MacCallum Pool may have the best view of any pool in Sydney: a small, free harbour pool on the tip of Cremorne Point, looking straight across to the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It's open all the time and a few minutes' walk from the ferry, so it works as well for a dawn swim as for a lazy weekend afternoon.
Key facts
- Type
- Harbour or river baths
- Good to know
- Toilets
- Facilities and access
- Timber deck, no toilets
- Cost
- Free
- Lifeguards
- No
- Public transport
- Ferry to Cremorne Point, then a short walk
- Best time to go
- Early mornings on calm days
- Water quality
- GoodHayes Street Beach, 0.9 km away. Sampled 27 Oct. Data: NSW Beachwatch, CC BY 4.0.
- Town
- Cremorne Point, NSW
What it's like
The pool is two lanes of clear harbour water on the rocks, framed by a timber deck where people read, sunbake and stare at the city. Laps are short and the water is usually flat. It began around 1915, when a local named Fred Lane started moving boulders to make a tidal pool. Hugh MacCallum looked after and enlarged it through the 1920s, and North Sydney Council took it over in 1930 and named it for him. Dame Joan Sutherland, a Cremorne Point local, reopened it after a big renovation in 1985.
When to go
Any calm day works. Early mornings are peaceful, with the first light falling on the city across the water, while hot summer afternoons fill the deck fast. Give it a few days after heavy rain.
Getting there and facilities
Catch the ferry to Cremorne Point wharf and follow the foreshore path for a few minutes, or walk the full Cremorne Point loop through the reserve. There are no toilets or shops at the pool, so bring water and whatever else you need.
Good to know
Entry is free and there are no lifeguards. Deck space is tight on hot weekends.