Cycling in Sydney
Park loops, river paths and a ride across the Harbour Bridge, and where the roads take more care
The best way to feel Sydney’s size from a bike is to ride across the Harbour Bridge, high above the water, on a cycleway of its own. Since January 2026 a ramp has spared riders the 55 steps at the north end. Around it lie generous car-free rides: the tree-lined loop of Centennial Park, the Bay Run round Iron Cove and the long path up the Parramatta River. The roads are harder: the separated network is short and broken, the city is hilly, and riders name the road culture as the main problem. Our verdict is Conditional: Strong in the parks and along the water, Limited for getting about on the roads.
- Verdict: Conditional. Worthwhile on the park and river paths and the Bridge cycleway; demanding on the roads between them.
- Best for: a morning loop of Centennial Park, the Bay Run, or a ride up the Parramatta River with the ferry back.
- Not for: using a bike as everyday transport across the city, where the separated lanes run out and the traffic is fast.
- What changes it: new cycleway links, which the City of Sydney opens a few at a time; and whether you keep to the paths.
How this page was madeWe rode in Sydney in 2009, at the end of our ride from Perth: we took part in an organised ride across the Harbour Bridge, rode the coast path north from Kiama to Thirroul, and rode the last few kilometres from Epping to Carlingford. Those parts are ours. That was a long time ago, so everything current — the paths, the rules, hire, trains and ferries — comes from the official and other sources named on the page, read on the date below.
Last updated 2 November 2026
Is cycling in Sydney for you?
Strong means it works well for most visitors. Conditional means it works if you plan for the catch. Limited means a narrow use works, but the bike is not a sound way to get about. The verdicts are ours, from the sources at the foot of the page; each card leads to its section below.
Our verdict: Strong. Centennial Park has a separate learners’ loop for children and a 3.8 km cycle lane round Grand Drive, and Sydney Olympic Park has more than 35 km of paths, with hire at both.
Planning it: Hire on the spot, start early, and keep to the cycle lane.
Our verdict: Strong. The Bay Run, the Parramatta Valley Cycleway and Narrabeen Lagoon give long rides mostly away from traffic, though the paths are shared with walkers.
Planning it: Pick one path, ride it there and back, or use the train or ferry for the return.
Our verdict: Conditional. The Bridge cycleway is spectacular and kept apart from the traffic, and Kent Street leads to it, but the city’s lanes do not yet join up everywhere.
Planning it: Plan the route on the City of Sydney’s map before you set off, and walk the gaps.
Our verdict: Limited. Away from the separated lanes, riders share busy, hilly roads, and adults may not use the footpath.
Planning it: Use the bike for leisure rides and use the trains, ferries and your feet to get about.
Our verdict: Conditional. Local bicycle user groups run led rides, and annual mass rides such as Spring Cycle close roads, including Bridge lanes, to traffic.
Planning it: Contact a group before you turn up, or time your visit for a mass ride.
Our verdict: Conditional. Lime, HelloBike and Ario e-bikes stand in many inner suburbs, but each works only inside its zones and prices show only in the apps.
Planning it: Download the app before you need it, bring or check the helmet, and end the trip inside the zone.
What cycling is like
Paths, parks and water
Sydney’s easiest riding follows its parks and shorelines. The cycle lane circles tree-lined Grand Drive in Centennial Park; the Bay Run curves round Iron Cove, with rowers on the water and runners beside you; the Parramatta River path crosses wetlands on boardwalks. These rides are mostly flat, and they show a visitor the city at its best from a saddle.
Getting around on the roads
The roads ask more of you. Sydney is built over ridges and inlets of the harbour, so a ride across town climbs and drops, and the separated lanes are short. In January 2026 the Lord Mayor put the City of Sydney’s separated cycleways at 28 km, a figure for the City’s own area that does not say exactly what it counts. The network is growing, but it does not yet join up. Bicycle NSW, which campaigns for riders, says the wider network is fragmented and “does not always feel safe”.
Riders agree. In the BikeSpot survey of 2023, about 3,000 Sydney riders named road-use culture as the main problem. They marked King Street in the city and the north end of the Harbour Bridge among the hardest places to ride, though the Bridge’s new ramp has since changed that end. Adults may not ride on the footpath, so there is nowhere to escape to on a busy road.
In 2025, 15 cyclists died on roads across New South Wales, against 5 the year before; the numbers are small and state-wide, with no rate for each rider.
