Tuggerah Lakes and The Entrance: Central Coast's Unique Lake System

Tuggerah Lakes, the connected system of Tuggerah, Budgewoi, and Munmorah Lakes, provides the Central Coast with an inland waterway network that creates an environment distinctive from the surf coast beaches and from the mountains and valleys that frame the region on its western side. The lakes' calm water, extensive foreshore, and the communities that have developed around them provide a different kind of coastal lifestyle experience that attracts both permanent residents and holiday visitors.

The Entrance, where Tuggerah Lake meets the Pacific Ocean through a channel maintained by dredging, is the most popular destination on the lake system, combining beach access with the lake's calm water fishing and the pelican feeding ritual that has become the destination's signature attraction. The pelicans that gather at The Entrance have been fed by the local fishermen for decades, and the daily feeding event at Memorial Park draws visitors who would not otherwise visit the town.

The lake system supports significant recreational fishing, with bream, flathead, and whiting providing consistent catches for the anglers who fish from the foreshore parks, private jetties, and boats. The lakes' ecology has been affected by water quality issues over the decades, and management programs targeting nutrient loads and invasive aquatic vegetation have aimed to maintain the fishing quality that is central to the lakes' recreational value.

Lake Munmorah State Conservation Area protects the northern part of the lake system from development, providing habitat for waterbirds and fish while maintaining a natural foreshore that the southern and central parts of the lake system largely lack due to residential development. The conservation area's accessibility to recreation, including kayaking and birdwatching, makes it an important complement to the more developed areas of the lake system.