Be amazed by headliner Boo Seeka, with BELLA AMOR, RAAVE Tapes, False London and Daytrip. Fun activities, licensed area, roving performers, and fantastic food, followed by fireworks display that will literally Light Up The Lake!

The Hills Hoist Exchange is an interactive art installation and sustainable swap event. Take and exchange preloved swimwear promoting a circular economy and community sharing.

The 9th annual Toukley Arts and Craft Fair by the Lake is a fun day for the whole family with locally handmade arts and crafts, artwork, art bargain tables and lots more.

Central Coast Postcard Show celebrates the creation, exhibition, and sale of postcard-sized artworks highlighting the stunning waterways of the Central Coast through a vibrant art exhibition, interactive workshops and a postcard fair.

Watch renowned artists painting at the waterfront and help make a world record in Plein Air Painters by painting your own watercolour!

Pre-schoolers and parents are invited to create a 3D flying boat, based on artist Guy Warrens painting ‘Icon for a traveller- 1984’, from the Central Coast Councils Art Collection. Using recycled cardboard and paint, we invite you to explore 3D forms, together, you will be guided by one of our wonderful art tutors to create an imaginary flying boat.

Dive into an evening of Marine Magic with art, circus fun, face painting and environmental education right by the beautiful Marine Centre and waterfront in Terrigal! Once the sun sets, kick back and watch a family friendly movie on the big screen.

Immerse yourself in a whimsical underwater wonderland at ‘Gather and Groove’ for Lakes Festival, celebrating our beautiful coastal waters with live music, interactive art, circus acts, and environmental education.

Discover the best of the Central Coast with a variety of local products, from fresh produce to handcrafted treasures. Join us for a day of community, live entertainment, and tasty treats. Bring your friends and family and make it a Saturday to remember!

A free family-friendly event celebrating water through art, culture, and community under the full moon at Avoca Lake. Enjoy dance, music, storytelling, visual arts, and more.

Be amazed by headliner Boo Seeka, with BELLA AMOR, RAAVE Tapes, False London and Daytrip. Fun activities, licensed area, roving performers, and fantastic food, followed by fireworks display that will literally Light Up The Lake!

Join us for a brand new eco-friendly Pelican educational experience that gives locals and guests a unique insight into one of the region's special birds, the Pelican.

The Hills Hoist Exchange is an interactive art installation and sustainable swap event. Take and exchange preloved swimwear promoting a circular economy and community sharing.

Central Coast Postcard Show celebrates the creation, exhibition, and sale of postcard-sized artworks highlighting the stunning waterways of the Central Coast through a vibrant art exhibition, interactive workshops and a postcard fair.

Come down to Gwandalan's very first Cinema Under the Stars on Friday 8 November from 5pm at the Lioness Park Foreshore and watch Moana.  Enjoy a Moana photo booth, face painting, roving entertainment, delicious food ice and popcorn!

Trail run views to take your breath away! The Bouddi Coastal Run is a popular 14km and 21km trail running event held within Bouddi National Park, a stunning coastal reserve on the NSW Central Coast.

Watch renowned artists painting at the waterfront and help make a world record in Plein Air Painters by painting your own watercolour!

Enjoy a 2 hour tour to explore the waterways and learn about the animals and rich history of the area in safety and style, aboard an Eco tour vessel.

Australian Beach Netball is a fantastic opportunity for netball enthusiasts to come together, showcase their skills, and enjoy friendly competition. Teams will face off in a thrilling blend of rules from netball, basketball & volleyball.

Experience something unique at this Lakes Festival presented by FunHaus Factory with the Joy Choir Project's acapella flash mob. Catch this spontaneous performance on the waterfront in front of The Box in Ettalong. Enjoy a lively mix of harmonies with renditions of the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" and Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" in a vibrant, all-ages outdoor event. 

Enjoy a free kayak paddle on beautiful Tuggerah Lake. Learn about habitats and the Little Tern and how we can all care for our catchments.

Come join us for a relaxing yoga session by the beautiful lake at Mackenzie Reserve. Let's unwind and stretch together in this peaceful outdoor setting. All levels are welcome, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned yogi.

Dive into a sea of circus wonder with our aquatic-themed student and professional performer showcase.

Pre-schoolers and parents are invited to create a 3D flying boat, based on artist Guy Warrens painting ‘Icon for a traveller- 1984’, from the Central Coast Councils Art Collection. Using recycled cardboard and paint, we invite you to explore 3D forms, together, you will be guided by one of our wonderful art tutors to create an imaginary flying boat.

Join Council's Environmental Education staff on a night adventure into the forest at Kincumba Mountain and discover some of Australia's nocturnal animals. The bush really comes to life after dark with sounds and movements. You never know what you will see!

Discover how to keep Our Coast clean and protect our waterways with activities and games to inspire waste avoidance, waste reduction and resource recovery for a sustainable future. There will be plenty of kids activities and entertainment all day!

Plastic pollution is killing wildlife and marine life, devastating oceans and threatening the health of our planet. Join us and the Take 3 team for The Lakes Festival Community Clean Up and make a positive difference helping a global movement to reduce plastic pollution and waste.

