A family who went for a Father's Day walk spent the night on top of a cliff after getting stranded by the tide.

Mia and Shane Bartlett and their three children, Will, 12, Isobel, 15, and Ollie, 17, from North Ryde in Sydney, were walking from Patonga to Pearl Beach on the NSW Central Coast yesterday.

Mia and Shane Bartlett and their three children, Will, 12, Isobel, 15, and Ollie, 17, from Jerrabomberra near Queanbeyan, were walking from Patonga to Pearl Beach on the NSW Central Coast yesterday. (Nine)

Mr Bartlett had just wanted to watch the football but said he was dragged on the walk at the scenic spot.

But the family got stuck on a cliff after being trapped by riding tide at 6.15pm last night and had to call emergency services.

A police helicopter located them on the edge of dense bushland.

Will, 12, Isobel, 15, and Ollie, 17, were trapped with their family (Nine)

Two fire officers and a pair of paramedics trekked through the bush to reach them – and supplies including sleeping bags, jumpers, hot chocolate and lollies were dropped from the air.

They stayed with the family overnight, with a camp fire keeping them warm, as they waited for the tide to drop.

They were then able to walk out this morning, uninjured.

Mrs Bartlett said the family felt "a bit foolish" but were relieved to be rescued after what would be a Father's Day to remember.

"We very naively thought we might just have a bit of a walk around the coast," she told 9News.

The family were brought out this morning after their ordeal. (Nine)

"We underestimated, obviously, the distances.

"We just got stuck on rocks and thought we'd go up through the bush and try and find a trial

"We just got disorientated and ran out of light basically

"We just stayed put and waited for emergency services."

Water police, Polair, Fire and Rescue NSW, Rural Fire Service and the Toll NSW Ambulance Rescue Helicopter were all involved in the operation.

The family were given precautionary medical checks before being taken back to their vehicle to drive home, a NSW Police spokeswoman said.