Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie
4.5
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
The area
Reach out directly
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
95 reviews
Excellent
64
Very good
26
Average
5
Poor
0
Terrible
0
333751
Lake Macquarie, Australia93 contributions
Mar 2020 • Family
Lake Macquarie is the largest salt water lake in Australia. It’s where I have lived for the last 42years. I have traveled to 30 countries and I still believe I live in the most beautiful place in the world. You can fish,sail all types of boating sports. It’s also great for Swimming. There are many many places around the lake for picnics etc. Speers Point Park has one of the best children’s play ground. The park has a enclosed dog park , footpaths for walking bike riding. Come for a visit you will fall in love with it too.
Written 1 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gemini060909
Sydney, Australia98 contributions
Oct 2020 • Family
Coming from Sydney with little kids Lake Macquarie is a perfect place. Travel time for less than 2hours is a definitely a plus. Fishing, picnic area, local hotels, cafes, shopping centres, playgrounds. Countless beautiful spots, jetties and foreshore surrounding the beautiful lake. Definitely one our fave place in nsw. Plus beach on the other side- caves beach and blacksmith beach - awesome!
Written 19 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anita T
Forster, Australia12,767 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
We were down in the Newcastle area on the weekend and decided to circumnavigate Lake Macquarie. The lake is actually the largest salt water lake in the southern hemisphere. Some areas are quite deep while other areas are very shallow. In these areas you can spot lots of birdlife including the magnificent black swans.
We started at Swansea and drive around the entire lake dropping in to various parks and walkways.
We stopped at Warners Bay for coffee which overlooked the lake. There are lots of boat ramps and the area is certainly very popular.
We started at Swansea and drive around the entire lake dropping in to various parks and walkways.
We stopped at Warners Bay for coffee which overlooked the lake. There are lots of boat ramps and the area is certainly very popular.
Written 4 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian S
London, UK724 contributions
Mar 2012 • Friends
For nearly 30 years of my life I've lived near the lake. It's Australia's largest salt water lake (not to be confused with ephemeral ones such as Lake Eyre) and as such it's a great place for water sports. There's lots of sailing (especially Saturdays and Wednesdays which are race days), water skiing, fishing, kayaking, windsurfing and house boating.
There are also walks by the lake, most of them overlooked by tourists; that's to their detriment because they're some of the best walks around.
Try Green Point, Redhead or the Marmong Point to Eleebana paved walk which is very popular with locals.
Around the lake there are so many restaurants in towns like Toronto, Belmont, Warners Bay, Wangi etc.; but there are also stand alone ones at places like Marmong Point, Croudace Bay, Pelican, Speers Point and others that put you with lovely views over the lake while you dine.
The lake is also a good place to view sunrises and sunsets as my photos will hopefully show.
Australia's largest and best laid out playground for kids is also situated at Speers Point and will entertain not only the kids but some of the older kids as well.
The lake is also a good springboard for places like the Hunter Valley vineyards, Newcastle and the Watagans, a nearby hilly area with pockets of rainforest.
There are also walks by the lake, most of them overlooked by tourists; that's to their detriment because they're some of the best walks around.
Try Green Point, Redhead or the Marmong Point to Eleebana paved walk which is very popular with locals.
Around the lake there are so many restaurants in towns like Toronto, Belmont, Warners Bay, Wangi etc.; but there are also stand alone ones at places like Marmong Point, Croudace Bay, Pelican, Speers Point and others that put you with lovely views over the lake while you dine.
The lake is also a good place to view sunrises and sunsets as my photos will hopefully show.
Australia's largest and best laid out playground for kids is also situated at Speers Point and will entertain not only the kids but some of the older kids as well.
The lake is also a good springboard for places like the Hunter Valley vineyards, Newcastle and the Watagans, a nearby hilly area with pockets of rainforest.
Written 27 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
b121
Newcastle, Australia831 contributions
Sept 2014 • Family
Had a beautiful morning with the family by the lake. There are a few spots that I would recommend - Warners Bay and Toronto area - plenty of food stores. Lake Macquarie provides many water activities for Newcastle and surrounding areas. If you are willing to get out on the water in a boat there is wake-boarding, kayaking, sailing clubs, etc.
Written 29 October 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brian A
Kalaru, Australia73 contributions
Jan 2012
This lake is huge with fast flowing, clean ocean water, running in and out throught the chanel at Swansea. Whether you have access to a boat or not you will find the fishing very good both from the shore or out in the deep.
Plenty of whiting, flathead, kingfish, bream , flounder and many more species to be esily caught in this lake. You will find fish just about anywhere.
Large and open water can get a little choppy, but plenty of protected bays to find a place to suit . Also good for water sports such as swimming and waterskiing etc. Caravan parks, hotels a plenty.
Plenty of whiting, flathead, kingfish, bream , flounder and many more species to be esily caught in this lake. You will find fish just about anywhere.
Large and open water can get a little choppy, but plenty of protected bays to find a place to suit . Also good for water sports such as swimming and waterskiing etc. Caravan parks, hotels a plenty.
Written 31 January 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ella J
Brisbane, Australia292 contributions
Dec 2018 • Couples
A Buffett lunch and a 2.5 hour cruise on Lake Macquarie?!? Couldn’t be true right, well it is, and it was amazing! Lake Macquarie cruises really turned it on for us. Fully booked, perfectly cooked steak and a lovely spread of food. A bar that will cater to your taste buds, from water to wine. Well organised, friendly staff and a beautiful way to see the lake. I’d recommend doing this cruise! Departs from Awaba house. They even have a cruise with a boom net for lounging in the water and a little afternoon tea.
Written 1 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon C
Warners Bay, Australia27 contributions
May 2018 • Family
Lake Macquarie is a great place to visit especially with your family. If you are a boating enthusiast there are a number of great boat ramps with excellent parking facilities. These are Eleebana, Wangi Wangi, Speers Point and Croudace Bay - just to name a few. Croudace Bay boat ramp has recently had the addition of a pontoon jetty which allows faster launching and less standing around holding boats when retrieving them from the water. There are a number of great places to throw in your anchor and have a lazy swim. In summer the water around Wangi Wangi is usually very warm with cooler water around sand islands. Be aware that there are some areas of the lake that are very shallow even in the middle so be aware of the shallow water markers.
There are a number of great restaurants and Cafes at Warners Bay, and Toronto and are worth walking around to check out the menu's.
The bike path at Warners Bay is well travelled from about 5:30am until sunset with walkers, runner, cyclists and prams. People are generally courteous and adhere to the bike path rules. The newly refurbished bathroom facilities are clean and well maintained. There is a babies change table in the ladies loo (not sure if this is in the men's). There are disabled facilities but note there is a key entry that is required and instructions for the access key are posted outside the door so forward planning for a visit is advised if you need access to a disable bathroom.
From Speers point part and towards Warners Bay there are a number of exercise stations for the exercise enthusiasts.
Overall, Lake Macquarie is a great place to visit.
There are a number of great restaurants and Cafes at Warners Bay, and Toronto and are worth walking around to check out the menu's.
The bike path at Warners Bay is well travelled from about 5:30am until sunset with walkers, runner, cyclists and prams. People are generally courteous and adhere to the bike path rules. The newly refurbished bathroom facilities are clean and well maintained. There is a babies change table in the ladies loo (not sure if this is in the men's). There are disabled facilities but note there is a key entry that is required and instructions for the access key are posted outside the door so forward planning for a visit is advised if you need access to a disable bathroom.
From Speers point part and towards Warners Bay there are a number of exercise stations for the exercise enthusiasts.
Overall, Lake Macquarie is a great place to visit.
Written 22 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rjimlad
Melbourne, Australia158 contributions
Sept 2016 • Solo
Maybe I'm biased. Maybe I've been in Melbourne too long and miss home. Who knows? What I do know is that the lake is beautiful and interesting and you can spend a lifetime living on it and never tire of it. You'll see sharks and rays, loads of fish, sharks eating fish, sharks eating people (just joking. It's not Western Australia!). There are eagles and seals and sharks. There are boats of all types and some of the best sailors in the world cut their teeth here. I shouldn't really talk too much about teeth, should I. Anyhow, if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen. Lake Macquarie is for the brave, those not afraid to get their feet wet.
Written 3 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tracey H
Newcastle, Australia251 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
We live here and still can't get enough of this beautiful lake. It's sheer size is enormous and there is just so much to see and do around and on it. Whether we are biking or walking around it or kayaking on it or swimming in it there is something new and different to see every day. Truly spectacular!
Written 10 November 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I do fishing in Lake Macquarie ?
Written 12 June 2018
Yes you can go fishing in Lake Macquarie but you need a fishing license. There are a number of bait and fishing stores locally which can help with a license and bait. Fish from shore, island or boat.
Written 3 August 2018
jkhoward09
Rockhampton, Australia
Hi there, my husband and our three children (9,9,5) are currently looking at moving interstate from QLD to the Newcastle region over the next few months due to work commitments. We aren't familiar with the area and would greatly benefit from some recommedations and advice about a few things.
Advice of good primary schools? Preferably catholic, however would look at Public also.
Which suburbs to live in & the ones to steer clear of? Lake Macquarie areas also.
Thank you kindly.
Written 10 July 2017
Showing results 1-2 of 2
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing