Bouddi Coastal Walk

The 8km Bouddi coastal walk runs from Putty Beach to MacMasters Beach. Known as one of the most beautiful central coast walks, because of its beaches, boardwalks and birdlife.

If the whole 8km walk is too much, it can be broken into shorter sections:

Putty Beach to Maitland Bay (3km)
Maitland Bay to Little Beach (3.5km)
Little Beach to MacMasters Beach (1.7km)

If starting at Maitland Bay, you will also walk the Maitland Bay Track. Read about this track here, so that you know what to expect.

Getting there

Located 90 minutes north of Sydney and 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Newcastle via the M1 Pacific Motorway, the Bouddi National Park is easy to find

Parking

If you start from MacMasters Beach, park near the Surf Life Saving Club on Marine Parade, which has a large car park. Follow the stairs in between houses 85 & 87 Marine Parade.

To start from Putty Beach, park at the end of Putty Beach Road in Killcare Heights. Drive to the end of the road, where the car park is located. A parking fee of $8 per day applies, but if you have an annual NPWS pass, it is free. We have an annual pass and have found it saves us lots of money as well as not having to bother with paying for day tickets.

If you want to pick up Bouddi Coastal Walk from Little Beach or camp, park at the end of Grahame Drive in the car park and follow the signs to the beach.

If you want to pick up Bouddi Coastal Walk midway from Maitland Bay, park at the Bouddi National Park Information Centre on the Scenic Road in Killcare Heights. Follow the Maitland Bay Track and when you reach the beach turn left to follow the track to MacMasters Beach. If you want to walk to Putty Beach take the Bouddi Coastal Walk off shoot on the right before you reach the beach.

Putty Beach to Maitland Bay Beach

Putty Beach

Located in Bouddi National Park, Putty Beach is a large sandy beach that is almost completely framed by National Park. The Bouddi Trail, starts on the north-eastern end of the beach. and a large car park and campsite. Putty Beach is a patrolled beach, making it safe to enjoy the water as long as you swim between the flags.

Putty Beach camping area is a spacious, grassed area with easy access to the beach. Facilities include drinking water, flush toilets, open-air showers, rubbish bins and barbecues, both gas and electric although wood fires not permitted. During peak periods, campsites must be booked up to three months in advance.

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The Track

Located at the end of the beach near the car park is a sign and stairway. This is the start of the track, which is well maintained and easy to walk. A large amount of the track here is boardwalk, or formed steps and stairs. Views over the ocean and along the track are magnificent, so take your time and admire the scenery, as there are plenty of places to stop.

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Tessellated Pavement

Not far along the track from Putty Beach is a tessellated pavement,located on the cliff edge. Information boards detail how it formed, which is great for those who don’t know much about geology.

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Bullimah Beach

Surrounded by cliffs, Bullimah Beach, is a small, yellow sand beach at Gerrin Point Headland. From the beach and the boardwalk above, you get views over the South Pacific Ocean to the Barrenjoey and Avalon headlands.

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Gerrin Point Lookout

Situated high on the cliffs, overlooking the ocean, this lookout provides fantastic views of the coastline.

From here, the track becomes rougher along with more steps and stairs, but it passes through some great coastal bushland, along with more great views.

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Maitland Bay Beach

The walking track ends at Maitland Bay Beach. This is a lovely sandy 500m long stretch of beach that is great for a swim or relaxing on. Have a look at the rocks and small cliff faces and you will find some interesting weathering patterns in the rocks.

From the beach you can either walk up the Maitland Bay Track to the car park, or continue on down the beach. On the beach, we found some sculptures made from driftwood, which looked really amazing, and was something we didn’t expect to find.

Walking along the beach, you will find steps leading up the headland, which are the continuation of the Bouddi Coastal Walk.

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Driftwood Art on the Beach

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Rocks and Geology

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Bouddi Point

At the north end of the beach is Bouddi Point.  This is the area where the SS Maitland came to grief. We had a look and could not see any wreckage. The volunteer at the Information Centre told us later that it would have to be a very low tide to see much. Still, the rocks were fun to climb over.

Maitland Bay to Little Beach

The Track

Maitland Bay to Little Beach is by far the hardest part of the track, because of the numerous hills you climb and descend. During our walk, there was not much of a breeze and it was very humid, so we became hot very quickly. Remember to take plenty of water with you, because you don’t want to get dehydrated.

Although the walk is hard, the views are magnificent, and there is not need to rush, so take your time.

Once the walk meets the Bombi Moor Fire Trail, the worst of the steps are finished. This 1.2 km. trail is covered with the wood chips, which makes it easy to walk on.

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The Views

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Native Flowers and Plants

During our walk, we came across many native flowers in bloom, because of the time of year. Spring really is a great time to walk, with great weather and the flowers everywhere.

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Little Beach

Little Beach, is a small 100m-long stretch of sand and rocks, facing the ocean. The beach is backed by a gully and sided by steep rocky headlands. The beach has a south easterly aspect and has its own campsite.

Little Beach campsite is a small grassed area, set back from the beach with six designated sites, a composting toilet, rubbish bins, Gas barbecues and a shelter, but has no drinking water. If you camp here, everything will need to be carried down the hill from the car park.

This beach is not patrolled.

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MacMasters Beach

The Coastal Walk ends at MacMasters Beach. A beautiful sandy beach with great water and car parking available. Located at the south end is a coffee shop selling meals and drinks. After such a huge walk this is a great place to relax and refuel. If you don’t feel like a swim in the ocean there is an ocean pool near the surf club.