Stony Range

If you’ve never had reason to go to Stony Range Reserve you would probably not even notice it.

Stony Range is such a hidden gem, I could not believe it existed. I still comment on it to whoever is in the car when we drive past. Essentially, it’s a piece of kept natural bush in the middle of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Packed with walks and nature to enjoy, my kids love it! Just don’t take a pram or a scooter, or a bike. It’s not that type of place and you will land up carrying it. And it’s free to visit.

Stony Range has been so loving looked after by the volunteers who tend to it. A huge thank you must go to them for putting in so much effort to make this a beautiful space for the public!!

Stony Range

I love this place. Mostly because we live close by and we can just pop in for a walk and we feel so far away from the world. It is such a great place to take the kids for a short morning or afternoon walk. There are different types of vegetation, water features and amazing rock structures that give it its name. The group of people that look after it have even laid out some activities for the kids. Stony Range is really a special place.

Stony Range is often called a botanical garden but it’s not really. It is more a natural conservation area where you can imagine what the Northern Beaches used to look like before it all got built up. The garden reminds me a lot of St Ives Wildflower Garden.

Location and parking

Stony Range is hidden in Dee Why, off Pittwater road between Dee Why Grand (where the Aldi is) and Officeworks. It’s an awesome place to explore for youngsters.

If you know where Fitness First and Office Works are, it’s the next block north of that.

Address

The official address for Stony Range Botanical Garden is 810 Pittwater Road, Dee Why, 2099.

Parking

There are three or four parking bays just outside the garden so unfortunately, not very much. They have made provision for disability parking though.

Stony Range Features –

The walks

The main feature of Stony Range is all the little walks in the special setting.

The main loop

There is one main loop that takes you through the various areas in Stony Range. The main loop branches out a few times so you can make your walk a bit longer. What is interesting in the garden is that it takes you through “micro-climates”.

There are a number of different walks that wind through Stoney Range of varying distance and difficulty. The main route around the garden is said to take 20 minutes. But I gather that the people that calculated that were not walking with two young children. The walk generally takes us double that amount of time.

Part of the main loop is a sensory which also becomes part of a sensory track.

The Sensory Track

Branching off from the main loop is a Sensory Track. This walk has little signs along the path that point to plants you can touch, taste, smell, and look at. I haven’t realised this before but I won’t be telling the children this anytime soon. Can you imagine how they would touch and taste everything! It would be a disaster.

If you look at this map, this is the yellow dotted track.

Side Tracks

Also branching off from the main loop are four side tracks. These are really just short little walks. In some instances these could actually help you cut through areas and shorten your walk.

These are the orange paths you see on the map. We often just walk along the main loop and then follow one of the orange side tracks when we see a bird we want to follow.

Night walks

If you’re really lucky you may get to go on one of the night walks. They are held every couple of months and lead by one of the wonderful volunteers. The point of the night walk is to spot the night life – possums, tawnys and owls.

We ventured out on one of the walks, we didn’t see a thing but it was most likely as a result of my son talking non-stop. Maybe don’t go on a night walk if we’re going! You may see more that way.

Stony Range Features –

The different areas

Beyond the entrance is the little hall in front of you and the walk loop starts over to your left. The hall is what is referred to as the “Pavilion”. You can pick up a pamphlet at the entrance which will give you a bit more information on what you are looking at.

The next area you come into is centred around a water way with a water feature. You could try getting the kids to spot frogs although I haven’t seen any before. This is called the Garabara area.

The walk gradually climbs and you head up the “Hawkesbury Sandstone escarpment”. Be careful on the walk up high because there are some really big rocks and you don’t want anyone getting hurt exploring them.

You will find that there are also waterfalls that were created by volunteers in 2001.

As you head back down from the highest point of the garden, you’ll enter the forests. This is so amazing, especially in the middle of the Northern Beaches!

Make sure you keep an eye out for the children’s garden. This is our favourite place in the garden!

Stony Range used to be a disused stone quarry in the 1950s.

There is a special hidden garden just for kids which I will talk about below.

Kids activities

Aside from the walks that you can do, there is an area specially for the kids. The first time we visited we were so surprised to see there was this area where the kids could:

make a banksia man;
tie up a ribbon and add it to the special place created for the fairies; and
investigate the dragon’s hideout.

In 2007 it became a Regional Botanic Garden of Native Bushland.

Stony Range Facilities

If you need coffee to get through the experience, you’ll have to pick it up before hand and there isn’t a cafe in the reserve or that close by.

There is a picnic spot but it’s right near the car park so it’s not that scenic. It does have BBQ facilities and picnic tables.

Thankfully there are also toilets.

There is a small little hall which you can hire out. You’ll have to go through the Northern Beaches Council to do this.

Age suitability

Stony Range is not very big, it’s a great size for preschoolers and young school age kids. There is enough space to walk around and to wear the kids out but not too much that you get lost or tired before getting out.

Age wise, when we first went my littlest was 2 and managed just fine but she was an early walker. At the other end of the spectrum, my mom who is a young 60 odd has done it a few times without any issues.

Accessibility

The council website says that the garden is wheelchair friendly but this can’t right. I can’t think of anywhere where it would work because even the flatter areas are still uneven.

There are some steps and some harder areas to navigate. You definitely can’t do this walk with a pram or wheelchair. I also wouldn’t do it with a toddler who isn’t sturdy on their feet unless you’re prepared to carry them.