Forster – Beaches, Coastal Walk and Wallis Lake

Forster combines a range of waterside experiences: a beach with clearly defined endpoints, a coastal walk to other destinations, and opportunities to hire a boat on Wallis Lake. Local tasting rooms are also among the town’s attractions. When planning your trip, you can first consider whether you want your holiday to centre on the beach, seaside walks, a boat trip or local drinks.

Beach and coastal walk

Forster Main Beach stretches for 563 metres from Forster’s breakwater to the Ocean Baths. The patrolled beach is next to the baths. From Forster Main Beach, a short walk along the Bicentennial Walk takes you to Pebbly Beach. This makes a clearly defined stretch of beach and a walk to another beach distinct options to enjoy.

The Bicentennial Walk starts at the Forster Ocean Baths, also known as The Bull Ring. The baths were officially opened on 18 January 1936. From this starting point, the coastal walk also leads to The Tanks and Bennetts Head. If you’re looking for a route with several named stops, you can use these destinations as reference points without conflating the beach stretch with the places along the walk.

The Tanks and Bennetts Head

The Tanks is a rock formation along the Bicentennial Walk that forms a rock pool for swimming and snorkelling. To get there, you can park on Head Street and walk through the reserve towards the sea. The name recalls steel tanks from ships that were used at this location during construction of the Forster breakwater in the 1890s. This connects a distinctive coastal formation with a detail from the breakwater’s construction history.

The Bicentennial Walk also leads to Bennetts Head, a lookout for spotting dolphins. This section is especially suited to travellers who want to pause at a lookout; it offers a different focus from the rock pool at The Tanks. For families, this distinction can help shape outings around the interests of fellow travellers without assuming that particular destinations are intended for specific age groups.

Wallis Lake and local tastings

Wallis Lake is another of Forster’s waterside experiences. There are many ways to access the lake, and visitors can hire a boat there. If hiring a boat suits your holiday, it’s a different way to spend time on the water than at the beach or on the coastal walk. Choosing between these activities may help guide your search for holiday accommodation in Forster.

For a taste of local drinks, Coastal Brewing Company offers brewery tours and a beer tasting at its tasting room in Forster. Wharf St. Distillery makes small-batch gin with local botanicals and oyster shells, and serves it in a tasting room on the main street. The two tasting rooms offer different experiences: brewery tours and beer at one, gin made with the listed ingredients at the other. If you’d like to plan these visits, you can consider them as a separate holiday interest alongside the beach, coastal walk and lake.

Choosing the right focus for your holiday

When looking for a holiday house or apartment in Forster, you can start by asking which experiences matter most for your trip: the 563-metre-long Forster Main Beach, the Bicentennial Walk with The Tanks and Bennetts Head, hiring a boat on Wallis Lake, or a tasting.

If you’d like to explore more destination pages: Elizabeth Beach, Bulahdelah, Boolambayte, Charlotte Bay, Tea Gardens and Blueys Beach.

For the broader travel overview: Great Lakes Council.