Bilgola Rockpool is a 50 m, eight-lane rock pool with concrete walls and floor at the southern end of Bilgola Beach, one of the quietest beaches on the Northern Beaches. It is free and open all year apart from cleaning.
Key facts
- Type
- Rock pool
- Length
- 50 m
- Good to know
- Step-free or ramp access, Toilets, Change rooms, Parking, Cafe nearby
- Facilities and access
- Disability access, change rooms, toilets, pay-and-display parking (car park off The Serpentine), cafe opposite the surf club
- Managed by
- Northern Beaches Council
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- Not at the pool
- Parking
- Pay-and-display, off The Serpentine
- Best time to go
- Early morning; check the cleaning roster
- Water quality
- GoodBilgola Beach, 0.3 km away. Sampled 26 Oct. Source: NSW Beachwatch.
- Cleaning
- Dated roster published through 2026-12-30Council roster entry: Wed 28 Oct 12:45AM to Wed 28 Oct 05:00PM. Times change with weather and tides.
- Town
- Bilgola Beach, NSW
What it's like
Bilgola sits in a steep, green valley between Newport and Avalon, so the beach feels more tucked away than its neighbours. The pool is on the rock platform at the southern end. It has two parts: an eight-lane, 50 m lap pool, and a broader, calmer section for wading and floating. The concrete floor keeps it clean and easy underfoot.
It is one of Sydney's younger ocean pools, built in the 1960s. The name Bilgola is said to come from an Aboriginal word meaning swirling waters.
When to go
Early mornings bring lap swimmers; by mid-morning on summer weekends families take over the shallow end. Council publishes a dated cleaning roster, and the pool is out of use for about three hours before each listed cleaning time and up to twelve hours after, depending on the sea, so check before you go.
Getting there and facilities
Drive down The Serpentine from Barrenjoey Road to the pay-and-display car park behind the beach. There is disability access to the pool, change rooms and toilets, and a cafe opposite the surf club. Buses on Barrenjoey Road stop at the top of the hill, but the walk down and back up The Serpentine is steep.
Good to know
There are no lifeguards at the pool. Swell can break over the outer wall on big days.