Southern Lake Macquarie

Welcome to Australia’s largest saltwater lake
aerial of point wolstoncroft

Lake Macquarie: 32km of coastlines and good times

Twice the size of Sydney Harbour, Lake Macquarie is the largest saltwater lake in Australia. Its nine billion litres of water holds 249 fish species, as well as other wonders. It’s an epicentre for water activities and happy days! Approximately 15% of the southern catchment is located within the Central Coast Council area including the suburbs of Mannering Park, Kingfisher Shores, Chain Valley Bay, Summerland Point, Gwandalan, Point Wolstonecroft and Crangan Bay.

Words: Lyndsey Douglas of WritersWho in collaboration with Love Our Waterways.

Lake Macquarie Sailing Tours moored
Image: Lake Macquarie Sailing Tours
black swans on lake
Credit: Rosemary Metcalfe 2023, via AllTrails

Our lake edge neighbourhoods

Chain Valley Bay
Chain Valley Bay has some great short bushwalks and is a great location to spot Powerful Owls. Go to the edge of the lake where Tiembula Creek feeds into Lake Macquarie and enjoy the bird life in this quiet forested area. Enjoy the flowering bottlebrush and other flowers in autumn and spring in the Tiembula Creek wetland. Join one of the walking tracks that takes you to Gwandalan or Summerland Point.

Point Wolstoncroft
Access to Point Wolstoncroft is by boat to the headland or via the Sport and Recreation Centre. You can fish, picnic, enjoy a short bushwalk, bird watch (Whistling Kites can sometimes carry out aerial acrobatics over the foreshore forest!), or keep an eye open for green sea turtles swimming in the lake.

Crangan Bay
Crangan Bay offers visitors some fire trails suitable for bushwalking. A lake shore walking track is planned to link Crangan Bay with some other new reserve sections, eventually allowing visitors to travel from Nords Wharf around the lake to Gwandalan.

Lake Macquarie State Conservation Area
Managed by NSW Parks and Wildlife Service this SCA lines 16 km of Lake Macquarie’s foreshore and encompasses some scenic lake edge Central Coast suburbs ideal for fishing, boating, picnicking, bushwalking and observing wildlife including kangaroos, wallabies, gliders and many birds .
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Unspoken 'no shoes required' mantra

Lake Macquarie supports a diversity of habitat types throughout its many sections, including seagrass meadows, mangroves, saltmarsh, rocky reefs, oyster reefs, sand flats, mud flats and deep open waters. It’s also a firm favourite when it comes to water-based activities with its holiday vibes and relaxation in nature with an unspoken “no shoes required” mantra. But while you’re kicking up the heels and enjoying Lake Macquarie, remember it’s up to us all to protect this dynamic lake for generations to come. And you don’t have to have your toes in the sand to do it – what we do at home makes a difference too.

Lake Macquarie Sailing Tours_Summerland Point
Image: Lake Macquarie Sailing Tours
sailing boat on blue lake
Sailing from Summerland Point

Sharing the love of the lake

Lake Macquarie City Council and Central Coast Council have a great relationship based on the same goal – to protect and ensure the lake’s longevity and sustainability. The two councils are working together to develop the new Coastal Management Program which provides a clear and strategic direction for the management of Lake Macquarie’s coastal zone for the next 10 years and a pathway to achieve its vision of “a healthy, resilient coastal zone”.

Now that's something we can all get onboard with!

Responsible fishing
There’s few joys that come close to casting a line and waiting for the magic to happen. But like all magic, it doesn’t happen without effort. It’s all of our responsibility to ensure our enjoyment doesn’t come at the cost of the lakes and their vibrant aquatic life.

Reel ways to love Lake Macquarie

Ensure that any fish that are heading home with you in the esky are of legal size. There are clear rules regarding the legal sizes and bag limits of the different fish species and it is an offence to not adhere to them. It is extremely important to know these limits as they protect the fish in our lakes from being overfished and depleted. When you’re ready to call it a day, gather all your litter including good containers, plastic bags and fishing lines and dispose of them properly. Plastic and other rubbish left behind will soon take the deadly form of choking, digestive or entrapment hazard to our Lake Macquarie marine species.

man on boat ramp
Credit: David Ross x Destination Central Coast

Things to do on South Lake Macquarie...

This project has been funded under the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, co-funded by the Australian and NSW governments.gov logo gov logo