Only two hours from Sydney, Tuggerah Lake is a popular holiday and cycling destination for many. I’ve previously ridden half way around, so this ride is simply to tick ‘Looping the Lake’ off my bucket list. You can start anywhere, but from the M1 Motorway, Chittaway Bay is convenient or you could train to Tuggerah Railway Station. I started near Chittaway Public School and soon joined the Lake on a wide and scenic cycleway all the way to The Entrance.

It took about an hour to reach The Entrance, a town with a constant carnival atmosphere. It’s full of cafes and I enjoyed a coffee while watching kids play in the park.

Before heading north, I cruised out to where the lake meets the ocean; the views are worth the extra couple of kms.

The Entrance Beach

The Entrance bridge is always windy as it funnels air from the ocean, so go slow. Take the first sharp left and you have another 5kms of lovely cycleway along the shoreline and through bushland.

The path ends on the Wilfred Barrett Drive not far from Magenta Shores. There is a good bike lane for a couple of kms before you join the new path through Wyrrabalong National Park. Stay close to the shoreline and you’ll soon cross Toukley Bridge into Toukley village.

Toukley Bridge

Once you re-connect with the lake, you find wide strips of land behind local properties. They are flood prone and cannot be built on, and locals use them as backyard extensions.

Access to those strips of land is sometimes blocked by properties that extend to the lake edge, so you simply return to the road until you see the next access point. As the forest gets dense you are reaching the Wyong River; ride along to the bridge and you will soon be in Tarcoma then Tuggerah. There is a good connecting bike path from the Tuggerah Station to Chittaway Point where my lake loop ended.

Fifty-one kilometres and three hours of riding on safe and scenic paths makes this a great outing. There are a few small stretches where I resorted to footpaths on the Toukley to Tarcoma leg., but the local streets are quiet.  I’ll do this ride again soon, but in the reverse direction. Amazing how different things look going backwards.

More detailed Strava map at https://www.strava.com/activities/1838031351