About Walks Near Me

Great places and spaces are closer than you think

Walks Near Me is a NSW state-wide digital and interactive map that you can use to find great public spaces and plan walks in your local area and beyond. Find parks, beaches, pools, libraries, museums and more within walking distance from wherever you are in NSW. Find out more about great walks in your own backyard or start planning your next trip to learn more about our incredible regions.

Uncover new places, walks and hidden gems

Create your own walk using the Walks Near Me map.

You’ll see the diversity and quality of public spaces across NSW all on one platform. Get ready to experience and learn about these public spaces and keep checking back in as Walks Near Me continues to grow with exciting new content.

Use the digital map to help plan your adventures to public spaces. Start by setting your location, distance and the categories you are interested in – the search function will give you a list of relevant sites and you can then personalise your own walking route. You can download or print to PDF and share it on social media. You’ll also find content and tips to make the most of your public space experience.

When we use the terms walk, walks, walkable or walking, we mean any way to travel without a car or bike, inclusive of all abilities, such as using a wheelchair or other types of mobility aid.

Project partners

Walks Near Me brings together data, information and insightful content from local councils, state agencies and public place managers from across NSW.

Our partners who provided content include:

Local councils

Armidale Regional Council (Including Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place)

Bathurst Regional Council

Broken Hill City Council

City of Parramatta

City of Sydney

Lismore City Council (Including Lismore Regional Gallery and the Quad)

City of Newcastle

Penrith City Council

Wagga Wagga City Council

Wollongong City Council

State agencies

Greater Sydney Parklands

Callan Park, Centennial Parklands, Parramatta Park and Western Sydney Parklands

Placemaking NSW

Darling Harbour and The Rocks.

The Royal Botanic Gardens

The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, and The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Department of Planning and Environment

Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation and Sydney Olympic Park Authority.

Other partners

Destination NSW

Dubbo Regional Council, Western Plains Cultural Centre

National Parks and Wildlife Service

Inner West Council, Marrickville Library

Frequently asked questions

Why was Walks Near Me developed?

Walks Near Me was developed to showcase the incredible places we have in NSW and promote walkable access to public spaces across the state.

It highlights the hidden gems, great walks and public places that NSW has to offer, all on the one website. COVID-19 has shown us the importance of having quality public space close to where we live to encourage our physical, mental and social well-being. Walks Near Me gives everyone a free and easy way to connect and engage with the diverse and quality public spaces near them, wherever they are in NSW.

What are the benefits of using Walks Near Me?

Walks Near Me uses data from multiple sources to allow you to search and find great public spaces, parks, beaches, libraries, museums and more within walking distance from wherever you are in NSW. It also highlights local community events, exhibitions, and other points of interest.

Find out more about your own backyard or start planning your next trip to experience our incredible regions.

What consultation has occurred to develop Walks Near Me?

User research, including community surveys and testing with diverse groups, design consultation and co-design workshops, were undertaken in 2021 to develop the site. Feedback from consultation highlighted the most beneficial design features and functionality for users, which were incorporated into the website and map design.

Our pilot partner councils, state agencies and public place managers across NSW provided additional information and content.

Why is Walks Near Me not a downloaded App, is it available in different languages and is it accessible?

Walks Near Me is available via any internet browser on a digital device and is responsive to the device’s screen size. The web application ensures the map is accessible to people who cannot download apps to their devices. It also allows users to download a map to access when offline and has the same functionality as an app.

The Walks Near Me site currently provides machine translation into 67 languages. The languages available are determined by statistics from the 2022 Census data release and are periodically reviewed and updated based on new data. The text translation button is in the top right corner of the webpage. As of March 2023, the five most translated languages on nsw.gov.au were Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese and Korean. In addition, the website meets accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1AA). 

What data is used on Walks Near Me?

Walks Near Me uses the best available data for public space locations and points of interest across NSW. We are committed to improving the data available on the map and will review it regularly.

Walks Near Me uses publicly available data from the Department of Customer Service and the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse and was developed in collaboration with government agencies, pilot councils and other place managers. This includes the use of Aboriginal place and local group names within the site. For the illustrated map of NSW, the Aboriginal local group names were sourced from aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia.

Walks Near Me specialises in using these data sets, with underlying technology from the Google MapsPlatform, to create walking maps to great public spaces such as parks, beaches, libraries, museums and more, all within walking distance from wherever you are located in NSW. It highlights local community experiences, amenities and points of interest and allows you to create personal walking itineraries to suit your interests. Your personalised walking itinerary measures the distance of your walk, provides the approximate time and information about the places you will visit. You can also share or print it. The website combines spatial data and information from multiple place managers and government agencies into one state-wide digital map for the community.

Walks Near Me encourages everyone to get out, enjoy the benefits of walking and experience the interesting public spaces throughout NSW. Great places and spaces are closer than you think.

If you experience any issues with the Walks Near Me site or have any feedback, contact us at PublicSpace@planning.nsw.gov.au.

Who can I contact to talk to about a specific public space or error on the site?

Public spaces are managed by various entities across NSW. We encourage you to contact the relevant place managers or councils directly to discuss any issues or concerns with the places. Where the data is available, public spaces on the map list their regular opening times and have links to websites for more information.

The site’s information is drawn from multiple sources. If you experience any issues with the website, you can contact us at PublicSpace@planning.nsw.gov.au.

What browsers are supported by the Walks Near Me map?

Windows users are encouraged to access the map on Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. Mac users can access the map using Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome. We encourage users to use the latest release of their preferred browser to view the map. Microsoft Internet Explorer IE 11 (IE 11) has been superseded by Microsoft Edge. The Walks Near Me map will not work on IE 11, as the underlying technology relies on the Google Maps Platform, and support for IE 11 has been discontinued. As a result, users viewing the map on IE 11 may be unable to view all features.