Catherine Hill Bay Beach

Catherine Hill Bay is a State Heritage-listed historic coal mining village featuring a stunning patrolled beach, named twice as one of 'Australia's 101 Best Beaches'. Popular for swimming, surfing, bodyboarding and fishing, the beach also features an iconic former coal-loading jetty, evidence of the area's mining history and a popular photography spot. With a lifeguard service operating on the beach between October and April, this is one of Lake Macquarie's four patrolled beaches. Taking its name from the ship which ran aground here in 1867, Catherine Hill Bay is nestled in the hinterland just south of Swansea. Its 19th-century miners' cottages mark the oldest continuous settlement in the City of Lake Macquarie. The resulting scenery is astoundingly beautiful; Catherine Hill Bay is at once home to a long, beautiful stretch of sand, surrounded by verdant hills and bushland, and dotted with rusted iron machinery and wildflowers. This sleepy town is home to barely 500 permanent residents, yet its natural attractions are worthy of a much busier holiday destination. You'll find a number of lookouts and viewing platforms overlooking Catherine Hill Bay Beach, and views from the nearby picnic area at Crangan Bay reach to the tall chimneys of Eraring Power Station, as well as the mountains just beyond.