Little Austinmer Beach

Great sandy, dog-friendly Beach with rock pools at either end for puppies who like to play with the frothy water as it hits the rocks.

Little Austinmer Beach, also called Know Park, lies right besides Lawrence Hargraves Drive, however parking and access is only available on the streets opposite and at the northern end.

The 330 m long sandy beach is backed by grassy slopes rising to the road with a scattering of tall pine trees. However it is not a popular spot owing to the limited access and particularly the presence of rocks and reef along most of the beach. Only toward the southern end is there limited space between the rocks to provide reasonable access to the water, however this leads to the main central rip. If you want a dip then there is a shallow natural rock pool on the northern rock platform.

Swimming
The nearest patrolled beach is Austinmer Beach located 1km to the south. These are three hazardous little used beaches owing to the dominant rocks and rips, while Brickyard also has boat traffic.

Surfing
The northern reef at Sharky, called Sharkies, can produce good lefts and rights under low to moderate swell. At Brickyard surfers park here to paddle out to the tip of the rock platform off the point where there is a steep right reef break called Headlands. It breaks best when the swell exceeds 1.5 m and is only for experienced surfers.

Fishing
All three offer good beach and rock gutters, together with the boat ramp at Brickyard

Check out here for more scenic beaches in the Illawarra!