Biking Bay Run – Is it kid-friendly and biking directions from the city

On our quest to experience the best rides in Sydney, we slowly move further and further from our inner-city location. Biking Bay Run, the loop around Iron Cove, was overdue for a visit, and we recently made the journey from Redfern. We read several blogs recommending the 7km loop; however, detailed information was sparse. It seems a lot of the loop is newer, and today we fill the information gap, covering the ins and outs of the ride. We answer the many questions we unsuccessfully investigated before our ride: are there any on-road sections, stairs to traverse, and water stations? And, most importantly for those of us living car-free, how do you safely and comfortably navigate from the city by bike.

The Bay Run is a 7km mixed-use track encircling Iron Cove and crossing its namesake bridge. We found the path extremely bike friendly for several reasons: dedicated bike lanes for the busiest section, multiple water stops, and it easily connects to other routes around the city. We appreciated the various playgrounds, and although we did not stop for coffee, we seriously considered the beautiful cafe downstairs at UTS Haberfield. CZ has some serious coffee-envy in the photo above.

Many areas in Sydney seem blatantly unfriendly towards bikes – bike lanes suddenly end, signals are poorly timed, and there are even places where bike lanes suddenly merge with bridges and steep stairs. Fortunately, many areas and paths demonstrate a thoughtful consideration cyclists during the build and design process. The Bay Run is one of the latter.

Biking Bay Run

We loved the fast, flat ride with dedicated cycle and walking lanes. Even when pedestrians did not completely comply with their assigned lane, the split lanes alleviated much of the usual confusion and sudden stopping of most shared paths.

Both of the bridges (Iron Cove/Victoria Rd and a short section on Timbrell Dr) seamlessly integrate with the bike lanes, preventing the hassle of dismounting and/or carrying the bike up stairs. The Bay Run also fits well into longer rides. We stumbled across an intersection with the Greenway to Cooks River. Or you can ride in the other direction, down Victoria Rd and into the city – which we will get to in a moment.

For our longer cycling days, we need space for CZ to run around during our ride breaks. She appreciated the fun and interactive parks, and made a few friends who were excited to hear she was from Carolina. Their dad grows the infamous Carolina Reaper pepper, and it gave CZ instant street cred. Another nice part of biking Bay Run is the buffer around the path. This allows cyclists to easily pull over for water refill or a  playground stop. The Lilyfield and Rozelle side of the cove passes three consecutive parks and playgrounds, all great places to stretch little legs! Additionally, public bathrooms are available at Callan, King George and Neild Park.

One of the selling points of biking Bay Run is that you are never more than 20m from the water, which is great for the scenery but can be nerve-wracking with an inexperienced rider. In some areas there is a fence around the water, but in many areas it would be possible to fall in. Alternately, Henley Marine Dr follows the other side of the path for about 4km, ultimately converging with the bustling A4. Biking Bay Run is a great family outing, but sandwiched between two potential hazards, we don’t recommend it for balance bikes. (if you are looking for great tracks for new riders, check out this post).

Biking Bay Run from the City

Speaking of busy roads, we anxiously decided to ride to Iron Cove from the city, not that we had much of a choice. Fortunately, it turned out to be a great, albeit exhausting experience. While Victoria Rd is rather busy, the sidewalks on both sides of the road are double-wide, shared paths.The wide lanes easily accommodated the xtracycle, and we comfortably passed the pedestrians we encountered. Looping up the ANZAC bridge winded us, but we appreciated riding up the twisty ramps, instead of pushing up stairs. On our return, we confidently cut off a few extra km, riding through Prymont and Broadway, instead of retracing our route through Darling Harbour.

Below is the route that we followed from Central Station, through Prince Alfred Park, past Broadway Shopping Center, though Wentworth Park, and towards the ANZAC Bridge. We opted to ride through Wentworth Park instead of on Wattle St, which is slower but more comfortable for us; however, we have ridden down Wattle St in the past. Also of note, Google tells you to cross Wattle using the bridge to Fig St, but the sidewalk works fine. The final stretch along Victoria Rd is all shared paths, making the long, steady incline a little more bearable.

In short, biking Bay Run, is a great family adventure, and there is an optional detour by the Birkenhead Point outlet mall. Although we recommend locking up near the Watershed Kitchen, unless you plan to do a lot of shopping. Then you can walk along the water by the ferry stop. The hill to park at the mall was intense!

Pin this for future reference: