Federation Walk

Moderate

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Roughly 3.5km flat sand-and-gravel pedestrian path through littoral rainforest and coastal dune habitat from Philip Park (opposite Sea World) to the Gold Coast Seaway at The Spit.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

3.08 km

Est. time

45 min

Elevation gain

9 m

Route type

Point to point

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Federation Walk Coastal Reserve, The Spit, Main Beach. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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In-depth guide

Federation Walk, The Spit: Complete Guide

A flat coastal path from Philip Park to the Gold Coast Seaway through littoral rainforest — real distance, terrain and wildlife.

Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Stinking LaurelDocumented on this trail

Cryptocarya foetida

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Vulnerable

Cryptocarya foetida, commonly known as stinking cryptocarya or stinking laurel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lauraceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a small to medium-sized tree with egg-shaped to elliptic leaves, cream coloured, unpleasantly perfumed, tube-shaped flowers, and spherical black to purplish drupes.

How to spot it

Cryptocarya foetida is a small or medium-sized tree that typically grows to a height of up to 25 m (82 ft), the stem not butressed with a trunk dbh of 25 cm (9.8 in). The leaves are egg-shaped to elliptic or oval, 8–150 mm (0.31–5.91 in) long and 33–44 mm (1.3–1.7 in) wide on a petiole 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long. Both surfaces of the leaves are glabrous with prominent veins, and the lower surface is paler. The flowers are arranged in dense panicles that are shorter than the leaves, the perianth

Family Lauraceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Cryptocarya foetida

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by kathyw_aus

Cabbage Tree Palm

Livistona australis

Iconic Sydney-region rainforest palm▾

Iconic Sydney-region rainforest palm

A tall fan palm whose fibre was used by early European settlers to weave the 'cabbage tree hat,' a distinctive colonial-era headwear. It grows in sheltered gullies within both Ku-ring-gai Chase and Royal National Parks.

How to spot it

A palm to around 25m with dark, glossy green, fan-plaited leaves on petioles up to 2m long. Cream-white flower spikes appear in summer, with fruit ripening from red to black.

Family Arecaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park; Wikipedia: Royal National Park

Old Man Banksia

Banksia serrata

One of Joseph Banks' original four Banksia species▾

One of Joseph Banks' original four Banksia species

One of the four original Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, and named among the open-forest shrubs of Royal National Park's valley sides.

How to spot it

Wrinkled grey bark, often blackened by fire. Shiny dark green serrated leaves 7-20cm long, and large yellow or greyish-yellow flower spikes over summer, followed by gnarled grey woody seed pods.

Family Proteaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Royal National Park

Swamp Banksia

Banksia robur

Wetland Native▾

Wetland Native

A spreading shrub of Federation Walk's damp, low-lying pockets, with striking new growth in red, maroon or brown felted hairs and large leathery serrated leaves.

How to spot it

Large tough leathery leaves up to 30cm with serrated margins, colourful felted new growth, flower spikes starting metallic green before turning cream-yellow to golden-brown.

Family Proteaceae · Source: Wikipedia - Federation Walk Coastal Reserve / Banksia robur

Photo: Allthingsnative (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Beach Bean

Canavalia rosea

Foredune Native▾

Foredune Native

A salt-tolerant trailing vine that binds the foredunes of Federation Walk Coastal Reserve, with buoyant seeds that spread naturally along ocean currents.

How to spot it

Trailing vine stems over 6m, three-leaflet compound leaves that fold up in hot sun, purplish-pink flowers, ridged seed pods.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Wikipedia - Federation Walk Coastal Reserve / Canavalia rosea

Photo: Allthingsnative (CC BY 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Blush Macaranga

Macaranga tanarius

Pioneer Rainforest Species▾

Pioneer Rainforest Species

A fast-growing pioneer tree in Federation Walk's rainforest pockets, easily spotted by its large round veiny leaves that shade young rainforest seedlings during regeneration.

How to spot it

Large round leaves with nine veins radiating from the stalk, yellow-green flowers October to January, prickly yellow three-celled seed capsules.

Family Euphorbiaceae · Source: Wikipedia - Federation Walk Coastal Reserve / Macaranga tanarius

Photo: Mark Marathon (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Tuckeroo

Cupaniopsis anacardioides

Coastal Native▾

Coastal Native

A hardy small tree of rocky beaches and littoral rainforest fringes at Federation Walk, producing golden capsule fruit tinged with red.

How to spot it

Compound leaves with 4-8 egg-shaped glossy leaflets, greenish-white flower panicles in June-July, golden-yellow capsule fruit flushed red.

Family Sapindaceae · Source: Wikipedia - Federation Walk Coastal Reserve / Cupaniopsis anacardioides

Photo: Mark Marathon (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Beach Stone-Curlew

Esacus magnirostris

Critically Endangered — NSW: Critically Endangered, QLD: Vulnerable▾

Critically Endangered — NSW: Critically Endangered, QLD: Vulnerable

The beach stone-curlew or beach thick-knee is a large, ground-dwelling bird that occurs in Australasia, the islands of South-east Asia. At 55 cm (22 in) and 1 kg (2.2 lb), it is one of the world's largest shorebirds.

How to spot it

The beach stone-curlew is 54-56 cm (21-22 in) long. At a mean of 1,032 g (2.275 lb) in males and 1,000 g (2.2 lb) in females, it is the heaviest living member of the Charadriiformes outside of the gull and skua families.

Family Burhinidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Esacus magnirostris

White's Seahorse

Hippocampus whitei

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, QLD: Endangered▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, QLD: Endangered

Hippocampus whitei, commonly known as White's seahorse, New Holland seahorse, or Sydney seahorse, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is thought to be endemic to the Southwest Pacific, from Sydney, New South Wales and southern Queensland (Australia) to the Solomon Islands. It lives in shallow, inshore habitats, both natural and anthropogenic. This species is ovoviviparous, with males brooding eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.

How to spot it

H. whitei is a small fish, reaching a maximum size of 13 centimetres (5.1 in). Distinctive characteristics include a narrow head, moderate to high coronet, a long snout (about half of overall head length), moderately sized spines above the eyes, and low single or double cheek spines. Further spines on the body can be quite variable, ranging from low and rounded to moderately developed and sharp. Individuals of this species are generally pale to dark brown or black, although some are entirely yel

Family Syngnathidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Hippocampus whitei

Lesser Sand Plover

Charadrius mongolus

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Endangered, VIC: Endangered, WA: Endangered, NT: Endangered, Bonn: Listed, CAMBA: Listed, JAMBA: Listed, ROKAMBA: Listed▾

Endangered — AUS: Endangered, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Endangered, VIC: Endangered, WA: Endangered, NT: Endangered, Bonn: Listed, CAMBA: Listed, JAMBA: Listed, ROKAMBA: Listed

The Siberian sand plover is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The International Ornithologists' Union split the Tibetan sand plover from the lesser sand plover and changed its vernacular name to Siberian sand plover. The specific mongolus is Latin and refers to Mongolia, which at the time of naming referred to a larger area than the present country.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Federation Walk Coastal Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2001) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Charadriidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Charadrius mongolus

Green Turtle

Chelonia mydas

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Vulnerable, TAS: Vulnerable, SA: Vulnerable, WA: Vulnerable, Bonn: Listed▾

Vulnerable — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Vulnerable, QLD: Vulnerable, TAS: Vulnerable, SA: Vulnerable, WA: Vulnerable, Bonn: Listed

The green sea turtle, also known as the green turtle, black sea turtle, and Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, due to its diet strictly being seagrass, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Federation Walk Coastal Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2024) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Cheloniidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Chelonia mydas