A go-to guide to Newcastle’s best beaches

From calm swimming spots to famous surf breaks, here’s your guide to sand-hopping around Newcastle’s best beaches.

How many cities in the world can claim a cosmopolitan urban centre that’s fringed by beautiful beaches, epic surf and historic ocean baths? Australia’s second-oldest city, Newcastle, can. While its dynamic neighbourhoods boast an ever-increasing roster of outstanding hotels and dining spots, its coastline has provided a constant source of beauty, respite and playfulness for swimmers, surfers and sunbathers alike.

Newcastle Beach

The city’s main beach is a people pleaser. Newcastle Beach, wedged between cliffs and rock pools, is a 600-metre stretch of sand that is well patrolled during summer. It’s also home to the city’s iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths, which provide a calm pool for swimming laps as well as a shallow tidal pool for kids. Beach-goers will find keen surfers riding the ‘Southie’ break and permanent volleyball nets that call for friendly games in the sunshine.

Newcastle Beach is one of the most favoured surf spots in Australia. (Image: Destination NSW)

Nobbys Beach

Created by the convict-built Nobbys Breakwall, which was constructed to make Newcastle’s Harbour safe for ships, Nobbys Beach is a popular place for families and amateur surfers. Often frequented by dolphin pods, it’s also home to Soldiers Baths, where snorkellers can seek out macro marine life. Walk along the breakwall to the still-active 1854 Nobbys Lighthouse, an iconic landmark of the city and the start of the five-kilometre Bathers Way, a scenic pathway that’s become one of the best things to do in Newcastle.

Morning views don’t get much better than this. (Image: Destination NSW)

Merewether Beach

At the other end of Bathers Way, Merewether Beach is home to the largest ocean baths in the southern hemisphere. Built in 1935, the Art-Deco Merewether Ocean Baths comprise lap lanes as well as a shallow pool for languid dips. The beach is a famous spot for riding waves and plays host to Australia’s largest surf festival, Surfest. While only a short distance from the city, the suburb has the chill factor dialled up and is a relaxing spot for a beachside break.

The Merwether Ocean Baths were built in 1935. (Image: Destination NSW)

Horseshoe Beach

On the harbour side of Nobbys Breakwall, Horseshoe Beach is both family-friendly and dog-friendly. An excellent base to launch a kayak or stand-up paddleboard, the beach is right by the bustling Newcastle Harbour and Nobbys Lighthouse. You will also see small keelboats flitting about the harbour, which you can learn to sail yourself with the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (operating from Wickham).

Horseshoe Beach is a haven for families and is dog friendly. (Image: Destination NSW)

Bogey Hole

Hand-hewn by convicts in 1819 for the personal use of the long-serving commander of Newcastle, Major James Morisset, the Bogey Hole is one of the earliest known examples of a purpose-built ocean swimming pool. Accessed by a staircase at the bottom of King Edward Park. the turquoise waterhole is idyllic for a refreshing dip and has become an Instagrammer hotspot. The swell can be dangeorous on big surf days, so it’s best to visit when conditions are calm.

The Bogey Hole is one of the city’s best spot to swim. (Image: Time Out)

Stockton Beach

Just north of Newcastle, the famous Stockton sand dunes are the largest shifting dunes in the southern hemisphere, stretching for 32 kilometres along the coast. Set within Worimi National Park, this ethereal landscape is a magnet for adventurers who come here for surfing, sand boarding and quad biking. View this desert-like landscape on a sunset session with Oakfield Ranch Camel Rides, which operates at the northern end of Worimi National Park.

Stockton Beach is bordered by Newcastle City on the right. (Image: Destination NSW)

Dudley Beach

At the other end of the Newcastle coast, south of Merewether, you’ll find one of the last surviving pockets of coastal rainforest in Glenrock State Conservation Area. It’s hard to fathom you’re just a few kilometres from Newcastle city when standing on the Dudley Beach, where you may only spot a handful of keen surfers or sunbathers on the sand. Cool off here after a bush walk through the surrounding protected wilderness, but remember, this is an unpatrolled beach.

Dudley Beach is perfect for a secluded swim. (Image: Lake Macquarie City Council)

For more to see and do, read our Newcastle travel guide.