Palm Beach Rockpool is a 50 m rock pool at the southern end of Palm Beach, Sydney's most northerly beach, in the corner locals call Kiddies Corner. It is free, and was named the Johnny 'Jack' Carter Rockpool in 2019.
Key facts
- Type
- Rock pool
- Length
- 50 m
- Good to know
- Toilets, Change rooms, Parking
- Facilities and access
- Change rooms, toilets, pay-and-display parking (access off Ocean Road)
- Managed by
- Northern Beaches Council
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- Not at the pool
- Parking
- Pay-and-display off Ocean Road
- Best time to go
- Early morning; check the cleaning roster
- Water quality
- GoodPalm Beach, 0.2 km away. Sampled 26 Oct. Source: NSW Beachwatch.
- Cleaning
- Dated roster published through 2026-12-28Council roster entry: Sun 01 Nov 06:00PM to Mon 02 Nov 05:00AM. Times change with weather and tides.
- Town
- Palm Beach, NSW
What it's like
The pool sits on the rock platform at the sheltered southern end of the beach, away from the main surf. At 50 m it is a full-length lap pool, and it is a favourite training spot for swimmers preparing for the annual Palm Beach to Whale Beach ocean swim.
A small rock pool was here in the 1920s, and it was enlarged to Olympic length in the 1930s. In 2019 it was named after Jack Carter, a Palm Beach local who spent more than 70 years as a lifeguard and swimming teacher at the pool.
When to go
Early mornings are quietest and best for laps. Council publishes a dated cleaning roster, and the pool is out of use for about three hours before each listed cleaning time and up to twelve hours after, depending on the seas.
Getting there and facilities
The pool is on the eastern side of Palm Beach at its southern end, with pay-and-display parking off Ocean Road. There are change rooms and toilets. Buses from the city and Manly run to Palm Beach, about 90 minutes from the CBD.
Good to know
There are no lifeguards at the pool itself. Parking fills quickly on summer weekends.