The Basin

Located near Barrenjoey, The Basin is a 500-meter-long curve-shaped, slightly narrow beach with light brown sand and a rocky jetty. It is part of the national park Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The beach is usually open from morning to 6 p.m. in winter and from morning to 8:30 p.m. in summer.  

This beach should not be confused with another separate beach with a similar name called The Basin – this beach is located in Western Australia.

Although The Basin does not have lifeguards, the area near the beach has many other amenities including nearby picnic areas, restrooms, barbecue areas, drinking water facilities, and showers.  Dogs are not allowed here.

The Basin offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, paddleboarding, boating, scuba diving, snorkeling, jet-skiing, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching. 

This beach is ideal for beginner swimmers because the water here usually has gentle lapping waves.  In addition, this beach is also popular with kayakers and canoers.  If you plan to swim, kayak, or paddleboard here, we recommend being careful because the water here can have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves.  If you like taking The Basin Campground Photos with Instagram-worthy views, the beach offers amazing views of the Pittwater and the northern Sydney shoreline.  You can see many wallabies around this beach – these adorable marsupial mammals are native to Australia. 

If you like hiking, you can hike on a trail near the beach named the Bairne Walking Track – this track offers a fun way to explore the local coastal landscape.  There is an archeological site near this beach named The Basin Aboriginal Art Site that has interesting rock carvings made by the Native Australian Aboriginal people.  If you like tent camping, there is a tent campground named The Basin Campground near the beach – if you are planning to camp here, please visit the NSW National Parks website for more information on The Basin camping tent sites.

The Basin does not offer wheelchair access to visitors with disabilities.

Getting to The Basin is easy, although this beach is not directly accessible by a car – to reach this beach, you need to drive along a road named West Head Road.  There is a sign labeled “Basin Trail” along this road, where there is a small free parking lot and a few free street parking areas.  Once you park here, you need to walk along a steep one-and-a-half-kilometer long trail named The Basin Trail to reach this beach.  

Please note that you need to pay an entry fee for visiting Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.  You can pay your fee at the entrance station that is located at West Head Road – the current fee is $12 per vehicle for day visitors.  You can visit NSW National Parks’ website for more information on the parking fees and payment methods.

Another way to reach The Basin is through a ferry – there is a ferry service named Fantasea Cruising that departs for this beach from the nearby Palm Beach Wharf.  This wharf is located in the nearby suburb of Palm Beach.  If you are planning to bring food here, we recommend being careful because the local kookaburra birds are known to steal food from visitors.  We recommend checking the The Basin weather reports while visiting here because the weather here can sometimes get stormy.

This beach was formed by the currents of the Pacific Ocean that transported sand into the Pittwater – this sand was eventually deposited onto the beach.  In addition, the area around this beach is featured in Australian writer Ursula Dubosarsky’s novel The Red Shoe.

There are many attractions near The Basin.  West Head Lookout is a popular observation area near the beach that offers amazing views of The Pittwater, the nearby Broken Bay, the nearby Lion Island, and the New South Wales’ Central Coast landscape and it also offers many informative interpretive signs.  Barrenjoey Lighthouse is a beautiful historic sandstone lighthouse in the nearby suburb of Palm Beach that was built in 1881 and the area around it also offers amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and the northern Sydney shoreline. The Bible Garden – also called the Palm Beach Bible Garden – is a garden that offers grassy lawn terraces and it has plants mentioned in the Bible.  This garden also has a pond and it also offers amazing views of the suburb of Palm Beach.  McCarrs Creek Reserve is a waterfront reserve that offers many amenities including barbecue areas, a wharf, picnic tables, drinking water facilities, and benches.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Governor Phillip Park is a waterfront recreational park in the suburb of Palm Beach that offers many fun activities including barbecues, picnic areas, grassy recreational areas, restrooms, a playground, and a boat ramp.  This park also has a water play area during summers and you can see beautiful flowering Jacaranda trees here in November. 

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near The Basin around the nearby suburb of Palm Beach.  Barrenjoey House Palm Beach is a hotel with a restaurant that offers amazing dishes including seafood, steak, chicken supreme, flatbread, and eggplant.  Jonah’s is an upscale waterfront restaurant that offers amazing seafood, along with many other dishes for lunch and dinner including pastas, duck, risotto, steaks, and lamb.  Dunes Palm Beach has a Mediterranean-inspired decor and it also offers many amazing dishes including seafood, roast lamb, focaccia, pasta, and beef dishes.  Coast Palm Beach offers many amazing dishes including seafood, gyros, sandwiches, burgers, and salads.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Chargrill Charlie’s offers amazing barbecued chicken and it also offers other delicious dishes including burgers, salads, Asian dishes, and chicken wings.

If you are looking for a hotel near The Basin, there are many great nearby options.  Barrenjoey House Palm Beach is in the nearby suburb of Palm Beach and was built in 1923 and has many amenities including a restaurant, a lounge, and a terrace.  Jonah’s Boutique Hotel and Restaurant is another upscale hotel that is in the nearby suburb of Palm Beach and offers many amenities including a restaurant, a swimming pool, gardens, a bar, and spa services.  A more affordable hotel is The Little Black Shack that offers many amenities including a terrace, outdoor sitting areas, a shower, a barbecue, and loaner facilities for watersports equipment and snorkel.  Currawong Beach Cottages is another moderately priced accommodation option that offers many amenities including a games room, a wharf, and outdoor sitting areas – this hotel also has beautiful landscaping.  If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near the beach, the 3-Star Time and Tide Hotel offers many amenities including a liquor store, multiple bars, a bistro, and a playground.