Why not hop on your bike and ride around Sydney? This page is here to inspire you to explore the world’s premier city and discover hidden gems you might have missed. The Greater Sydney Bike Trail, put out there by one and crafted by many, loops around the outer edges of metropolitan Sydney, showcasing the city’s fantastic shared paths and trails. Check out the map >> and use the legend to find different routes (also available on RideWithGPS here). Join the 3500 folks in the FaceBook group to ask questions and share your experiences. There’s even a shorter 150km version to read about, and road cyclists can enjoy this fun video. The trail mixes bike paths, cycleways, and trails, weaving through diverse landscapes and connecting them with short sections of back roads. Happy riding!
Lets talk motivation ? The motivation for the trail is the exploration, discovering parts of Sydney you didn’t know, and certainly the sense of completion. The creator of the trail, Garry, found that the feeling of finishing the loop after a few days, especially reaching the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was the best feeling in all his time mapping Sydney. Many others have shared similar sentiments, with some completing the trail in one long day or over several days.
Note: All links to Google MyMaps are shown with a >> You will need either a PC or a Google Account to make this work
The First Trail Around Sydney
I have spent the last few years learning the shared paths of Sydney and this trail follows a loop around the outer edge of many of those trails >>. Apart from 22km of road riding in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, the rest of the trail has a few 2-3 km sections of back roads to connect the shared paths. The paths that are connected travel through Centennial Park, upto La Perouse, around Botany Bay, the Menai Cycleways, Chipping Norton, Glenfield Railway, the M7 Cycleway, Old Windsor Rd, Parramatta River Cycleway, Shrimptons Creek, Lane Cove National Park and a ride across the Harbour Bridge to complete the journey. There are a lot of good things to see.
See all the videos of different versions of the trail here
See photos of the trail here or read about the the 150km further down the page.
Statistics Distance 230 km Shared Path 190 km Total road riding 39km Total Climbing 2000m
The Sydney 150 Loop
There is a shorter way to loop the city and it takes about 150. It is called the Sydney 150 or the Orbital. See it below. See both rides together with Google Maps in the background >> or in RideWithGPS
The paths that are connected travel through Centennial Park, upto the Airport Cycleway, around Botany Bay to Captains Cook Bridge, Sylvannia Waters, the Menai Cycleways, Georges River to Canley Vale, Prospect Reservoir, Carlingford Railway, Lane Cove National Park, Flat Rock Gully and a ride across the bridge to complete the journey. There are a lot of good things to see and it is arguably better than the longer version.
Check out photographs taken whilst riding around the 150 in a clockwise direction. This will show you the route conditions if you are keen to stay on as many shared paths as possible
The Rules for riding around Sydney
These apply to both the longer and shorter versions or any variation you may decide on.
1. You go around Centennial Park
2. You go under the Woronora bridge
3. You go around Lizard Log or Sugarloaf Ridge (m7 or Prospect Reservoir will cover that). Both in Western Sydney Parklands.
4. You go north or thru Lane Cove National Park. You can use Plassey Entry Rd to exit the park halfway if you want to use Epping Rd.
Other sub-rules. Take as many days as you need to enjoy Sydney, gap days are fine. You may put your bicycle on public transport as long as you go around the four markers.
The Hills and My Bike Typically, I mention that Sydney bike trails are generally flat. However, this particular ride includes several significant dips along the waterways, which increase the climbing numbers. I completed most of the trail on an eBike with pedal assist, which helped smooth out the steep sections. Despite this, the trail took me around 13 hours of actual riding time, averaging approximately 17.5 km/h, plus additional hours commuting to and from the start points. Coogee on the Classic is scenic and hilly – video
What Sort Of Bike to Take ? Most of the trail can be done on any bike but a gravel bike would be best for the road riding guys as it’s a little more robust. There are quite a few bumps on the bitumen path in Chipping Norton and the Ramsgate brick paths are pretty bouncy as well. The rest is pretty smooth and the M7 Cycleway is very clean
What about the logistics of this ride ?
There are a few hotels on the trail though half decent ones are far apart from Cronulla through to Liverpool and then not many till Parramatta. They can be found on the map here but you need to turn on Accomodation in the legend >>. Trains are the best way to manage a multi day, Sydney trains allow bikes on for free and most of the stations now have lifts. Important stations to get around are Green Square, Wolli Creek, Sutherland, Revesby, Glenfield, Edmondson Park, Rooty Hill,, Bella Vista, Westmead, Meadowbank, North Ryde and Central. See the main ride ideas here >> Once again use the legend
Getting from Cronulla to Sutherland I did it by train the first time but with an ebike or strong legs, you can ride from Cronulla up to Sutherland mostly on roads See photos of this section
Road Bike Cyclists
Quite a few riders are taking on the challenge of riding around Sydney in a day. This is not easy. If you have a gravel bike, take it. Identify train bail out solutions such as Glenfield Station or Bella Vista Metro before you head off. Do your due diligence as this very popular video by Josh Kwan describes
Josh explains how he used the map here in this clip from the above video
Stop Press This great ride was featured in the Sydney Morning Herald in November 2023 and an article by Bicycle NSW and in the first edition of the huge Ride On Magazine.