Snapshot
| Where | 155km north of Brisbane to Noosa Heads and about 240km to Rainbow Beach, roughly 3 hours by road · Tewantin is the southern gateway, 200m from the Noosa River ferry crossing to Noosa North Shore · Rainbow Beach is the northern gateway, 42km from southern Gympie on Tin Can Bay Road and Rainbow Beach Road · Elanda Point, north of Boreen Point, is the 2WD launch for the Upper Noosa River · Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay airports are each about 1.5 hours from Rainbow Beach |
|---|---|
| Getting there | High-clearance 4WD for the park's sand tracks and beach, though 2WD cars reach Elanda Point and the Bymien picnic area on Rainbow Beach Road · The Noosa River ferry at Tewantin carries vehicles to Noosa North Shore and the Teewah Beach access · Cooloola Way is 32km of dirt and sand linking Rainbow Beach Road and Kin Kin-Wolvi Road, impassable in places after wet weather · Teewah Beach is 40km of open beach driving and the inland tracks are not suitable for caravans |
| Best time | May to September — the cooler, drier months of 12 to 22°C days and the season QPWS nominates for walking; humpback whales pass the coast from June to October and spring wildflowers peak from August |
| Worst time | December to February — hot, humid and storm-prone, with February the wettest month and the sand tracks boggy afterwards; the Cooloola Great Walk and its camps close from 1 December to 28 February and mosquitoes are at their worst around the river |
| Time needed | Two to three days for the beach drive, a day walk and the Everglades; five days for the Cooloola Great Walk |
| Cost | Camping $7.75 per person per night or $31.00 per family per night, with children under 5 free · A vehicle access permit is required for Teewah Beach and the Bymien to Teewah section of Freshwater Road, and QPWS publishes no dollar figure for it on the pages checked, so check the booking service · Both are bought before arrival and can be booked up to 12 months ahead |
| Facilities | No fuel anywhere inside the park — fill up at Rainbow Beach, Tewantin or Gympie · Walkers' camps have untreated drinking water and composting toilets, but tank water is not guaranteed · Toilets and showers at Freshwater and toilets at some river camps, none at the Teewah Beach zones · Mobile reception is intermittent or absent across most of the park · No dogs in any camping area |
| Best for | 4WD campers, multi-day walkers and paddlers of the Noosa River |
| Difficulty |
3 of 5 — Challenging
The day walks are short and mostly gentle, but the park's signature experiences need a high-clearance 4WD, tide judgement and self-sufficiency on tracks with no fuel, little water and patchy phone coverage. |
Driving there? Car hire and what to check →
Cooloola is the largest remnant of coastal vegetation on southern Queensland's mainland: 61,750 hectares of beaches, high dunes, coloured sand cliffs, paperbark swamps, lakes and tall forest between Noosa Heads and Rainbow Beach. Sand swept north from the continental shelf over two million years built it, and at least eight overlapping dune systems — some more than 500,000 years old — make up the oldest recorded sequence of its kind. Sandblows creep through the forest at up to a metre a year, and the dark 'coffee rock' that breaks the beach is a remnant of an older soil. Rainforest grows where the wind drops on the middle and high dune slopes, and two-thirds of the Noosa River catchment is protected inside the park, its water dark with tannin. Emus and echidnas work the heath, and Cooloola's acid frogs call from the swamps.
People come for two things: the beach and the walk. Teewah Beach carries 40km of 4WD driving past coloured sand cliffs, and the 102km Cooloola Great Walk links Noosa North Shore with Rainbow Beach in five days. This is Kabi Kabi and Butchulla Country, and QPWS asks that you treat it with respect and care.
