Western Sydney’s favourite swim spot, Penrith Beach, will return on 27 November, opening a week earlier than last year to again give locals and visitors a free and safe place to swim, relax and cool off closer to home this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fourth season will begin with a splash, as a free community day gets things into full swing on Saturday 28 November, featuring food vendors, family-friendly entertainment and a range of activities throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The community day will be first in best dressed, with the first 300 people through the gates getting free ice creams and drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back for its fourth season, Penrith Beach, or \u2018Pondi\u2019 has welcomed nearly half a million people since opening in 2023, with visitors taking advantage of having a place to cool off for free in Western Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Popular and free water safety programs and skin checks will return throughout the 2026\/27 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visitors will have even more opportunities to enjoy the beach, with the season running through to 26 April 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The beach will be open daily with operating hours varying across the season:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional shade and a range of recreational activities and community events will help visitors cool off and relax this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water safety remains a top priority, with trained lifeguards from Surf Life Saving NSW patrolling the beach daily during opening hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water quality will continue to be regularly monitored and publicly reported throughout the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more information, including opening hours and programming, and to subscribe for regular updates, visit NSW Planning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deputy Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Western Sydney, Prue Car said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHundreds of thousands of Western Sydney locals have showed up to enjoy Penrith Beach over the last three summers, and I can\u2019t wait to join them for another season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Liberals and Nationals left this site locked behind gates for more than a decade, making empty promises and neglecting Western Sydney families in need of high-quality open spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt a time when families are under pressure, having free, world-class, outdoor destinations nearby, including Penrith Beach, makes a real difference for locals during the summer months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe countdown is on for Penrith Beach\u2019s fourth season, promising everything beachgoers love about it and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis season builds on the success of previous seasons, offering a free, safe place to swim and create memorable experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe’ve listened to community feedback and adjusted operating hours so people can continue enjoying the beach later in the day through late summer and autumn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Member for Penrith, Karen McKeown said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to see Penrith Beach reopen a week earlier this season, giving visitors more opportunity to cool down as we head into summer and the holiday period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Penrith Beach has proven to offer something for everyone, from swimming and water safety programs to community events and family-friendly activities.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCreating these vibrant community hubs makes Western Sydney an even more attractive place to live, work and play.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Western Sydney’s favourite swim spot, Penrith Beach, will return on 27 November, opening a week earlier than last year to again give locals and visitors a free and safe place to swim, relax and cool off closer to home this summer. The fourth season will begin with a splash, as a free community day gets … Continue reading “Pondi returns earlier for a fourth summer season”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41554"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41555,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41554\/revisions\/41555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}