Coalcliff Rock Pool is the northernmost of Wollongong's rock pools: a main pool and a toddlers pool on the rock platform below the escarpment, a few minutes from the Sea Cliff Bridge. It is free and open all year apart from cleaning.
Key facts
- Type
- Rock pool
- Good to know
- Kids area, Showers
- Facilities and access
- Toddlers pool, raised shower area and viewing platform; Paterson Road
- Managed by
- City of Wollongong
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- Not at the pool
- Parking
- Free at Leeder Park and the surf club
- Public transport
- Coalcliff station, short walk
- Best time to go
- Calm morning, mid to low tide
- Water quality
- GoodStanwell Park Beach, 2.0 km away. Sampled 12 Oct. Source: NSW Beachwatch.
- Cleaning
- Council page shows a "next clean due" date
- Town
- Coalcliff, NSW
What it's like
The pool sits on a broad rock platform at the foot of the Illawarra escarpment, with the cliffs behind and open sea in front. Waves wash into it at high tide and in a decent swell. There is a main pool for laps and a small toddlers pool beside it, plus a raised shower area and a viewing platform.
The pool is closely tied to the village's mining past. Local accounts credit Coalcliff colliery workers and residents with building and enlarging it, in a community project in the late 1950s, although some say a pool was here earlier.
When to go
A calm morning at mid to low tide is best. Council closes the pool while it is cleaned, with dates that move around with the sea and weather, so check its page on the day. On weekends combine it with a walk across the Sea Cliff Bridge, just to the south.
Getting there and facilities
The pool is reached from Paterson Road, Coalcliff, an easy walk down from the street. There is free parking at Leeder Park and by the surf club. Coalcliff station is a short walk uphill on the South Coast line.
Good to know
There are no lifeguards at the pool. The platform is slippery and waves can surge across it, so keep children close.