The incredible cliffs and rock formations that make up the Pinnacles are one of NSW’s most striking natural features. The deep orange and chalk white rock are sculpted in a way that is reminiscent of Mungo National Park, but a whole lot easier to reach!
There’s an easy walking track taking you to some great viewpoints, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you should also save some time to head down to the beach which also has really dramatic cliff walls.
Here’s what to expect from a visit to the Pinnacles.
The Pinnacles Loop Walk
The stats
Distance: 1km loop
Elevation gain: 30m
Difficulty: Easy
Trailhead: Pinnacles Walking Track Car Park
Summary: The walk to the viewpoints overlooking the Pinnacles is all on a well maintained track. There are some stairs, but it’s predominantly flat.
If you want to head down to Pinnacles Beach, there are more stairs and a little bit of rocky terrain to navigate at the bottom.
The loop walk
From the Pinnacles car park follow the signposted Pinnacles Loop Walk track in a clockwise direction. You’ll begin heading gradually downhill through the bush coming to some stairs at the 240m mark.
You’ll head down and then up a few wide well maintained steps before the path flattens. You’ll hear the rolling waves beyond the bush but there are no real views in this early part of the walk.
The first view of the Pinnacles comes 520m into the trail and it’s a goodie, although not my favourite of the walk.
The view of the deep orange and white cliffs is amazing, but if I’m being picky, there’s a little bit of debris in the forest in front of the view.
Just 30m further on you come to one of the official railed viewpoints and this one offers a great view of the cliffs and the trees surrounding them are pristine.
You can also see a sliver of ocean and beach (as you can from every viewpoint) which offers a lovely contrast.
The final lookout is another 70m of easy walking further on and this is the ‘main’ view of the track. It’s a gorgeous view of the cliffs and offers a slightly more expansive ocean vista too.
After this you continue through the bush for a further 350m, back to the car park again.
Pinnacles Beach
Distance: 1.3km return
Elevation gain: 70m
Difficulty: Easy, but not flat
I’d initially thought that the track down to the beach was an off shoot of the main circuit walk, but it’s a different trail that begins from the same car park.
It’s signposted and starts as a bush walk before emerging from the bush to a metal boardwalk with stunning ocean views.
There’s a beautiful view of the beach (but not the cliffs) from the lookout at the 320m mark. From here you can continue to the left on the boardwalk leading down to the beach.
After 200m you’ll reach some steep but well maintained stairs which takes you down to a rock platform, 40m away.
The final few metres involves walking down some rock (which is grippy when dry as long as you avoid the sandy bits) to the beach.
The beach is absolutely beautiful with some great rock formations directly ahead of you as you come down the staircase.
I imagine when the tide is up the rocks could be covered in water, but for us they were exposed and there were some small (non swimmable) rockpools.
You could go for a really long walk along the beach to the left which has some great cliff walls.
If it’s low tide and a very slight swell you could make your way around the rocks to the right and head onto the next part of the beach, but only in very good conditions or it would be dangerous.
Getting to the Pinnacles Trailhead
The Pinnacles walk begins from the Pinnacles Loop car park in the Beowa National Park, you can see the exact location on Google maps here. There’s a long drop toilet at the car park.
It’s a 10 minute drive from Eden and 20 minutes from Merimbula on the NSW Far South Coast.
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How to find one of Batemans Bay’s least well known rockpools, as well as the required tide and swell for a safe visit.