Lake Cathie: See, Nature and Activities

Lake Cathie combines a distinctive waterscape with opportunities for exercise and spending time together outdoors. The lake regularly opens to the ocean; whether it is open affects the kinds of water activities available. There is also a forest trail with a lookout, play areas and picnic spots. If you’re looking for a holiday rental in Lake Cathie, consider whether you’d like to focus your trip on water, nature or activities with children.

A lake with a changing connection to the ocean

The opening and closing of the ocean entrance is part of the natural process of intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons, or ICOLLs. Lake Cathie is the second-largest estuarine saltmarsh area in New South Wales. This combination of lake and saltmarsh shapes the character of the area. When Lake Cathie is open to the ocean, its warm, shallow waters are suitable for swimming. Swimming is therefore dependent on this condition; keep the difference in mind when planning water activities for your trip.

The lake beside Lake Cathie Beach offers calmer waters and a family-friendly foreshore reserve. Lake Cathie Foreshore Reserve also provides river access for non-motorised boating activities. This means there are different ways to spend time on the water: swimming when the ocean entrance is open, or enjoying a non-motorised activity on the river.

Playgrounds and picnic areas

Lake Cathie Foreshore Reserve combines play opportunities with space to take a break. The play area is fully fenced and includes a large play structure with two slides, four swings, an accessible roundabout, and a climbing and balancing rope structure. There is also a low-impact fitness circuit for older people and rehabilitation purposes. Toilets, picnic tables, barbecues and covered seating areas are nearby.

For a meal together outdoors, the reserve has a large covered picnic area with 13 picnic tables and 5 barbecues; toilets are nearby. There are also picnic tables and barbecues along the lake foreshore. Another play area is at Rainbow Beach Sporting Field, with a slide, climbing access, two swings and a roundabout. Shade, drinking fountains, toilets, a multi-purpose hard-surface court, and picnic tables with covered seating areas round out the facilities.

Get active on wheels, on court and in the forest

Lake Cathie Skate Space has several skate areas and a pump track for different skill levels. If you prefer tennis, Lake Cathie Tennis Club has two high-quality synthetic courts. Organised social games take place throughout the week, during the day and in the evening. These activities offer a different focus from spending time on the foreshore: you can include skating or a social game in your trip plans.

On the northern headland of Lake Cathie, a constructed forest trail leads to a lookout platform. From there, you can see across Lake Cathie and out to the ocean. Around the area, the forested slopes and rocky escarpment around Jolly Nose Hill are a distinctive landscape feature; the area is home to diverse plant communities and plant and animal species.

Choose Lake Cathie as a holiday destination

The traditional custodians of the Lake Cathie region are the Birpai. Together with its saltmarsh landscape, the changing condition of the ocean entrance and the range of opportunities for exercise, this makes Lake Cathie a destination where water and nature play an important role. When choosing your holiday rental, you can consider which experiences you’d like to shape your holiday. If playgrounds and picnic breaks are a priority, the reserve and sporting field facilities described above are possible destinations; if you’d rather explore the landscape, you can include the forest trail and lookout platform in your plans. More local pages: Krambach, Monkerai, Smiggin Holes, North Star, Isabella, Jamberoo, Lawrence and Leonay.

For the overview of the wider region: New South Wales.