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Lydgate Beach is Sydney's Fave-Rave!
Lydgate Beach State Park is Sydney's favorite beach, not just for the swimming, but they also have an awesome playground area. Click here for a really cool satellite map of Lydgate Beach! There are two protected "pools” that are GREAT for her to swim around in. There's a double rocky barrier protecting these pools, and although the waves beyond them can get really big... ...by the time they hit the rocks and make it to the “pools”, the waves are just big enough to make it interesting.
...these are perfect places for the younger kids to wade and swim. The smaller one on the left is almost always calm, even when there are big waves hitting the protective barrier... ...the lagoon on the right is much larger, and the waves that make it through are much bigger too...
...it's not too deep, and some big rocks in the middle mean that there are enough fish swimming around in them that the smaller ones can learn to snorkel (or put on a mask and look while I hold her under!) and see lots of different types of fish. It's great for adventurous kids, and adults who might not want to test their swimming/snorkeling skills in the open water... ...and for the older kids and adults, just a short swim out past the first rocks, you hit the reef and you can explore to your hearts content. The sandy beach area at Lydgate by the "pools" isn't really that big and you have to get there early for a primo sandy spot close to the water, but there's more than enough room higher up by the grass to set up shop.
The rocks that form the lagoon extend all the way to the beach, so you can climb around on them a little bit if you don't mind a few scratches and scrapes! There's also this big pile of driftwood pieces that seems to pile up in the same place all the time, and Sydney loves to play around with all the smooth scraps of wood... Beach and facility wise, Lydgate Beach is hard to top. Lots of public parking (it does get crowded though), and there are two really amazing playgrounds that make for a nice break from swimming for the kids.
Kamalani playground across from the beach is really nicely done... ...they’ll spend as much time running and climbing around there as they do in the water...
...and if you follow the foot/bike path south along the water, you'll find the Kamalani Bridge, another amazing play area for the kids. The restroom facilities are relatively clean, and they have rinse showers by the sidewalk... ..BUT, be REALLY careful when rinsing off, because the cement by the showers is super-slick. I mean, SUPER-slick... ...like if you can't do the splits on command, you do NOT want to be wearing your flip-flops walking around there, slick... ...oh yeah, there is also a nice grassy park area with a picnic pavilion with tables underneath. I heard that the pavilion was burned down and being rebuilt, so I'll update once I get the skinny. The last time we were there, a drumming group of some kind was set up under the shelter, and there were like 12 people drumming rhythms on different sized drums...people in the park started “hippy” dancing, and since Sydney is way into drums, that was one of the cooler unplanned things that we’ve seen. Lydgate Beach is usually one of the first beach outings of every trip. Pack a lunch, pack the kids, and plan to spend the entire day! Return from Lydgate Beach to Homepage
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