Steamers Head

Overview

Steamers Head is the dramatic cliffed headland above remote Steamers Beach on the ocean side of the Bherwerre Peninsula. It’s a rugged, rewarding corner of the park where long walks, towering sea cliffs and secluded pocket beaches all come together. Expect a proper outing rather than a quick stop.

The Walk and Key Distances

Access starts at the Steamers Beach car park. It’s 2.3 km one way to the beach (about an hour), graded moderate to difficult because the final descent ends with a steep flight of stairs. From the same car park you can take the St Georges Head circuit—an 11.4 km loop with signed side tracks. Allow roughly 4 hours to visit the main sites along the loop.

• Brooks Lookout: around 1.4 km (about 30 minutes) from the Steamers Beach area, with wide coastal views.
• St Georges Head, Corangamite and Kittys Point: rocky cliffs and outcrops rising from the ocean.
• Kittys Beach and Whiting Beach: tiny 50 m sandy pockets; Kittys is west‑facing and sheltered, Whiting sits under forest and a seasonal waterfall feel.
• Blacks Harbour and Blacks Waterhole: quieter stops on the circuit.

Scenery & Geology

The headland exposes Permian sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates of the southern Sydney Basin. High sea cliffs and rock platforms frame the coastline, while big inland‑moving dunes sit just behind the forest. Steamers Beach itself is backed by steep, unusually colored sand dunes thought to have been laid down by a past tsunami.

Safety Essentials

There are no toilets, drinking water, bins or other services on the track or beach—pack out everything. The walk includes a steep stair section; the climb out is strenuous. Cliffs here are crumbly; keep well back from edges and stay on the marked tracks. Swimming at Steamers Beach is not recommended due to powerful rips/tows and the presence of large sharks; if you want a quiet swim, choose the smaller, sheltered pocket beaches like Kittys or Whiting instead. The final ~2 km of access road to the car park is gravel but generally suitable for all vehicles.

Wildlife & What You Might See

From the headlands and lookouts you may spot dolphins year‑round offshore. Humpback whales migrate north most often in June–July and head south again September–December (often with calves). Shorebirds frequent the long beaches in this part of the coast—give any nesting birds a wide berth.

Best Time to Visit

Plan enough daylight if you’re tackling the 11.4 km circuit and the steep return from the beach. For land‑based whale watching, the best windows are June–July and September–December. Park entry fees apply for vehicle access.