Best time to hike the Royal National Park Coast Track
Best: May–October. Also good: March–April and November.
The Royal National Park Coast Track is 25 km long, in 2 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 44 m, the middle height of the trail (0–266 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).
Weather month by month
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Daylight h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26° | 21° | 105 | 14 | 14.2 |
| February | 26° | 21° | 115 | 13 | 13.4 |
| March | 24° | 20° | 159 | 15 | 12.4 |
| April | 22° | 18° | 78 | 9 | 11.3 |
| May | 20° | 15° | 34 | 7 | 10.4 |
| June | 17° | 13° | 57 | 8 | 9.9 |
| July | 17° | 12° | 49 | 6 | 10.1 |
| August | 18° | 12° | 39 | 6 | 10.9 |
| September | 20° | 14° | 35 | 6 | 11.9 |
| October | 22° | 16° | 67 | 10 | 13.0 |
| November | 23° | 17° | 86 | 10 | 14.0 |
| December | 25° | 19° | 70 | 10 | 14.4 |
Season notes from our guide
You can walk all year. May to October is the best time: the air is cool, the light is clear and humpback whales migrate along the coast. Spring (September to November) brings wildflowers on the heath. Summer is hot and humid on the exposed cliffs, with little shade on day 1, and it is the bush fire season: the park can close at short notice on high fire danger days.
From 6 July to 18 December 2026 a deer control programme closes the Coast Track, Wattamolla, Garie and the coast south to Figure 8 Pools between sunset and sunrise, Monday to Thursday (except school holidays). Walkers with a Garie booking can still reach the campsite, but you must not be on the track at night.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Royal National Park Coast Track guideHike it with Outest
Offline maps, stages and places to stay on your phone.
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Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near -34.15, 151.10, adjusted to 44 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.