This relaxed swimming and sailing spot has steep wooded cliffs at each end of a long arc of sand. There’s a picnic area at the northern end, accessed by a pedestrian bridge over the pollution-prone (and therefore aptly named) Browns River. The 3.5km Alum Cliffs Track from near the Shot Tower in Taroona finishes here. Behind the sailing clubhouse at the beach's southern end is a track leading to a secret little swimming cove called Boronia Beach.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Hobart attractions

1. Blackmans Bay Beach

1.57 MILES

About 3km from Kingston, Blackmans Bay has a safe-swimming beach and a blowhole. The water is usually quite cold, and there’s rarely any surf…but it sure…

2. Shot Tower

1.66 MILES

On Taroona’s southern fringe stands the Shot Tower, a 48m-high, circular sandstone turret (1870) built to make lead shot for firearms. Molten lead was…

3. Australian Antarctic Division

1.8 MILES

Just south of Kingston is the government HQ responsible for administering Australia’s 42% wedge of the frozen continent. Australia has a long history of…

4. Inverawe Native Gardens

3.8 MILES

Behind the Margate Train is Inverawe Native Gardens, a private, 9.5-hectare property with landscaped native gardens, trails, water views and 80 species of…

5. Margate Train

3.83 MILES

Margate Train is a chance for train geeks to gawk at Tasmania's last passenger train, the good ol' Tasman Ltd, which stopped chugging in 1978. It stands…

6. Mt Nelson

3.99 MILES

The Old Signal Station atop Mt Nelson (352m) provides immaculate views over Hobart and the Derwent River estuary. The Mt Nelson semaphore station …

7. Channel Heritage Centre

4.62 MILES

This fabulous community-owned museum on the roadside just south of central Margate is well worth a stop. A series of intimate, passionately curated…

8. Lower Sandy Bay Beach

4.93 MILES

This sweet little beach is a decent spot for a stroll or a dip on a hot afternoon: swim out to the pontoon and warm up in the sun before re-entering the…