Put together, the evidence points one way: riding Sydney’s streets cannot be assumed safe. The separated network is short and broken, riders fault the road culture, few people ride to work, there is no footpath to retreat to, and cyclist deaths in the state rose, if from small numbers. We would not plan a visit around riding the main roads. When we reached the outskirts in 2009, with the traffic building, we took the train.
Why more of Sydney rides
Even so, the City’s counts are rising. Its March 2025 count recorded 55,030 peak-hour trips at 78 sites, a record, up 7 per cent on 2024. Bourke Street in Surry Hills, the busiest of its permanent counters, carried an average of 1,758 trips a day. Behind it sit cycling plans since 2007, a steady line of new links, and e-bikes. Riding to work is still the habit of a few: at the 2021 census, taken in the pandemic, 1.6 per cent of the City’s working residents rode, down from 3.0 per cent in 2016.
Sydney has been here before. The Sydney Bicycle Club formed in 1879, and by the 1890s the city was in a cycling craze. In 1894 Sarah Maddock became the first woman to ride from Sydney to Melbourne, and in 1900 a Cyclists’ Avenue was opened in Centennial Park. Banjo Paterson’s comic poem “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle”, about a bushman sure he can master the new machine, first appeared in Sydney’s Sydney Mail in 1896.
Where cycling works
Five kinds of riding make Sydney worth a bike; the table at the end compares eight rides. The City of Sydney’s cycling map shows the separated lanes in the city, and the NSW Government’s Cycleway Finder covers the rest of Sydney.
A gentle first ride
Centennial Park is the place to start. Its cycle lane runs 3.8 km round Grand Drive, with a 30 km/h limit, and inside it a one-way Learners’ Cycleway gives children a surfaced loop of their own. Centennial Park Cycles hires mountain, road, hybrid and children’s bikes from the Fearnley Grounds, open every day from 8.30am to 5.30pm.
On top of the state’s rules, the park sets its own. Keep to the cycle lane where there is one, and to 30 km/h on Grand Drive. Ride in groups of no more than 16, and no more than two abreast. No racing without the park’s approval, and no riding on the grass. Only children under 12 may ride on the footpaths, a stricter limit than the state’s. Rangers can fine riders who break the rules.
Sydney Olympic Park offers more than 35 km of paths through the parklands left by the 2000 Games. They are open from sunrise to sunset, though the Newington Armory section closes at 5pm. Its hire shop at Bicentennial Park lists children’s bikes from $10 and geared bikes from $20, with helmets included and no booking needed.
Car-free rides by water and park
The Bay Run is Sydney’s favourite loop, about 7 km round Iron Cove. Since 2023 part of it has had a cycle lane, marked rather than kerbed, beside the walkers’ lane. Ride slowly, ring early, and expect to share.
For a longer day, the Parramatta Valley Cycleway follows the river for about 15 km between Ryde and Parramatta Park. It runs on shared paths and boardwalks, with one short section on a quiet road. Ride one way and come back on the Parramatta River ferry; Sydney Ferries carry bikes free, at the crew’s discretion, and our guide to Parramatta to Circular Quay by ferry describes the boat ride.
The Cooks River path runs south towards Botany Bay, shared and broken by short road sections. On the northern beaches the Narrabeen Lagoon Trail makes an 8.4 km loop without steps.
The Harbour Bridge and the city cycleways
The Bridge cycleway runs about 2 km from Millers Point to Milsons Point, on the western side of the deck, apart from the traffic. For years riders had to carry their bikes up or down 55 steps at the north end. In January 2026 a ramp 3 m wide and about 170 m long opened there, and Transport for NSW says it links the cycleway to Kent Street, the Oxford Street cycleway and the Anzac Bridge. Whether the steps remain beside it, we could not confirm.
In the city the cycleways come in pieces: Kent Street towards the Bridge, Bourke Street through Surry Hills, the newer lane on Pitt Street, and more links opened in January 2026. Between them you will meet gaps, busy junctions and hills; walk the bike through a gap rather than ride it on the road.
We crossed the Harbour Bridge by bike on an organised ride in 2009. On the cycleway, notice where you are: under the steel arch, behind the mesh fence, high above the water. Look down and out across the harbour and the city. Most people cross this bridge in a car or a train, eyes on the road; on a bike you have the time to look.
