How to get to Worser Bay Beach and is it safe for swimming today - Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA)
Location: Eastern side of Miramar Peninsula, Marine Parade / Karaka Bay Road
Suitable for: Swimming
Brief description: Worser Bay Beach is a large, sandy inner-harbour beach with views of the Ororongorongo Range across the harbour, Steeple Rock and Seatoun Beach. In summer its calm waters make it a popular destination for families, and it is also well-used by the local yacht club. Behind the dunes there is a grassed area with picnic tables.
Parking: Plenty of angle parking in front of changing rooms
Toilets and changing facilities: Changing rooms, toilets and cold showers
Accessibility: Easy access to beach at northern end
Dogs:
Summer rules – from 1 December to 1 March, inclusive:
- Dogs are allowed off-leash before 10am and after 7pm.
- Dogs are prohibited between 10am and 7pm.
Rest of the year – from 2 March to 30 November:
- Dogs are allowed off-leash at all times.
Features: A large area of sand dunes at the southern end of the beach planted with marram and pingao is an attractive feature of the beach. Dunes once covered the entire seaward side of the road, but by the 1950s they had been levelled and grassed.
History: The northern end of the beach is the site of the Worser Bay Lifesaving Club (established in 1910) and the Worser Bay Boating Club (established in 1926). The bay was the site of a pilot station in the 1860s and was given its name after pilot James Heberley’s frequent comment that the weather was getting ‘worser’. Eventually the bay became known as old Worser’s Bay.