The best places in Australia for an outdoor lifestyle have been revealed, with three Sydney regions taking the top spots.
Research by sports retailer Net World Sports ranked 88 regions across Australia based on access to walking and cycling trails, parks, protected areas, rock-climbing locations, outdoor events and the number of days suitable for outdoor activities.
Sydney’s Northern Beaches came first with a score of 77.26 out of 100, followed by Sutherland and North Sydney and Hornsby.
The Northern Beaches was the only region to score more than 75, while the three Sydney regions were also the only areas in the top 10 within 10 kilometres of a protected area.
Hobart was the highest-ranked region outside Sydney, helped by having some of the best weather for outdoor activities. About 68.2 per cent of days were considered suitable for getting outside.
Tasmania and Victoria also performed strongly for outdoor weather, taking all 10 positions for the highest proportion of good outdoor days.
Sydney featured six times among the country’s top hiking regions, while Adelaide had the most mountain-biking trails, with 298.4 kilometres of track per 1,000 square kilometres.
Tasmania’s South East was ranked the best region for rock climbing, with 83.1 locations per 100,000 residents.
Personal trainer and Net World Sports fitness product developer Anwen Davies said access to outdoor spaces was an important consideration.
“I’d look beyond just how close you are to a beach, park or walking track and think about how easy it actually is to use those spaces as part of your everyday routine,” she said.
“A suburb might look great on paper, but if getting outside requires an hour long drive, you’re much less likely to make it a regular habit.”
Only four of the 88 regions scored above 60 out of 100, highlighting the differences in access to outdoor facilities and suitable conditions across Australia.
Davies said people did not necessarily need to live in one of the highest-ranked regions to enjoy an active lifestyle.
“Access to outdoor spaces can have a big influence on how active we are day to day,” she said. “If your local area makes it difficult or inconvenient to exercise outdoors, or even simply access it, it can become much easier to fall into a more sedentary routine.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to live in one of the highest-ranked regions to have an active lifestyle. There are plenty of ways to make the most of what’s around you, whether that’s walking, running, cycling, swimming or using local parks.
“But from a planning and community perspective, the results do highlight the importance of having accessible outdoor spaces and infrastructure close to where people live.”
Top 10 List below:
- Sydney – Northern Beaches
- Sydney – Sutherland
- North Sydney and Hornsby
- Hobart
- ACT
- Adelaide – South
- Brisbane – West
- Adelaide – Central and Hills
- Hume
- Launceston and North East Tasmania
Image: Shutterstock
