Boyds Tower to Red Sands Bay

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Safer Bushwalks Tips on staying safe on track
Before you start any bushwalk ensure you;
• Tell someone you trust where you are going and what to do if you are overdue
• Have adequate equipment, supplies, skills & knowledge for the whole journey
• Consider the impact of weather forecasts, park/track closures & fire dangers
• Can respond to emergencies & call for help at any point
• Are healthy and fit enough for this journey
If not, change plans and stay safe. It is okay to delay and ask people for help.

Getting There Transport options and directions
Start (-37.1044837,149.9512282)
Mode Car (A park entry fee is required for driving into the park.)
Directions From Princes Highway, A1
Turn on to Edrom Road then drive for 17.1 km

Track Notes Turn by turn instructions & maps

Getting started
From the information sign, the walk heads down the hill, following the low posts away from the information sign, to a signposted intersection on the left. From the intersection, the track follows the sign for 'Coastal Walk' down the hill away from the car park. The track soon passes an information sign on the right before tending right, down the hill to be above the coastline. The walk then continues with the coast on your left, down stairs into a gully and back out. The track winds and undulates for some time, leading away from the coast. The track then continues back towards the coast, to a view of the tower on your left and a rock island below in the sea.
From the intersection, this walk heads along the track, keeping the the coast to the left. The track soon leads out of the heath and winds along the hillside, tending away from the coast (which disappears below the trees on the left). The walk then winds down into a gully with access to the rocks (below on your left). Rising up and out of the gully, the track winds across the hillside and then down into a rocky bay with an arrow marker. The walk continues across the red flat rock at the back of the bay, coming to the arrow marker pointing inland, in the middle of the bay.....

Turn map	Directions & comments
	The starting point of an optional sidetrip. An optional side trip to Boyd Tower Intersection. To start this optional side trip turn left here. On returning from this side trip turn left when you get back to this intersection. Details below. Start. Boyd car park (about 15 m back from the start). Boyd car park Boyd car park is found at the end 1.1km long unsealed Boyd Tower Rd, Edrom. The car park is spread around a turning circle at the end of the road. There is a concrete path leading to a toilet and water tank (empty) in the middle of the turning circle. Car parking bays are not marked, and there is space for about 20 cars plus a bus. There are no marked mobility parking areas. The surface is a fairly smooth gravel/clay. A manual pay station is available for park entry fees near the sheltered large information sign. The carpark is the start of the Light to Light walk and the path to Boyd Tower. There is a sign (about 10 m back from the start). After 30 m find the "Toilet" (30 m on your right). Toilet Unisex non-flushing toilet. Entrance is 90cm wide, toilet seat 40cm high, handrails 80cm high. Bolt lock 1m high.
	Continue another 2.4 km to find the end. Then turn around here and retrace the main route for 2.4 km to get back to the start. About 10 m past the end is "Red sands bay". Red sands bay Red sands bay (not officially named) is a north-facing bay between Boyd Tower and Leather Jacket Bay in Ben Boyd National Park. The rocky bay is accessed via the Light to Light walk. The beach in this bay is made up of small boulders and a fine red gravel. Most of the red gravel is on the western side of the bay. The gravel is made from the sea smashing the red siltstone into small pieces. The red sands/gravel of this bay makes for a fantastic contrast on sunny days.

Turn map

Directions & comments

The starting point of an optional sidetrip. An optional side trip to Boyd Tower Intersection. To start this optional side trip turn left here. On returning from this side trip turn left when you get back to this intersection. Details below.

Start.

Boyd car park (about 15 m back from the start).

Boyd car park

Boyd car park is found at the end 1.1km long unsealed Boyd Tower Rd, Edrom. The car park is spread around a turning circle at the end of the road. There is a concrete path leading to a toilet and water tank (empty) in the middle of the turning circle. Car parking bays are not marked, and there is space for about 20 cars plus a bus. There are no marked mobility parking areas. The surface is a fairly smooth gravel/clay. A manual pay station is available for park entry fees near the sheltered large information sign. The carpark is the start of the Light to Light walk and the path to Boyd Tower.

There is a sign (about 10 m back from the start).

After 30 m find the "Toilet" (30 m on your right).

Toilet

Unisex non-flushing toilet. Entrance is 90cm wide, toilet seat 40cm high, handrails 80cm high. Bolt lock 1m high.

Continue another 2.4 km to find the end. Then turn around here and retrace the main route for 2.4 km to get back to the start.

About 10 m past the end is "Red sands bay".

Red sands bay

Red sands bay (not officially named) is a north-facing bay between Boyd Tower and Leather Jacket Bay in Ben Boyd National Park. The rocky bay is accessed via the Light to Light walk. The beach in this bay is made up of small boulders and a fine red gravel. Most of the red gravel is on the western side of the bay. The gravel is made from the sea smashing the red siltstone into small pieces. The red sands/gravel of this bay makes for a fantastic contrast on sunny days.

An optional side trip to Boyd Tower Intersection.