Dive into an evening of Marine Magic with art, circus fun, face painting and environmental education right by the beautiful Marine Centre and waterfront in Terrigal! Once the sun sets, kick back and watch a family friendly movie on the big screen.

Enjoy a free kayak paddle on beautiful Lake Macquarie. Learn about underwater habitats and how we can all care for our catchments.

Discover how to keep Our Coast clean and protect our waterways with activities and games to inspire waste avoidance, waste reduction and resource recovery for a sustainable future. There will be plenty of kids activities and entertainment all day!

Immerse yourself in a whimsical underwater wonderland at ‘Gather and Groove’ for Lakes Festival, celebrating our beautiful coastal waters with live music, interactive art, circus acts, and environmental education.

A free family-friendly event celebrating water through art, culture, and community under the full moon at Avoca Lake. Enjoy dance, music, storytelling, visual arts, and more.

Two jam-packed days of fun including, SUP Yoga classes, SUP races, SUP lessons, and SUP ball competition. Water fun activities for the whole family to enjoy! On Saturday, learn the secret art of sand sculpting and build your own sand-based art!

Enjoy a kayak paddle on beautiful Brisbane Water. Visit Rileys Island, see amazing wildlife and learn how we can all care for our waterways.

As part of The Lakes Festival, we will also visit the Gather and Groove event at Woy Woy to check out the live music, stalls and food.

Discover the best of the Central Coast with a variety of local products, from fresh produce to handcrafted treasures. Join us for a day of community, live entertainment, and tasty treats. Bring your friends and family and make it a Saturday to remember!

Unleash your inner acrobat or budding clown at SPIRAL Coast - a delightful fusion of coastal spirit and circus excitement!

Keira is a Central Coast Mum of 3 young boys, who loves calling the Central Coast home and raising her family here. One of her favourite things about living on the Central Coast is how much there is to do year-round!

Along with her husband Declan, they both love being outdoors and whenever they get some kid-free time, you’ll find them going on hikes and exploring the Central Coast's fantastic restaurant scene.

@keiramaxime_

^{Photo credit: Keira Trainor}

A big day of exploring calls for coffee and pastries. Always. Stop in at Sonoma Bakery Terrigal to fill up on delicious coffee and freshly baked pastries.

Hot tip: the ‘Bake at Home' range is also perfect entertaining family and friends at home, or if you’re just visiting to bring a piece of Terrigal back home with you!  

^{Photo credit: Sonoma Bakery}

Take a drive to Bouddi National Park and complete the coastal walk that takes you from Putty Beach to Macmasters. Take your time, the view is breathtaking and you might even spot some Whales!

If you’re interested Girri Girra also offers an amazing tour of Bouddi National Park.

^{Photo credit: Keira Trainor}

If one beautiful National Park isn’t enough, Mount Ettalong is the next spot, less than 20 minutes drive away. It’s a short walk up to the lookout, so you don’t need to worry about being too tired to take it in! It’s also a beautiful spot for a sunset picnic.

^{Photo credit: Keira Trainor}

Finish your day off with a well-deserved cocktail! Indulge in their share plates and theatrical cocktails. You can’t go past the eclectic style of this gorgeous bar. Find a cozy corner and spend a while chatting the evening away to finish off a perfect day!

^{Photo credit: Bar Toto}

Saddle up on a horse riding adventure through the bush trails of the Glenworth Valley, home of the largest and oldest horse riding operations in Australia. Whether a beginner or an old hand, follow the bush trails, crossing creeks and waterways. If you really want adventure, sign up for a cattle ride drive, where you drive a mob of castle across the valley.

If the roar of engines gets your blood pumping, get down and dirty quad biking in the Glenworth Valley wilderness. First, visitors over 12 can learn to operate and steer the 250cc bikes (all with automatic gear), then you can zoom through the bush trails, before finishing on a purpose-built quad biking circuit.

Go behind the scenes for a personal animal encounter in Somersby. An 80-minute session allows you to get up close to interact with the animals and keepers (including a Galapagos Tortoise), but real dare-devils can book in for a Venom Room encounter, where you can watch venomous snakes and funnel web spiders being milked for their venom, which is then turned into important anti-venom for snakebites.

Nestled up high in the eucalypts of the Ourimbah State Forest, big and little kids can get a bird’s eye view of the forest at Treetops Adventure Central Coast near Wyong Creek. An ECO Certified activity, visitors can fulfil their need for safe but speedy swinging through the trees on your own ropes obstacle course, or families can bounce around endlessly in Treetop Networld.

_{Image: Remy Brand x Destination Central Coast}

Whether you’re new to cross country riding or have mountain biking in your blood, Ourimbah Mountain Bike Park has 22 kms of trails to choose from. Including gravity trails and a cross-country loop carved through the forest with various degrees of difficulty. Check these community-managed trails status ahead of time live on their website, and remember the green trails are for newcomers and kids, black trails best left to advanced riders.

