Cottage Point is the little cluster of houses, a marina and a famous waterfront restaurant where Coal and Candle Creek meets Cowan Creek, deep inside Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Boat hire at Cottage Point itself is small-scale — think tinnies and kayaks from the waterfront kiosk, booked locally — because the hamlet is tiny and the road in is a single winding lane. This page covers what’s actually available there, what the water is like once you’re on it, and the closer-to-Sydney alternative if the hour’s drive north doesn’t suit your group.
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Pricing, photos and open dates across the fleet.
What boat hire actually exists at Cottage Point?
The hamlet supports exactly the kind of hire its size suggests: small outboard-powered runabouts and kayaks from the waterfront kiosk, suited to a few hours of poking around Cowan Creek, fishing a quiet bay or motoring across to a picnic spot. It’s a lovely, low-key product — but it is not a party-boat scene, and you won’t find catered cruisers, big group boats or overnight hire based there. The other famous way to arrive is by seaplane: Cottage Point Inn has been a fly-in lunch destination for decades, with seaplanes landing on the creek out front. If your picture of the day is a larger group, food and drinks aboard and a few swim stops, that style of boat lives on Sydney Harbour and Pittwater rather than at Cottage Point itself.
What’s the water like on Cowan Creek?
Some of the best sheltered cruising in New South Wales, and that’s not marketing. Cowan Creek is a drowned river valley — deep, dark-green water walled in by national-park bushland on both banks, with barely a building in sight once you’re clear of the Point. Because it’s so deep and so enclosed, ocean swell never gets in and even a strong wind only ruffles it in patches; on a still morning the water turns to glass and the loudest thing you’ll hear is a whipbird. From Cottage Point you can turn up Coal and Candle Creek towards Akuna Bay, run down Cowan Creek past America Bay towards Broken Bay, or work upstream past Jerusalem Bay towards Bobbin Head. Public courtesy moorings dot the bays, and swimming off the boat is the standard afternoon activity. If you want the full picture of the waterway, our Cowan Creek boating guide covers the anchorages bay by bay.
How do you get to Cottage Point, and what’s the catch?
By road it’s roughly an hour from the CBD: up Mona Vale Road, into Ku-ring-gai Chase via McCarrs Creek Road, then the narrow, winding descent to the Point. The catches are practical ones. Parking at Cottage Point is genuinely limited — a handful of spots that fill early on weekends. There’s a national park vehicle entry fee on the way in. Phone reception is patchy in the valley. And the road, while sealed, is single-lane tight in places, which matters if anyone in your group is prone to car-sickness. None of this is a reason not to go — it’s one of Sydney’s great escapes precisely because it’s awkward to reach — but it shapes the kind of day it suits: small groups, early starts, unhurried plans.
Can I get there on a Boatique boat?
No, and we’d rather tell you straight than let you book the wrong thing. Our fleet is Sydney Harbour based; Cowan Creek and Pittwater are a separate waterway reached by open ocean past Barrenjoey, which is off-limits for harbour hire boats — and rightly so. So your two honest choices are: hire locally at Cottage Point (small boats, book ahead in summer), or get the same style of day without the drive. Middle Harbour, where our self-drive boats live at The Spit in Mosman, is Sydney Harbour’s own drowned valley — once you’re past Seaforth heading towards Bantry Bay and Sugarloaf Bay, it’s the same deep, still, bush-walled water in miniature, national park on the banks included. For most city-based groups it delivers ninety per cent of the Cottage Point feeling for a third of the travel time. See boat hire on Middle Harbour for that option in detail.
What does a day like this cost?
Local tinnie hire at Cottage Point is priced by the operator — modest, but confirm directly. Our Coral runs from $400 for a 3-hour hire with fuel included, no licence needed, up to 6 guests, BYO welcome with an ice box aboard. The Axopar 28 starts from $795 for licensed skippers, up to 8 guests. If you want a skippered day instead, small BYO charter boats on the harbour run roughly $200–$400 an hour and catered cruisers $500–$900 an hour, with winter typically 20–40% cheaper than summer. Cost comparisons across every style are in our boat hire pricing guide.
When is Cowan Creek at its best?
Autumn, hands down — the water is still warm from summer, the westerlies haven’t started, and the weekday water is close to empty. Summer weekends are the busiest the creek gets, which is still quiet by harbour standards, but the courtesy moorings in the popular bays do fill by mid-morning. Winter is the sleeper pick for fishing and silence: crisp, glassy mornings, hardly a boat moving, and hire prices at their lowest. Whatever the season, mornings beat afternoons — the nor’easter that arrives most summer afternoons puts a chop even on sheltered water.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hire a party boat at Cottage Point?
No — Cottage Point’s hire is small runabouts and kayaks only. Group and party boats operate from Sydney Harbour; see the party boat link below if that’s the day you’re planning.
Do I need a licence to hire a boat at Cottage Point?
Small low-speed hire boats generally don’t require a licence — confirm with the local operator. Our no-licence Coral on Middle Harbour works the same way: full training at the wharf before you head off.
Is Cottage Point Inn accessible by hire boat?
Yes — arriving by water is half the point of the place. Book the restaurant well ahead and ask them about wharf arrangements when you book.
Can I swim in Cowan Creek?
Yes, off the boat in the quiet bays — the water is deep, clean and calm. Most people pick a mooring in a bay like America Bay or Jerusalem Bay and swim from the duckboard.
What’s the closest similar experience to the city?
Upper Middle Harbour from The Spit — Bantry Bay and Sugarloaf Bay give you the same national-park water 20 minutes from the CBD, with our Coral from $400 and no licence required.