Riding with Kids in Sydney: The Best Tracks
We are a couple weeks into being a 3-rider family! We love watching CZ build strength, dexterity, and balance on her new bike. She is thrilled with her accomplishments so far, and I think the balance bike will be equally beneficial for her health and self-confidence.
While we still use the bike seat for the everyday rides to work, grocery stores, and other errands; it is nice to let her experience the joys of the saddle, when we don’t have a destination in mind. The biggest hurdle we face is finding great places for riding with kids in Sydney. Living in an urban area sometimes makes it trek for safe and appropriate beginner riding options. We don’t have any outdoor space to call our own, and the sidewalks are a little too close to traffic for a wobbly rider.
We searched nearby neighborhoods, talked to other biking families, and did some Googling to find a few great places for kids to ride in Sydney. All of these locations meet the following criteria:
- Relatively flat
- Protected from cars
- Short paved paths
- Car parking accessible (if that’s your thing)
- Easily reached by public transport from the city
We spend a bit of time strapping CZ’s bike on the xtracycle, but the extra hassle is worth the stress-free ride once we get there. Some of these spots are also great for school-aged riders who will soon be transitioning to bike lanes and busier footpaths.
Riding with Kids in Sydney – Short Tracks
Sydney Park Kid’s Cycle Track
Sydney Park – With it’s compact, but interesting course and traffic sign practice, Sydney park ranks as the best place to teach kids to ride in urban Sydney. The bike and scooter track is next to the carpark at the intersection of Sydney Park Rd and Mitchell. It is opposite the cricket oval, and protected by a mulched area and fence. It is a little removed from the café and other playgrounds, but that does not impact its popularity. Warm weekends are packed with young riders (2-7ish) with various skill levels. For CZ’s first experiences, we headed out to the park early to beat the crowds and reduce the likelihood of a collision during her wobbly starts.
Centennial Park’s Learn to Ride Track
Centennial Park – JZ and I love the fast, smooth riding in Centennial Park on the bike lane, but it isn’t necessarily a good fit for young cyclists. Luckily, there is a nice loop around the playground behind Centennial Park Cycles. This provides an ideal location for CZ to work in a few laps of her own, with longer straight sections. It is not as elaborately signed, or artfully designed, as Sydney Park, but it provides the basics: a protected, flat, short loop. As she gains comfort and control, JZ and I could easily stay in one spot and watch CZ stride in loops around the playground. Again, this park gets a little mental on sunny weekends (let’s be honest, that’s most Sydney parks), which makes it great practice for navigating obstacles, like stray balls and tiny pedestrians. CZ loves this park because she usually enjoys a baby cino when JZ and I grab coffees – what a city kid!
For those of you with multiple young riders at different skill levels, Centennial Park is also a great option because one parent can accompany the more advanced rider around the longer 3km loop, while the other hangs back for practice on the smaller course.
Manly Lagoon Reserve
Manly Lagoon Reserve – Biking along the Manly Esplanade can be quite chaotic – especially on nice weekends. Instead of battling the crowds, we continue down the beach to Manly Lagoon Reserve, where the pathways are lightly traveled. While the path is not a loop, it is easy to see most of the pathway from the middle of the green space. One thing to note, the lagoon is frequented by dogs at play, so be aware of unwelcome approaches by wet dogs.
Brightmore Reserve
Brightmore Reserve, Cremorne – Like most Eastern Suburb dwellers, we don’t often venture across the bridge (the xtracycle is extremely unwieldy on the northern ramp up and down), but when we do – it’s definitely worth it! Brightmore Reserve is a lovely stop even though we usually take the easy way and go by train and bus. Like most of Cremorne, the Reserve is situated on a hill, but the paths are surprisingly flat and meander through a few play areas.
Riding with Kids in Sydney – Long Tracks
For those with slightly more advanced riders who are looking to go further afield, these spots might be worth a family bike adventure:
Barangaroo Reserve – With amazing bridge and skyline views and flat paths, this new CBD gem is definitely a must-see! The bike path is not a condensed loop, so you will need to ride (or run) alongside your little one, but the path is only 600m on the outer edge. Be aware that there is very little shade here, and it can get blisteringly hot during the summer months. Fortunately, there are places to cool down and frequent water bubblers, but one especially steamy trip was all we needed to stay away while it’s hot.
Brightmore Reserve
Cooks River – This greenway meanders along the river for several kilometers, through parks and around sports fields. The 2.7km section between Gough Whitlam Park, Earlwood and Wardell Rd is particularly calm and would suit the less experienced. We made a day of it, from Redfern to North Strathfield with a train ride return, but you could easily select a smaller section for an out-and-back.
Manly Lagoon Reserve
Sydney Olympic Park – With 35 km of bike paths, we can’t talk about riding in Sydney without mentioning Olympic Park! It is a bit far from the city, so we don’t make it out very often. When CZ is older, we want to take advantage of the intriguing Bike Safari Circuits! The website a a bit clunky to navigate, but it might be worth checking your planned weekend to ensure there are no big events and road closures.
Did we miss any of your favourites?
One location that is occasionally mentioned to us is the Bay Run around Iron Cove. Some say it’s nice for riding, and others avoid the running and pram crowds during the weekends. We look forward to checking it out in the future and will update this post if it makes the cut!
Other posts in this series:
These are great suggestions! We checked out Brightmore Reserve yesterday since it is just up the road from where we are staying in North Sydney and my son loved the riding track and playground. I’ve never seen anything like this in the U.S.. They have such great playgrounds here.
Awesome that you got to check it out already! I agree that the parks are way better here. You really need to head out our way to see the learn to ride track at Sydney Park in St. Peter’s – it is super cool!