Riding with a local group
Bicycle NSW lists the ride calendars of local bicycle user groups, among them Bike North, BIKEast, Bike Leichhardt, Bike Marrickville, St George and Sydney Spokes. Their rides are led by trained ride leaders, but times change and the pages we read do not say how visitors join, so contact the group first.
The annual mass rides are the easiest way to join in. Spring Cycle crossed the Harbour Bridge on closed lanes on 11 October 2026, with a 10 km city ride and a 50 km ride to Parramatta Park. Bicycle NSW lists the next for 10 October 2027, not yet confirmed by the organisers. The Bobbin Head Cycle Classic rides through Ku-ring-gai Chase on 4 April 2027.
Out of the city by train
Bikes ride free on Sydney’s trains, which opens up rides beyond the suburbs. In Royal National Park, Lady Carrington Drive is a track closed to cars: 9.6 km one way, unsealed, 3 m wide and gently undulating. NSW National Parks suggests it for families with supervised children. National Parks gives access from Audley and McKell Avenue but not the nearest stations, so plan the way there before you go.
Further south the Illawarra line follows the coast. In 2009 we rode north from Kiama on cycle paths through Shellharbour to Wollongong, and from there a superb path follows the coast to Thirroul. Then the paths ran out, the traffic built, and we took the train to Epping. Our Perth to Sydney by bike tells that last stretch.
Eight rides compared
| Ride or area | Best for | Distance / time | Surface and traffic | Access | Main catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centennial Park | A first ride; families | 3.8 km loop on Grand Drive | Cycle lane on a park road, 30 km/h; learners’ loop | Hire in the park, at the Fearnley Grounds | Shared park road; park rules apply |
| Harbour Bridge and city cycleways | The view; crossing the harbour | About 2 km over the Bridge | Separated cycleway; city lanes on the approaches | Kent Street and Millers Point; Milsons Point by train | City links still have gaps |
| Bay Run | An easy loop of Iron Cove | About 7 km loop | Path with a cycle lane beside the walkers’ lane | Leichhardt, Haberfield or Lilyfield streets | Crowded with walkers and runners |
| Parramatta Valley Cycleway | A long river ride | About 15 km one way | Shared path and boardwalks; one short road section | Parramatta Park or Ryde; the river ferry for the return | Lengths differ; check ferry times |
| Sydney Olympic Park | Hire and an easy day | More than 35 km of paths | Park paths | Olympic Park station; hire at Bicentennial Park | Some paths close at 5 pm |
| Cooks River | A long ride south to Botany Bay | About 23–30 km, by source | Shared, unseparated; several short road sections | Ryde or Kyeemagh ends, and streets between | Not continuous; single file in places |
| Narrabeen Lagoon | A northern beaches loop | 8.4 km loop | Shared track without steps | By car; buses take no bikes | Hard to reach without a car |
| Lady Carrington Drive | Bush riding, closed to cars | 9.6 km one way | Unsealed, 3 m wide, undulating | Royal National Park, Audley or McKell Avenue | Boggy after rain; closes in bad weather |
Lengths are from the park authorities, the Northern Beaches Council and Destination NSW, read 2 November 2026; the Parramatta and Cooks River figures are from secondary sources. Treat them as a guide.
Making cycling work
Hiring a bike
Hire where you ride: in Centennial Park, at Sydney Olympic Park, or in Manly for the northern beaches. Sydney has no docked public bike scheme.
Shared e-bikes
Lime’s e-bikes stand in parts of the City of Sydney, the eastern suburbs, the Inner West, Bayside and the lower North Shore, and HelloBike and Ario also run in Waverley and Randwick. We saw Ario bikes in the city centre too, in February 2026. You unlock and pay in each firm’s app. Lime asks riders to be 18 or over and fits a detachable helmet to its bikes, though one may be missing; if so, find another bike. It asks for a photo where you park, and may refuse a trip that ends outside its zone. We found no published prices and nothing on signing up with an overseas card, so check the app before you rely on one.
Bikes travel free at any time on Sydney Trains, intercity trains and the Metro; Transport for NSW suggests avoiding the peaks. Sydney Ferries carry bikes free, at the crew’s discretion, and the Manly ferries have bike storage. Light rail carries bikes free when there is room. Bikes are not allowed on any bus, including the buses that replace trains during track work. Since 1 November 2025, converted e-bikes are banned on trains and the Metro.