Go if…
- You have a high-clearance 4WD and want beach driving — Teewah Beach runs 40km of open sand beneath coloured cliffs
- You want a multi-day walk that finishes in a different town from where it started — the 102km Cooloola Great Walk runs Noosa North Shore to Rainbow Beach
- You would rather paddle or cruise than drive — the Upper Noosa River and the Everglades waterways are the quietest country in the park
- You are happy to camp on what you carry in, with no toilets and no campfires at the beach zones
Skip it if…
- You drive a 2WD and want the interior — only Elanda Point and the Bymien picnic area are reachable without high clearance
- You tow a caravan — the inland tracks are not suitable for them, and camper trailers need good clearance
- You want fuel, reliable phone reception or a shop inside the park — none of the three exists there
- You are planning the Great Walk for December, January or February — the walk and its four camps close from 1 December to 28 February
What to expect
Reviewed
You reach Cooloola from the Noosa River ferry at Tewantin or from Rainbow Beach, and within minutes the sealed road gives out. Teewah Beach runs 40km of open sand beneath coloured cliffs, and the Cooloola Beach drive from the ferry is 60km one way — QPWS allows 1 hour 30 minutes for it, which is generous on a firm tide and optimistic if you find washouts. Loose sand, exposed coffee rock and debris are the ordinary hazards, and Middle and Mudlo Rocks can be impassable even at low tide, so local advice at the information centre is worth more than any schedule you have written. You need a high-clearance 4WD for the beach and for the inland sand tracks: Freshwater Road is 19km of rough sand from Bymien, the Kings Bore circuit is 40km of loose sand, washouts and steep hills that takes at least 3 to 4 hours, and Harrys Hut Road is 10km of very rough going that floods. A vehicle access permit is required on Teewah Beach and the Bymien to Teewah stretch, cameras record number plates around the clock, and no caravans go on the inland tracks.
The cliffs that line the beach are the park's signature: older sands bound with clay, stained yellow, brown and red by iron-rich minerals over thousands of years. Rainbow Gorge, the Cathedrals, the Pinnacles and Red Canyon are the named formations, and QPWS asks that you never climb up, slide down or carve into them — sand tobogganing is prohibited and the faces can collapse without warning. Between them, dark coffee rock outcrops mark old soil layers of a sandmass that once reached 30km further east, and inland the sandblows keep moving at up to a metre a year, taking forest with them.
Leave the beach and the country changes under you. Scribbly gum woodland covers the low dunes near Bymien and the Freshwater camping area; rainforest — the vine forests — takes over the middle and high dune slopes where the wind drops and the soil is deepest; paperbark and blue gum line the creeks. Walking is on soft sand, and QPWS grades most Cooloola tracks as Grade 4, so its times assume fitness and firm going. The Cooloola Great Walk, 102km one way and five days, links Noosa North Shore with Rainbow Beach over the eastern high dunes past perched lakes and sandblows, with four walkers' camps — Brahminy, Dutgee, Litoria and Kauri — offering untreated drinking water, composting toilets and food-security boxes. The 47.9km Cooloola Wilderness Trail runs three to five days through the interior to Harrys Hut, and its river crossings can be closed after flood damage. Both walks shut down or restrict in the storm season: the Great Walk and its camps are closed from 1 December to 28 February.
Water is the other half of Cooloola. The Upper Noosa River and its tributaries run dark with tannin through paperbark swamps and past Kinaba and Fig Tree Point, and the wetlands there act as nurseries for juvenile fish and other aquatic life. You can paddle it, drift up it on a cruise from Tewantin or Boreen Point, or walk to it on the 12.2km Kinaba Track from Elanda Point. Lake Cootharaba and Lake Cooroibah sit at the park's southern edge, Poona Lake is a perched lake back from the coast, and mosquitoes are abundant along the river in season, carrying Ross River and Barmah Forest virus risk.
Wildlife keeps its distance and turns up anyway: emus and echidnas on the heath, ground parrots and Cooloola acid frogs in the swamps, king parrots and yellow-tailed black cockatoos in the tree hollows, pipis, moon snails, sand-bubbler crabs and ghost crabs on the beach. Kabi Kabi and Butchulla people have cared for this country for thousands of years, and a Kabi Kabi Elder's guidance to visitors is simple: take nothing that does not belong to you, leave only your footprint and great memories. So nothing comes home with you — no sand, shells or wood — and no dogs are allowed in the camping areas.
