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If your idea of a day well spent involves getting outdoors and exhausting yourself in nature, Sydney is probably the city for you. In fact, according to new research, three residential corners of the Harbour City are the best places in Australia for an active outdoor lifestyle. We always take these kinds of ranking stories with a pinch of salt, but the research here is pretty solid.
The new Outdoor Adventure Index from sports equipment retailer Net World Sports ranked all 88 Australian SA4 regions (those are the sub-state geographic areas used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) across seven measures: hiking and trail-running trails, parkrun events, paths and tracks, mountain-bike trails, access to national parks and protected areas, suitable outdoor days and rock-climbing locations. Each category was given a 14 per cent weighting, producing an overall score out of 100. Some measures were capped, while others were not.
And in news that will surprise nobody who’s ever visited, Sydney’s Northern Beaches were crowned the country’s top region for outdoor adventure – scoring 77.26 out of 100. It’s the only region in Australia to crack a score of 75. The region recorded 450.7 kilometres of hiking and trail-running trails per 1,000 square kilometres, along with 1,287.98 kilometres of paths and tracks, 177.89 kilometres of mountain-bike trails and 16.9 rock-climbing locations per 100,000 residents. And on the nature front? 100 per cent of residents live within 10 kilometres of a national park or protected area.
Not far behind is the Sutherland shire, which ranked second nationally with a score of 71.04. Sutherland has an even higher density of paths and tracks than the Northern Beaches, with 1,709.19 kilometres per 1,000 square kilometres, plus 440.7 kilometres of hiking and running trails. It also has the highest rate of climbing locations of the three Sydney podium finishers, at 17.5 per 100,000 residents.
Then there’s North Sydney and Hornsby, which came third nationally with a score of 66.61. This area actually has the highest density of hiking and trail-running routes of any region in the country, with 582.6 kilometres per 1,000 square kilometres.
And Sydney’s outdoor credentials don’t stop there. Newcastle and Lake Macquarie ranked 25th nationally, scoring 53.06, and the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven came in at 35th with 53.07. The latter also recorded 36.3 climbing locations per 100,000 residents, one of the highest rates in NSW.
Another Sydney spot to rank was Ryde, scoring 52.61 – 88th in the overall ranking. The nearby Central Coast ranked 45th nationally with a total score of 43.04, and the Illawarra region came 12th with 45.77.
The research found that the Harbour City is particularly strong for hiking, with six Sydney regions appearing among the national top rankings for trail density. Meanwhile, the national title for best outdoor weather went to Hobart, where 68.2 per cent of days were deemed suitable for outdoor activities.
The best NSW regions for active outdoor lifestyles
Northern Beaches
National ranking: 1
Outdoor adventure score: 77.26/100
Sydney – Sutherland
National ranking: 2
Outdoor adventure score: 71.04/100
Sydney – North Sydney and Hornsby
National ranking: 3
Outdoor adventure score: 66.61/100
Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven
National ranking: 12
Outdoor adventure score: 53.07/100
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
National ranking: 13
Outdoor adventure score: 53.06/100
Sydney – Ryde
National ranking: 14
Outdoor adventure score: 52.61/100
Sydney – Outer West and Blue Mountains
National ranking: 17
Outdoor adventure score: 46.88/100
Illawarra
National ranking: 22
Outdoor adventure score: 45.77/100
Central Coast
National ranking: 25
Outdoor adventure score: 43.04/100
Capital Region
National ranking: 28
Outdoor adventure score: 42.49/100
Sydney – Eastern Suburbs
National ranking: 31
Outdoor adventure score: 41.47/100
New England and North West
National ranking: 39
Outdoor adventure score: 37.96/100
Sydney – Outer South West
National ranking: 40
Outdoor adventure score: 37.66/100
Mid North Coast
National ranking: 41
Outdoor adventure score: 37.66/100
Far West and Orana
National ranking: 43
Outdoor adventure score: 36.49/100
Hunter Valley exc Newcastle
National ranking: 47
Outdoor adventure score: 34.55/100
Coffs Harbour – Grafton
National ranking: 48
Outdoor adventure score: 34.48/100
Central West
National ranking: 53
Outdoor adventure score: 33.06/100
Sydney – Parramatta
National ranking: 58
Outdoor adventure score: 30.82/100
Sydney – Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury
National ranking: 59
Outdoor adventure score: 30.74/100
Sydney – Inner South West
National ranking: 66
Outdoor adventure score: 29.00/100
Murray
National ranking: 69
Outdoor adventure score: 27.07/100
Richmond – Tweed
National ranking: 79
Outdoor adventure score: 22.46/100
Riverina
National ranking: 81
Outdoor adventure score: 21.19/100
Sydney – Blacktown
National ranking: 82
Outdoor adventure score: 21.03/100
Sydney – South West
National ranking: 86
Outdoor adventure score: 18.86/100
Sydney – Inner West
National ranking: 87
Outdoor adventure score: 18.64/100
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