At the northern end of Freshwater Beach lies Freshwater Rock Pool – one of the most popular rock pools in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. It is a lovely, beautiful pool with a nice relaxed vibe and perfect views!
Freshwater Pool is an Olympic-sized 50-metre pool, with 8 lanes marked on the bottom of the pool for doing laps.
It is definitely more of a laps pool than a relaxing rock pool, and is not as wild and rugged as some of the other ocean pools in Sydney, such as Giles Baths in Coogee, Mahon Pool in Maroubra or the Mona Vale Rock Pool.
There is also a diving platform here at Freshie Pool, but what really makes it unique is that it has a uniform depth of around 1.6 metres throughout the whole pool!
Freshwater Rockpool is a great place for those who are serious about swimming laps whilst enjoying the stunning views looking out to Manly Beach, Freshwater Beach and North Head.
That being said, on warm summer days there are plenty of people here at one end of the pool just relaxing, so you can still enjoy it if you don’t want to be doing laps all the time!
It has rocks on three sides of the pool, so the views are particularly impressive from here!
Freshwater Rockpool sits in the perfect position on the northern end of Freshwater Beach right under a small cliff.
Fortunately though, this cliff doesn’t prevent the sun from reaching the pool and warming it up quickly in the morning – unlike Queenscliff Pool which is on the other side of the Manly Wormhole to Freshwater!
Even at high tide there aren’t usually waves crashing over the pool walls at Freshwater, so this is a really good pool for proper lap swimming whether low or high tide.
It may be different if the waves are particularly rough, so do pay attention to sea conditions or any signs warning against swimming.
Amenities At Freshwater Pool
By the steps above the pool you’ll see toilets and an outdoor shower. The Harbord Diggers Club is also just across the road, which serves great food and drinks at reasonable prices.
There’s also a cafe nearby so you can get something after your swim!
Like all the other ocean pools on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, access to Freshwater Rockpool is free.
Freshwater Pool is cleaned generally one day a week – see the cleaning schedule online for details, although it can sometimes change.
History Of Freshwater Rock Pool
Freshwater Pool was the first ocean pool to be built on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 1925!
Up on the Freshwater headland just off Lumsdaine Drive you can find a statue of the Hawaiian surfing champion Duke Kahanamoku, who visited Freshwater Beach in 1914 and showed the Aussies how to surf.
How To Get To Freshwater Rock Pool
You can access Freshwater Rockpool either from Freshwater Beach or from the stairs from the carpark on Lumsdaine Drive.
If coming on public transport from Sydney CBD get the B1 bus from Wynyard to Warringah Mall (25 minutes). From there then cross the road and take the 167 bus in the direction of Manly for roughly 12 minutes, alighting at Harbord Diggers.
It’s then just a 2 minute walk to Freshwater Rock Pool.
From Manly take the 167 bus from Stand A to Freshwater Beach, which will take 10 minutes. It’s then a 250 metre walk to the rock pool.
If coming by car, there is pay and display parking next to the beach and pool from 7am until 7pm (around $6 an hour).
How Long Is The Pool At Freshwater Beach?
Like the majority of the other rock pools along Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the Freshwater Rockpool is an Olympic-sized 50 metre long pool.
How Deep Is Freshwater Rock Pool?
Quite unusually, Freshwater Rockpool has a uniform depth throughout the whole of the pool. It is roughly 1.6m deep at both ends.