E-bikes
New South Wales has tightened its e-bike rules. Reports from 2025 and 2026 say the legal limit is 250 watts, with the motor helping only as you pedal and cutting out at 25 km/h. Reports also say a law passed in May 2026 lets police seize non-compliant bikes; we could not confirm when it takes effect. If you want an e-bike, hire one here rather than bring a powerful or converted one of your own.
Locking up and finding your way
Stations, wharves and interchanges have bike parking, and many have secure sheds or lockers. Note your frame number, lock the frame and both wheels to something fixed, and report a theft to the police on 131 444. Plan a route on the City’s map or the Cycleway Finder before you set off: general mapping apps may send a bike along a main road, often up a hill.
The rules you must obey
These are the New South Wales rules for anyone riding a bike, visitors included.
The rows come from Transport for NSW’s road rules for bicycle riders, read 2 November 2026. The e-bike row comes from Bicycle Network and retailers’ reports of the 2025 and 2026 changes, so check the current rule. Drivers must leave you 1 m when passing at up to 60 km/h and 1.5 m above it. Police do fine riders, for helmets above all, and we could not confirm the current amount.
On a shared path, keep left and give way to people on foot. Centennial Park adds its own rules, set out above.
Risk, recovery and the better alternative
When the cycleway ends
The likeliest way into trouble is a separated lane that ends at a busy road. Decide before you start where your paths join and where they do not. If a lane ends and the road ahead is busy, get off and walk the bike as a pedestrian, or take the train or ferry across the gap; we would not ride it.
Heat, hills and storms
Summer days average 25 to 26°C at Observatory Hill and run hotter in a heatwave, and rain falls in every month. Ride early on hot days, carry water, and avoid a return that ends in a long climb. After rain, check the National Parks alerts before riding the unsealed tracks.
Track work and the bus ban
When trains are replaced by buses for track work, the bike cannot travel, because bikes are not allowed on any bus. Check the journey planner for track work before a train-out, ride-back day, and keep a ferry or a shorter loop as your second plan.
Punctures, theft and help
Carry a spare tube and pump on the longer paths, where help can be far off; parts of Royal National Park have no phone signal. Lock up properly, and in an emergency call 000.
If cycling is not for you
Everything the paths show you can be reached another way. The ferries show the harbour best, and the trains reach Parramatta, Olympic Park and the coast; our guide to getting around Sydney explains them.
Where to ride next
Perth to Sydney by bike
Our ride across the continent, ending up the coast from Kiama and into Sydney.
Day trips from Sydney
Royal National Park, the Blue Mountains and the coast, by train or car.
Getting around Sydney
Trains, ferries and fares, for the days you leave the bike behind.
A final word on cycling in Sydney
Sydney gives its best to a rider who chooses the setting. Circle Centennial Park in the early light, follow the Parramatta River down to the ferry, or ride high over the harbour on the Bridge, and the city opens up around you. Between those places, the roads are for riders who know them; for the rest of us, the train and the ferry fill the gaps, as the train did for us in 2009.
Andrew + Margaret
- Sydney Overview
- Getting around Sydney Practical
- Day trips from Sydney Decide
- Parramatta to Circular Quay by ferry Journeys
- Cycling in Melbourne Practical
- Perth to Sydney by bike Journeys
- Transport for NSW — road rules for bicycle riders Official
- Transport for NSW — bikes on public transport Official
- City of Sydney — cycling map Official
- Centennial Parklands — cycling Official
- NSW National Parks — Lady Carrington Drive Official
- Bicycle NSW — ride calendar Practical
Do visitors have to wear a helmet?
Yes. The New South Wales helmet law applies to every rider, and police do fine riders without one. Helmets made overseas to the listed standards are accepted; the Sydney Olympic Park hire shop includes one, so ask wherever you hire.
Can I ride on the footpath?
Not as an adult, unless you are riding with a child under 16. Use the road, a shared path or a cycleway, or get off and walk.
Can I ride across the Harbour Bridge?
Yes, on the separated cycleway on the western side. Since January 2026 a ramp at the north end has meant riders no longer have to carry the bike up or down the steps.
Can I take a bike on the trains and ferries?
Yes, free at any time on trains and the Metro, free on Sydney Ferries at the crew’s discretion, and on light rail when there is room. Private ferries may charge. Bikes are not allowed on buses, and converted e-bikes are banned on trains and the Metro.