The stunning blue rockpool at Little Rocky Beach is very easy to reach yet remains a relative unknown. Much to our surprise, despite visiting on a very hot weekend in December, no one at all came down to the beach for the duration of our visit.
The rockpool is just big enough for a swim with excellent water clarity.
It’s very well protected and accessed via the beach, making it a great bet if you’re not a fan of rockpools located on a rock shelf exposed to large waves.
Here’s how to find it.
Safety info: tide & swell
Though this pool is well protected, you still need to visit a couple of hours either side of low tide and when the swell is marked ‘slight’.
During this time, it is very unlikely you will encounter anything more than very tiny waves entering the pool - though larger rogue waves are a possibility at any rockpool.
For us the pool was extremely calm making a swim here very tranquil and well suited for families (remembering that larger waves can never be completely ruled out). You can see the tide and swell forecast here.
The walk to Little Rocky Rockpool
The stats
Distance: 655m each way
Elevation gain: 25m
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Big Rocky Car Park
Summary: The majority of the walk to Little Rocky Rockpool is on a maintained path, with the final 160m being a rock hop.
The rock hop is along a rocky beach, not a rock shelf, so it’s simply a matter of watching your step so you don’t roll an ankle, but there’s no exposure to the waves.
The walk
From the Big Rocky car park (full parking details below) you’ll follow the maintained pathway and bear left after 15m.
You’ll pass through a gateway (posts) after another 20m and continue on the National Parks maintained track.
At the 175m mark this turns into a boardwalk and 100m later, you will come to a signpost for Little Rocky.
The track narrows but it’s still an easy stroll with a bit of welcome shade offered by the bush.
Keep following this path until you see a rocky headland ahead. Once you are close to the rocks, follow the trail left to the beach.
From here you’ll see a rocky outcrop that extends from the beach into the water - it’s about midway between the start of the beach and the cliffs at the far end of the bay.
Walk east along the beach towards the rocky outcrop. You will be walking for around 160m on pebbles/rocks of varying sizes all the way to the pool.
The rocks become larger the closer you get to the water, with medium pebble sized rocks at the top of the beach and much larger rocks at the shoreline.
I preferred the smaller rocks, so stuck to the higher part of the beach, but I do think there’s a bit more of a risk of rolling an ankle on the little ones, so go carefully.
Depending on the tide, crossing from the beach to the rocky outcrop will either be almost dry, or have some small pools to step over.
It’s only a few metres before you reach Little Rocky Rockpool at the eastern side of the rocky outcrop (it’s relatively well hidden until you get up close).
The entire walk from the car park to the rockpool is just 655m and for extra guidance the coordinates for the pool are: -32.764152, 152.148584 (click here for the Google Maps pin).
Swimming at Little Rocky Rockpool
Swimming in the clear blue water of Little Rocky Rockpool is a delight. The pool - while not huge - is big enough to swim and the surrounding rocks offer a lot of protection from the waves.
The water is clear all the way to the bottom, despite being quite deep throughout much of the pool (though you can still stand in a number of spots).
The setting for the pool is incredibly picturesque with a backdrop of rugged forested rock walls that feel very dramatic.
Although overall it doesn’t have quite the wow factor of somewhere like the Boat Harbour Rockpool it’s still got a lot of charm, as well as being more protected and of course, much less well known!
Entering the water is also really easy as there are tiers which act as large natural steps and the surface is generally soft, so all in all it’s a beautiful little spot with very leisurely access.
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
Litter tends to breed litter, so if you do spot any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the area, it will go a long way to keeping the area clean.
Please remember to wear reef safe sunscreen to protect the marine life inside the pool.
Getting to Little Rocky Rockpool
The closest car park to Little Rocky Rockpool is the Big Rocky car park in Tomaree National Park in Port Stephens, you can see it here on Google maps. The last 2.9km of the road to the car park is gravel, but suitable for any car at time of writing. It has potholes, but not any that should cause any issues when driven slowly.
The car park is located 7km and roughly a 15 minute drive from Nelson Bay and a similar distance from Anna Bay.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, that we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support.
The complete guide to the Port Stephens Sand Dunes, one of the must-see places in New South Wales. We’ll tell you about the best things to do independently, the tours that operate, handy insider tips, how to get to the dunes and everything you need to know to have a truly memorable trip.