The Lane Cove Riverside Walk - combined with the Valley Walk - is easily the best hike in the park. The birdlife is incredible (expect to be serenaded much of the way), the bush land is absolutely beautiful, and the river which you follow much of the way, gives the whole walk a really peaceful feel.

One half of the track is easy, and the other is a little rougher, with some undulating track. Either one of these tracks is great in its own right but the combination of both is definitely our top recommend.

Here’s what to expect from the trail.

Lane Cove Riverside and Valley Walk Circuit

The stats

Distance: 11.1km
Elevation: 235m
Difficulty: Moderate

The Riverside and Valley Walk isn’t a hard trail, but at 11km (and sections of rough terrain) we felt it should be classed a moderate walk. There are long sections that are flat, but there are also a few sections (primarily on the Valley Walk/northern bank) which are rough.

We recommend allowing at least three hours to do the walk, and more if you want a leisurely pace.

Starting with the Riverside Trail

We chose to walk the Riverside Trail first and it’s a really relaxing way to start the hike. You’ll head along the river on a flat path, passing through some gorgeous bushland and various picnic areas.

The picnic areas sort of break up the track - which normally I wouldn’t like - but it’s all so tranquil that it didn’t actually bother me.

There were so many cockatoos, kookaburras and brush turkeys along this part of the trail and the constant sounds were a memorable part of the walk.

After 500m you’ll reach the boat shed, which hires out a variety of different boats if you wanted to make a whole day of your trip to Lane Cove.

At points the track has a few rocks and stairs, but generally speaking it’s a really smooth path, and virtually all flat - such a rarity on Sydney bush walks!

There are pockets of almost jungle like vegetation along this part of the trail, as well as really beautiful gum trees and hundreds of ferns.

We’d done this walk before but I’d really forgotten how lovely it is. The river, the trees and the rocky outcrops are all classic Aussie bushland at its best, and the flat trail allows you to look around you rather than down at your feet.

After 3.8km of easy strolling you’ll reach a staircase and head briefly up onto the road for a minute or two before crossing Porters Creek Bridge, and heading straight back into the bush.

We had a friendly brush turkey join us for a good 400m of the. next part of the trail which was a nice surprise! The walk continues to be flat and easy, on a narrow bush path that follows the river.

The turkey left us just as the trail started to get rocky and begin undulating a little. At the 5km mark the track starts to climb up towards the road.

Look out for wallabies here because we were lucky enough to see two - although they scarpered before we could get a photo!

Roughly 350m later you’ll be up the last of the stairs and need to briefly head towards the road, following the Great North Walk sign.

You’ll walk over De Burghs Bridge and then take the second path on the right back into the bush - it’s signposted.

Onto the Valley Walk

You’re now on the Great North Walk, and if you’ve walked any other sections of it, you’ll know it can be a bit rough in places. Since the major flooding of early 2020, there are a number of trees down along the track and lots more debris than we’ve seen before.

It can make the track a little hard to find in places, you’ll always get there, but you might end up taking a slightly different route.

We’ll note the one area where we went quite wrong and it got a bit hairy.

After 370m heading downhill on the Great North Walk you’ll come to a creek. You can make a really brief detour to a large overhang, a few minutes left of the creek.

We went up to have an explore and saw the remnants of a fire, so I think it might be used as a campsite sometimes. It’s worth the five minute detour to check out.

After that head back to the creek and cross over (there are lots of rocks so it’s easy) and the path continues heading uphill.

You’ll pass a number of overhangs which are quite picturesque, particularly because of the little hanging gardens.

At the 1.25km mark from the GNW signpost, you’ll need to really watch out for the correct path. We ended up heading downhill on some pretty nasty and spiky debris. Some of the rocks were quite exposed which wasn’t ideal as all the leaf litter and branches made it slippery.

We found the correct path in the end, stay left and don’t head downhill. It’s really easy to get confused with the amount of debris around here, it might get cleared but we wanted to mention it just in case!

After that you’ll be heading downhill towards the river again and the path is obvious and in good condition.

After about a kilometre and a half you’ll be walking beside the river again, on a flat and easy track which is really relaxing.

It continues like this for over a kilometre as you make your way around the river, crossing a little bridge with a small waterfall (it might dry up if there hasn’t been rain in a while).

We were walking this section of the track in the late afternoon, and the golden light and reflections in the river were gorgeous.

You’ll also reach another little pocket of what feels like jungle, although I think the signpost said something about weeds….. they’re definitely the prettiest weeds I’ve ever seen!

You’ll soon reach more of the picnic areas and then you have a brief stretch of road walking. We only saw one car, and the bush on either side of the road was dense and lush so it didn’t feel like a hardship at all. All in all there is around 700m of road walking, punctuated by picnic areas which you can walk along instead.

After 4.9km you’ll see a path to your right - you can’t miss it - this will get you back to the weir within 250m.

Packing suggestions for Bush Walks in Sydney

Having the right gear can make a huge difference. Here’s what we pack and have relied upon for years:

Sunscreen: Cancer Council Active. With a high SPF, but not the greasy feel of other sunscreens. Makes a big difference when you’re working up a sweat on a sunny day! Check it out on Amazon
Good Rain Jacket: North Face This is an essential item we always pack in our bag! This jacket from North Face is designed to keep you dry but also comfortably warm (many rain jackets will make you feel like you’re in a sauna). Check it out on Amazon
Bushman Spray: Good for keeping off the mozzies and any other bug. Check it out on Amazon.
Day Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). Check on Amazon or direct with Osprey
Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Check them out on Amazon
Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. Check them out on Amazon.
Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic. Check them out on Amazon

Essential information about the Lane Cove River Circuit

Parking for the walk and entry fee

Parking is at the Koonjeree Picnic area and the fee is $8 per day unless you have an NSW parks pass ($65 a year for all parks except Kosciusko).

Public transport to Lane Cove National Park

It is possible to get to the Riverside Walk by public transport. From the city, take the train to Chatswood Station and then get on the 259 bus, which stops outside the Koonjeree picnic area.