Sorek Stream Estuary National Park

This is a very pretty and easy hike by the foliage-rich southern bank of Nahal Soreq as it winds towards the Mediterranean. The hike ends at an overlook for the estuary and Palmachim Beach. It can be easily combined with a swimming trip to Palmachim Beach National Park, only a few Km away.

Nahal Sorek starts in the Judean Mountains about 70 Km from here. It was once a disaster due to sewage flowing from communities along its path. However, the stream has since been rehabilitated and its water is now treated waste water. With this, there has been a positive change in the plant life along the river and thriving animal life.

Directions and parking: Enter into Waze “Nahal Ruvin” and click on “גן לאומי שפך נחל שורק.“ Approaching in the direction towards the coast, a brown notice for שפך נחל שורק tells you that the parking lot is on the other side of the road (Waze does not tell you this). Go to the roundabout and head back in the opposite direction.

Admission: This is a site of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. However, there is no park office and no admission fee. Close to the parking lot is a Eucalyptus Grove with shaded picnic benches. There are no WCs. There is an instruction not to enter the park after dark.

Time: About 2 hours there and back.

Distance: About 5 Km there and back.

Type of hike: Same path there and back.

Difficulty: The hike is initially on a paved path, but this soon changes to a sandy path. The closer you are to the ocean, the looser is the sand and this does make for slightly more difficult walking. At the far end is a slightly difficult path to the promontory.

Public transport: Enter “גן לאומי נחל רובין.“ The nearest bus stop is 14-minute/1.1 Km from the park.

The estuary of Nahal Sorek from the overlook.

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Follow the sign “Mouth of the Sorek/stream trailhead” and black markings through the eucalyptus grove to the stream which passes together with a footpath under a bridge. For the next few hundred meters the path is paved, but then changes to a sandy path.

A map at the entrance to the park shows a number of circular trails within the park. However, they are neither signed nor marked and this hike will focus solely on the path by the stream to the ocean.

After about 30 minutes, you will come to fork. Take the left fork as it turns slightly away from the foliage of the watershed. This path is slightly broader than the path to the right, and you can see at this point a prominent sandbank on the far left, the cranes of the Spancrete factory and a few short palms in the savannah. Continue towards the promontory. There is little shade from this point.

When close to the ocean, it is worth climbing to the top of the cliff for the views. You will come to a steep sandbank. Rather than climb on this, take the path to its left on which you may see many shoe prints and possibly vehicle treads. After a short distance there is a sandy path on the right that goes to the top of the cliff.

Either return the way you came or you can go to the beach first. There is no supervised swimming here, although there may be a buoyed off area near the cliff for nearby Kibbutz Palmachim. There have been many drownings in the Mediterranean from unsupervised swimming and this is not recommended.

By the sandbank turn to the left to the cliff for the overlook.