for a walk and a swim.
At the southern end of the beach there's an almost-secret walking track which takes you from Diamond Beach headland through to the hidden Shelley Beach.
