Sharon Beach National Park – Family Hikes by the Sea

Sharon Beach National Park near Shefayim offers several loop hikes for families. The trails go on top of cliffs by sea.

Map

Sharon Beach National Park is located between Arsuf and Wingate center by the Mediterranean sea. And it has two main entrances. The southern entrance is behind Shefayim (link to Waze), and the northern entrance is near Gaash (link to Waze). Both entries are marked in Waze. You can also see them in the trail map below.

The access road is not made of asphalt, but you can use any car to reach the park. However, I would not advise driving there after heavy rains.

Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit

Interactive map of the area:

And here is a map of this park:

Note: the southern entry can be seen on the map above.

Tracks

It is easy to navigate at this national park. We did not use any maps. I entered “Sharon Beach National Park” into Waze, and we followed the trails from the parking. Make sure you reach the entrance you want (southern or northern).

Here is an interactive map from israelhiking.osm.org.il where three trails are marked:

And here are the details of these tracks:

Name	Color of the Track on the Map above	Description	Distance (km)	Total climb and descent (meters)	Notes
Southern Area – Short Loop Track	Blue	Use the red, green, and black trails to see the main points of interest of Sharon Beach National Park.	1.4	34
Southern Area – Longer Loop Trail	Red	An extended version of the previous trail.	2.4	34
Northern Area – Loop Track	Orange	Use the red and the Israeli National trails to hike along the sea.	3.7	74	Since the two tracks meet several times, you can easily make the hike longer or shorter.

If it is your first visit to Sharon Beach National Park, I recommend a hike in the southern area. Many explanation signs were added in this area (though some of them are not readable).

Entrance Fee

Free.

Opening Hours

You can visit at any time. Just make sure to finish before dark, as there is no illumination along the route.

When to visit Sharon Beach National Park?

There is little shade along the trails. Therefore, preferably not to visit during the summer. Also, visit early or later in the day. Furthermore, since many flowers bloom in this national park, Spring is the best time to visit.

Rules of Conduct

Here are several of the rules:

• Bicycles are allowed only on the black trail (not the cliff trail).
• No entry for horses and pets.
• Do not remain in the park after dark.
• Do not light fires, including campfires and barbecues.
• Keep the area clean, and take your trash with you.

About

Sharon Beach National Park (official site) is located along the Mediterranean beach between Apollonia National Park and Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve. To be more specific, this park is next to Kibbutz Shefayim.

This national park offers light walks along the sea. Remember that significant parts of the track have sand and are unsuitable for strollers. Moreover, there are few trees. Thus most time, you will be under the open sun. Though the sea breeze makes it easier, I recommend visiting it during the cooler hours of the day.

Southern Area

Here are several photos from the Southern Area – the longer loop trail (red track). It was a lovely hike and took us more than an hour to complete.

Since the tracks are short, my 3-year-old daughter could complete it herself. Thus this national park suits families.

Near the southern entrance, you can find a big grove. Many people use this area for a picnic.

Northern Area

In this section, I will take you along the orange route (see trails section).

When looking North, we see the new Ir Yamim neighborhood in Netanya.

We started walking to the North. As you can see, the route is on top of limestones and has mostly sand and ground.

Even though it was towards the end of Spring, there were still flowers.

Here are several photos from that section of the trail:

Two trails pass along Sharon Beach National Park. The red path, called the cliff trail, is closer to the sea. And the black trail, also called the limestone track, is further away from the sea. The Israeli National Trail also passes here. Most of the time, it is the same as the black path.

Most of the time, the two tracks are parallel to each other, but in several places, they meet. These intersections allow a circular pathway.

We started with the black or the Israeli National Trail and then returned using the red path.

It was pretty hot that day. Thus, at this point, we switched to the red path and started to go back.

You can see the limestone rocks and more of the sea on the red track.

The limestone cliffs are close to the sea, and as the wind from the sea hits them, it blows upwards. Parachuters use this wind. And here is one of them.

There are several places where you can go down towards the sea. But as you can see, there are many rocks, and you cannot swim in this area. Swimming is prohibited and can be done only at the allowed beaches (either North or the south).

Even though there is sandy ground, I was amazed by the number of flowers.

One of the upsides of the red route is the sea breeze. There is no wind at some parts of the black track, and it becomes boiling. Like inside this mini forest.

Food Trucks

Near this park, you can find Coffee and Sea – Arsuf. You can find additional details about this and similar places at Best Food Trucks in Sharon Area.

Summary

Sharon Beach National Park is an underrated park. It is less visited probably for two reasons. First, it is less popular and hard to find (become easier over the years). And secondly, there are no beaches where you can swim. Nonetheless, this park offers excellent nature and stunning sea views. And all of this is very close to the center.

Moreover, you can find many flowers in this area during Spring, like the Coastal Iris At Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve In Netanya.

Have you ever visited Sharon Beach National Park? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

That’s all for today, and I’ll see you in future travels!

Stay Tuned!

   

Additional Resources

Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:

• Israel Trip Planner is the page that will help you to create your perfect travel route.
• National Parks And Nature Reserves page lists and put all national parks on the map. There is also a top list, information about ticket types and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, and Makhtesh Ramon.
• Wondering what events are there in Israel? Here is the Events And Festivals By Season guide.

And if you have any questions then check out Useful Information For Tourists To Israel.