Turn map	Directions & comments
	Start. After 125 m find the "Trip Hazard" (on your left). Trip Hazard Culvert under path with exposed drainage ditch on the very edge of path. A drop of about 25cm. Marked with timber bollards, there are a series of 4 more similar drainage ditches about every 40m. After another 150 m come to "Seat". Seat A timber bench seat, 55cm high, 22cm deep and 2.4m wide with no backrest. The seat is 1.7m off the side of the path. Then find the "Seat" (on your right). Seat A timber bench seat, 58cm high, 22cm deep and 2.4m wide with no backrest.
	After another 10 m turn left.
	After another 2 m come to the end. About 20 m past the end is "Boyds Tower". Boyds Tower Boyds Tower was commissioned by Benjamin Boyd and originally designed to be a lighthouse. After the Government rejected the proposal of the private lighthouse, Boyd changed tact and built the Sydney sandstone tower for whale spotting. The tower gave his whaling ships a strong advantage over other whalers in the area. Built in 1847, Boyds Tower is a large sandstone tower on the southern head of Twofold Bay in Ben Boyd National Park. The top of the tower bears the BOYD title, and boast several viewing points. The ground floor of the tower is open to the public and is well worth exploring. Boyd was declared bankrupt soon after completing the tower and left Australia for the Californian goldfields. Boyd died in the Solomon Islands in 1851 whilst hunting game. "Ben Boyd's Tower is watching - Watching o'er the sea Ben Boyd's Tower is waiting For her and me." Henry Lawson (1910) The bottom floor of the tower is open to the public via a 1.2m wide sandstone door frame. Turn around and retrace your steps back the 275 m to the main route.

Terrain Know the Hills, grading & facilities

Boyds Tower to Red Sands Bay

Grading

	Class 4/6 Hard track
Length	4.8 km
Time	1 h 45 min to 2 h

Quality of track	Rough track, where fallen trees and other obstacles are likely (4/6)
Gradient	Short steep hills (3/6)
Signage	Directional signs along the way (3/6)
Infrastructure	Limited facilities (such as cliffs not fenced, significant creeks not bridged) (4/6)
Experience Required	No experience required (1/6)
Weather	Storms may impact on navigation and safety (3/6)

Some facilities on route

Entity|toilet: There is one 30 m from the start.

Seat: There are 2 on route, on average they are 1.8 km apart with the largest gap of 4.8 km.

Order of key facilities on route

Item	From Start	Name & link to notes
Seat	0 m + 420 m	Seat
Seat	0 m + 260 m	Seat
Entity\|toilet	30 m	Toilet

Articles Discover more details to thrive on track

Boyds Tower
Boyds Tower was commissioned by Benjamin Boyd and originally designed to be a lighthouse. After the Government rejected the proposal of the private lighthouse, Boyd changed tact and built the Sydney sandstone tower for whale spotting. The tower gave his whaling ships a strong advantage over other whalers in the area. Built in 1847, Boyds Tower is a large sandstone tower on the southern head of Twofold Bay in Ben Boyd National Park. The top of the tower bears the BOYD title, and boast several viewing points. The ground floor of the tower is open to the public and is well worth exploring. Boyd was declared bankrupt soon after completing the tower and left Australia for the Californian goldfields. Boyd died in the Solomon Islands in 1851 whilst hunting game. "Ben Boyd's Tower is watching - Watching o'er the sea Ben Boyd's Tower is waiting For her and me." Henry Lawson (1910) The bottom floor of the tower is open to the public via a 1.2m wide sandstone door frame.

Red sands bay
Red sands bay (not officially named) is a north-facing bay between Boyd Tower and Leather Jacket Bay in Ben Boyd National Park. The rocky bay is accessed via the Light to Light walk. The beach in this bay is made up of small boulders and a fine red gravel. Most of the red gravel is on the western side of the bay. The gravel is made from the sea smashing the red siltstone into small pieces. The red sands/gravel of this bay makes for a fantastic contrast on sunny days.

Get more information
Wildwalks

Weather & Alerts Check forecasts & closures
Weather Forecast
- Eden Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
  
  Thursday 10 October
  
  Mostly clear.
  
  Sunny. Patches of frost about the coastal ranges early this morning. Winds northwest to northeasterly 15 to 20 km/h tending northeast to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the early afternoon then tending southeast to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h in the evening. Daytime maximum temperatures in the low to high 20s.
  
  UV Alert: Sun protection 9:20am to 4:00pm, UV Index predicted to reach 7 [High]
  
  Friday 11 October
  
  8°C → 18°C
  Partly cloudy.
  10% chance of rain
  
  Partly cloudy. The chance of fog about the coastal ranges in the early morning. Medium chance of showers about the coastal ranges, slight chance elsewhere. Light winds becoming east to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the early afternoon then tending southeast to southwesterly in the evening. Overnight temperatures falling to between 6 and 11 with daytime temperatures reaching between 18 and 23.
  
  Saturday 12 October
  
  9°C → 19°C
  Partly cloudy.
  10% chance of rain
  
  Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower in the north in the morning. Near zero chance of rain elsewhere. Winds south to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h tending south to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening. Overnight temperatures falling to between 6 and 11 with daytime temperatures reaching between 15 and 19.
  
  Sunday 13 October
  
  7°C → 20°C
  Sunny.
  5% chance of rain
  
  Mostly sunny. Patches of morning frost about the coastal ranges. Slight chance of a shower in the north in the evening. Near zero chance of rain elsewhere. Light winds becoming northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening. Overnight temperatures falling to between 4 and 9 with daytime temperatures reaching between 18 and 22.
  
  Monday 14 October
  
  11°C → 22°C
  Possible shower.
  40% chance of rain
  0 → 1mm
  
  Possible shower.
  
  Tuesday 15 October
  
  11°C → 18°C
  Possible shower.
  40% chance of rain
  0 → 1mm
  
  Possible shower.
  
  Wednesday 16 October
  
  10°C → 20°C
  Possible shower.
  40% chance of rain
  0 → 1mm
  
  Possible shower.
  
  Thursday 17 October
  
  12°C → 22°C
  Shower or two.
  60% chance of rain
  0 → 5mm
  
  Shower or two.
  
  Forecast data thanks to © Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
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