About Walks Near Me

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.

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.

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.

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).   

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.

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.

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.