  _{Image: Remy Brand x Destination Central Coast}

Some of the Hinterland’s most fascinating creatures don’t keep daylight hours, so book in for a special 'Wild Night Out' tour in Calga, showing you the crepuscular creatures that sleep at both day and night, preferring to come out and forage in the hours around dusk and dawn. Wild Night Out tours start an hour before sunset and finish with a campfire after dark, taking in wildlife at the park including Tasmanian Devils and more.

Love the idea of a night in the Australian bush, but don’t want to sleep rough? Book your night stay in an Eco Cabin at Walkabout Wildlife Park, where the wild things are! Choose from cabin or tent in the Calga bushland, making it easy to rest after your full day of activities and wild night tour on-site. When you wake with the kookaburras singing, don’t be surprised if there's a kangaroo at your window waiting to say g'day.

Head south towards Spencer, stopping for breakfast at the Hub of Mangrove Mountain for coffee and breakfast. The small store offers cheesecake, cafe fare and gelato as well as stocking fresh produce from local farms in and around the Central Coast Hinterland.

The tiny community of Spencer proudly calls itself the hub of the universe, boasting its own “invisible” hotel, river tours, dingy hire, and cafe food. You’ll find one of Rush’s most evocative works: Serenity. While he normally creates figures with animals, Serenity is of a female figure reclining on the riverbank by the wharf created using locally sourced gymea lilies. The sculpture was damaged slightly during the 2021 floods on the Hawkesbury but it still remains in tact with the figure dangling her feet in the river.

Dine in with a view of the water at The Anchor, the newly refurbished, family-friendly cafe at the heart of town. Along with bait, ice and takeaway, the cafe offers live music Sunday sessions on the wharf in summer and fireside dining in the winter months.

Sign up for a tour with Heritage Ventures, who run quirky, ever-changing micro-history tours of the area featuring everything from a tour of Dangar Island to a Women up the Creeks tour (complete with fiddler) and watercolour fish painting.

Drive up and stop at Jerry’s One stop Cafe, a favourite with bikies for their burgers and bacon and egg roll, One Stop Jerry’s Cafe in Kulnura is a must visit for a sneaky bite and a chance to pursue the latest in two-wheeled automotive perfection. Two of Pete Rush’s sculptures are located nearby: Giraffe and a Young Child, and the Smiling Owl.

Feeling inspired by Rush’s work? In the quiet hinterland village of Somersby you can sign up for a Sunday-morning blacksmithing course at Artisan Estate, a 400-tree pecan farm that also offers Farm Stays.

Order a coffee and lunch at Sussurri Restuarant and Manor House, down the bottom of the winding Bumble Hill Road in the rural village of Yarramalong. Sit down in the garden for coffee and a meal, or grab some cheese and produce for a picnic from their deli and giftshop for later on.

If you’ve got kids, make time to detour down George Springs Drive to Grace Springs Farm in Kulnura, which opens to the public on special open days and by appointment, allowing visitors to tag along for the daily chores where visitors can collect eggs, cuddle chooks, pat a calf, and see a cow milked.

Spend the night in a luxury eco tent at Waterfall Springs Retreat and Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Kulnura. Book a self-catering BBQ, pizza or picnic hamper for dinner, and take a one-hour tour of the Sanctuary, which is focused on saving the brush-tailed rock wallaby and yellow-footed rock wallaby, and rehabilitating eastern grey & red kangaroos, as well as swamp and red-necked wallabies. 

Jad is known and loved for his couch antics and is now paving his way as a proud restauranteur. Jad grew up exploring the Central Coast with his family and is now taking his fantastic memories on the road with him as he explores our region.

The Central Coast is the perfect escape from Sydney; whether you want to explore the foodie scene, take time to relax or get the heart pumping – there’s something for everyone.

No road trip is complete without an epic breakfast to fuel the day, pull up to Saddles Mount White, a hidden gem that transcends you into a whole new world. It's the perfect winter restaurant with beautiful furnishings, saddle seats, and a cosy fire.

Grace Springs Farm is a small family-run farm where you can take a farm tour. While there you’ll not only get to meet an array of animals but also get first-hand experience about their regenerative farming. Or, if you don’t make it to the farm, keep your eye out for Grace Spring Farms at the local farmer's markets!

Check in to an Eco Cabin at Glenworth Valley for spacious rooms and breathtaking scenery. Nothing is quite like a winter evening spent around a fire, cooking and chatting until it’s time to get into bed. 

There are endless adventures to be had at Glenworth Valley, whether you’re staying overnight or just popping in to visit. Quad biking is the perfect activity for thrill-seekers. Or slow things down and take a horseback ride through the beautiful valley.

Grab some lunch to take away at one of the local haunts and make your way to Mooney Mooney Bridge & Staples lookout, where you can sit by the water and soak up the sunshine and nature.  The perfect way to remind you that you’re away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney.

Whether you’re travelling with kids or a kid at heart, the Australian Reptile Park is the perfect spot to go on your way back from Sydney. Spend some time wandering around the park, checking out all the animals. If you want to get close and personal, cuddle up close to a koala and feed some Kangaroos before you’re on your merry way back to Sydney after an epic weekend.