We were very excited to experience the NEW North Head Lookouts last weekend at the Sydney Harbour National Park near Manly. It was a beautiful day when we went and we enjoyed some blue skies and ocean views!

After some overdue renovations, the NEW North Head Lookouts opened 9th June 2023 offer beautiful scenic views of Sydney Harbour from different lookouts and a Fairfax walking track. Locals love this spot for whale watching and scuba diving and some painting.

North Head Lookouts Concept Drawings from October 2021 - Environment NSW Website - 1. Car Park 2. Entry to Fairfax Track 3. “Yiningma” Lookout (North) 4. Remediated area (former lookout) and 5. “Burragula” Lookout (South).

We parked near the North Head Sanctuary Visitor Centre (see tips at bottom of this page for free & fee paying parking), walked along the Memorial Walk (our review coming soon) and in direction of the Fairfax Track along a gravel path where we saw some painters enjoying the views.

North Head New Lookouts Yiningma Northern Lookout — Photo Credit: Busy City Kids

Once we arrived at the Fairfax Track we took a right towards the Burragula Lookout and walked amongst the remediated area which suffered a bushfire back in 2020.

North Head Fairfax Track NEW lookout Map — Photo Credit: Busy City Kids

We arrived at the beautiful NEW North Head Burragula Southern Lookout where we enjoyed city and harbour views.

North Head Lookout Burragula Southern Lookout — Photo Credit: Busy City Kids

Local, interstate and overseas visitors were enjoying the views and sitting down on the new seating gathering space.

North Head Lookout Burragula Southern Lookout Seating Area — Photo Credit: Busy City Kids

North Head Lookout Burragula Southern Lookout Water Views — Photo Credit: Busy City Kids

Once we had a good look around, we walked towards the second lookout Yiningma Northern Lookout. Please note the stairs in this area for prams and wheelchair visitors. If you want to skip the stairs, go back on the loop track to go to the Northern lookout. Also these stairs have no railing on one side.

North Head Lookout Walk — Photo Credit: Busy City Kids

The NEW North Head Lookout Burragula Southern Lookout was a small walk from its Northern neighbour amongst remediated areas. This lookout is smaller but still has gorgeous views onto nearby waters and cliffs. There is also a gathering space seating available.

Some visitors had binoculars and were lucky to spot whales in the distance! It was such a nice day for a walk and enjoy the lookouts, we will come back again soon!

Notes from the NSW National Parks website:

North Head is located on North Head Scenic Drive, off Darley Road in Manly. The site is five minutes drive from Manly and 30 minutes drive from the city.
Drive and park or catch a ferry from Circular Quay wharf to Manly wharf. From there, take the 135 bus to North Head Q Station.
The gates to North Head are open from 6am to 8pm during daylight savings, and 6am to 6pm rest of the year.
It can be busy on the weekend or on a sunny day, so parking might be limited.
Children should be supervised due to nearby cliff edges

Our Tips:

Paying Parking on-site
Free 4 hour Parking behind North Head Sanctuary Visitor Centre before Bella Vista Café if you don’t mind walking and also overflow too
Fee paying parking next to Bella Vista Café and also right next to the North Head Lookouts
Some restrictive accessibility for pram & wheelchair accessibility in parts due to stairs
Walking path and stairs onsite
Bring some drinking water, hat, sunscreen and snacks
Toilets near the Visitor Centre I believe
Pets, drones and smoking are NOT permitted

Find out about NEW events, activities and programs across Sydney via our What’s On Sydney page.

North Head Lookouts at the Sydney Harbour National Park

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