Pearly Ponds is a secluded swimming hole located in a gorgeous patch of bushland close to Pearl Beach. The pool is quite shallow, so it’s the perfect spot for kids, or if you simply want to laze around in the water. It’s very serene and your only companions are likely to be the resident water dragons.
It’s best visited after some good rainfall when the waterfall and cascades will be running and the pool will be clean and clear.
The walk to reach Pearly Ponds is generally easy, but there are a couple of rocky patches which we’ll describe in the trail notes below.
The Pearly Ponds Walk
The stats
Distance: 1.6km return to the main pool, but you can continue beyond
Elevation gain: 55m
Difficulty: Easy
Summary: The walk to Pearly Ponds is on a well formed track up until you reach the main swimming hole. If you want to continue to the further cascades and small pools beyond, it is a bit rougher and has a few slippery sections.
Reaching the main swimming hole is generally easy, but does require climbing up a short rocky path and small sections of the track have some leaf litter which can be a little slippery. The walk is not signposted, but we have you covered on the directions below.
Starting the trail: through the forest
From the parking area (details below) the walk heads along the flat fire trail. After 75m you’ll reach a junction where you need to head right, and then right again another 45m later.
The dirt path is in good condition and you’ll now be walking in a really beautiful stretch of bushland, with hundreds of ferns and lots of huge cabbage palms, which give the trail rainforest vibes.
We were there for the swimming spot, but the walk turned out to be really gorgeous in its own right.
After 400m (from the car park) the walk heads briefly uphill on a rocky track. You’ll pass under a picturesque overhang, though sadly it has suffered from some mindless graffiti.
To Pearl Beach Waterfall
Just beyond the overhang you’ll see a trail heading downhill on the left. This leads to the bottom of Pearl Beach waterfall.
The waterfall needs a lot of recent rain to be running, otherwise it reduces to a trickle. We didn’t visit during a long dry spell, but it hadn’t rained in a week or so prior and the falls had all but dried up.
It’s still a pretty spot, but definitely more of a weeping rock without recent rainfall. Assuming you have better luck it’s just 50m down the steep dirt trail to the falls. It is however, quite loose and slippery, so you need to take care.
If you don’t mind not standing at the very bottom of the waterfall you can walk just a couple of steps off the main track and get a good view of the falls from above and this avoids any tricky terrain.
To Pearly Ponds
The main trail continues past the waterfall, heading up the rocky track on the right. It might look like you’ve reached a dead end at first, but look between the rocks and you’ll see the rough path heading uphill.
It then bends left and you’ll be standing on a rock platform on top of the falls. For us it was quite dry, but take care if the creek is in full flow.
Continue following the rock platform upstream, which is nice and grippy when dry. After just under 150m you will arrive at the start of the main swimming hole at Pearly Ponds.
This section is very shallow, so it’s easier to continue for another 50m along the path to the left of the creek which leads to a better access point for the pool (800m from the car park).
Wild swimming at Pearly Ponds
The main waterhole at Pearly Ponds is very picturesque. A quintessential bush pool surrounded by low rock walls, gum trees and a small cascade.
It’s a really tranquil spot and perfect for kids, with its own little swing and shallow water.
The water was below waist height for me, so swimming wasn’t the best, but it was great for relaxing in the water. It may be a little higher after more rain, but I can’t imagine it’s ever deep.
The bottom of the pool is sandy and you can just step off the riverbank and into the shallow water, so it’s a very easy access.
The pool gets a fair amount of sun, so the water wasn’t what I’d describe as warm, but it definitely wasn’t cold like it is in many waterfall swimming holes.
Continuing along the creek
You can continue further along the creek, which is scenic, though the pools are smaller and the path rougher. It’s only worth continuing if there has been recent rain though or the pools will have all but dried up.
If the creek is flowing nicely, keep following the worn trail on the left side of the creek, past the top of the cascade, along the rock platform and then uphill into the rocky bushy area to the left of the water.
The dirt path has some rocky sections and some scratchy plants as it heads uphill. It’s not hard, but it is a little slippery in places.
There are several small pools, though there was a lot of debris in them on our visit and it would need further rain to flush them out. The biggest of the additional pools we visited was 250m beyond the main pool (1.05km from the car park) and this one was surrounded by boulders and could have been a nice place for a paddle were it not for the debris and general lack of water.
You do need to climb down some rocks to access it, but the rocks were grippy when dry.
After exploring the creek you can simply retrace your steps back to the car park. Take care to follow the same route back as it’s easy to stray off the main track and some of the social trails were steeper and pass into private property.
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.
There are no facilities at the start of the trail or anywhere along it so please prepare accordingly.
Getting to Pearly Ponds
The trail to Pearly Ponds begins at the end of Amethyst Avenue, close to Pearl Beach on the Central Coast (you can find it on Google Maps by clicking here). There is no official car park for the walk, but room for several cars to pull fully off the road. Please don’t block the fire trail and park respectfully as this is a residential road.
The trail is roughly a 21km and 30 minute drive from Gosford and 98km and 1.5 hours from Sydney.
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