Tuggerah Lake stretches for kilometres behind the narrow coastal strip at The Entrance, connected to the ocean through the channel that gives the town its name. The lake is ideal for kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and flat-water swimming, and its calm surface is a reliable escape when the ocean is rough. You can hire kayaks and paddleboards from several operators along the foreshore.
The lake is part of the Tuggerah Lakes system, a complex of three interconnected lagoons that together make one of the largest estuaries on the east coast. Birdlife is good along the banks — black swans are common, and the pelicans that come to the daily feeding at the waterfront spend most of their time out here. A walking and cycling path runs along stretches of the lakeside and connects several of the surrounding suburbs.