Front Beach

Get driving directions

Front Beach is in the Trial Bay Gaol precinct of Arakoon National Park.

From South West Rocks:

• Follow Phillip Drive
• Turn left onto Cardwell Street

After turning left onto Cardwell Street, you can continue along Trial Bay Gaol Access Road until you reach Trial Bay Gaol.

Or you can:

• Turn left at the beach access road, and then drive past the NPWS depot and Arakoon Nursery
• Continue until you reach the gravel beach carpark
• From here, there's a short walk up a sand track to the beach

Road quality

• Sealed roads

Vehicle access

• 2WD vehicles

Weather restrictions

• All weather

Parking

Parking is available near the beach in a bitumen carpark at the Main Camp kitchen facility at Trial Bay Gaol. 

There's also parking in an asphalt carpark at Trial Bay Gaol kiosk, including 4 accessible parking spots. The walk to the beach from this carpark is around 100m and includes around 20 steps.

There are lots of great things waiting for you in Arakoon National Park. Here are some of the highlights.

Spring

The wildflowers will be out so it’s a great time to hike the park’s walking tracks. Keep an eye out for the glossy black cockatoos that feed on the seeds of ripe she-oak fruit during spring.

Summer

School's out and it's a great time for a family camping holiday – spend your days swimming, snorkelling, fishing and exploring the park's attractions.

Winter

Catch the whales on their journey north along the coast.

This is a popular spot, so it's a good idea to bring your own gas barbecue.

Toilets

There are accessible toilets in the Bayview area of Trial Bay Gaol campground, at the northern end of Front Beach.

• Flush toilets

Picnic tables

There are picnic tables and barbecue shelters at the northern end of Front Beach, just south of Trial Bay Gaol campground.

Barbecue facilities

1 electric barbecue

• Gas/electric barbecues (free)

Carpark

Step-free access

Front Beach is flat and step-free, but there are no pathways. You'll need to cross over the asphalt access road, flat grass and soft sand to reach the facilities and the beach.

There's a concrete ramp to access the beach at the southern end of Trial Bay Gaol campground (at the northern end of Front Beach) however the ramp is quite steep.

• Front Beach factsheet
• Front Beach map (1.7MB pdf)

Disability access level - medium

Front Beach is flat and step-free, but there are no pathways. You'll need to cross over the asphalt access road, flat grass and soft sand to reach the facilities and the beach.

• There are 4 accessible parking spots at the Trial Bay Gaol kiosk carpark around 100m from the beach, but the walk to the beach from there has roughly 20 steps.
• There are accessible flush toilets at the northern end of Front Beach in Trial Bay Gaol campground.