Where to stay
Most people base in Rainbow Beach at the northern end or around Tewantin and Noosa at the southern end, or camp inside the park at Teewah Beach, Freshwater or on the Upper Noosa River.
When bookings open: Every Cooloola camping area is an e-permit area, so book the named site and dates before you arrive. QPWS opens bookings 12 months ahead for all Queensland camping areas and recommends booking at least 6 weeks ahead for popular spots and public and school holidays. Official booking page. Checked 9 November 2026. Booking dates for every state.
| Stay | Guest rating | Best for | Distance | Style | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teewah Beach camping area (QPWS) | Not rated | 4WD campers who want to sleep behind the dunes on the beach drive | Teewah Beach, north of the Noosa North Shore ferry · 40km of open beach | Seven numbered zones behind the dunes with no toilets, no showers and no campfires; zone 1 takes tents and camper trailers and zone 2 also takes caravans, with generators allowed under conditions · a vehicle access permit applies and permits are booked for a named zone and dates | Book now |
| Freshwater camping area (QPWS) | Not rated | Families and first-time beach campers who want toilets and hot showers | About 500m inland from Teewah Beach in scribbly gum woodland | Tent-only and trailer sites with toilets, hot showers and wheelchair access that may require assistance; no generators and no campfires · the day-use area next door gives access to the Freshwater Lake and Freshwater circuit walks | Book now |
| Habitat Noosa Everglades Eco Camp | 92% (883 reviews, Hipcamp) | Paddlers and families who want a bed or a powered site on the lake | Lake Cootharaba · about 25 minutes from Noosa, on the park's southern edge | 65 acres on the lake with powered and unpowered sites, glamping tents, canoe and kayak hire, a bistro and microbrewery, and walking trails into the national park; campfires in enclosed off-ground pits when restrictions allow | Check rates |
| BIG4 Rainbow Beach Holiday Park | Not rated | Families and 4WD groups staging at the northern gateway | Rainbow Beach, on Carlo Road · 42km from southern Gympie | Caravan park with unpowered and powered sites, a camp kitchen, bathrooms and a playground a short walk from the beach | Check rates |
| Tin Can Bay Tourist Park | 100% (15 reviews, Hipcamp) | Boat owners and travellers who want a pool and a camp kitchen | Tin Can Bay · about 30 minutes from Rainbow Beach | 64 sites for RVs and cabins with a new camp kitchen, pool and accessible bathrooms; pets by application only, and not over the Easter, September or Christmas school holidays | Check rates |
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What to do here
8 walks & sights
Cooloola Great Walk
The long walk across Cooloola: 102km one way from Noosa North Shore to Rainbow Beach over the eastern high dunes, Grade 4, with five days allowed. The southern trailhead is 250m past Beach Road on Maximillian Road after the Noosa River ferry; the northern end is the Carlo Sand Blow car park, 850m of signposted driving from Cooloola Drive. Four walkers' camps — Brahminy, Dutgee, Litoria and Kauri — are spaced along the route with untreated drinking water, composting toilets and food-security boxes, but tank water is not guaranteed, so carry what you need. The walk closes with its camps from 1 December to 28 February each year for fire and storm risk, and QPWS nominates the cooler months for walking. Book the camps before you leave and treat it as remote walking: map, compass, PLB, first aid kit and an itinerary left with someone.
Teewah Beach, the coloured sands and the Great Beach Drive
The park's signature drive is its ocean beach. From the Noosa North Shore ferry, Teewah Beach runs 40km of open sand beneath the coloured cliffs, and the full Cooloola Beach drive is 60km one way with QPWS allowing 1 hour 30 minutes. If you would rather walk than drive, the Coloured Sands beach walk leaves the access ramp at the end of Griffin Esplanade in Rainbow Beach and runs 8km return and 3 hours past Rainbow Gorge and the Pinnacles. Drive to the tide and the conditions: loose sand, washouts and exposed obstacles are routine, and Middle and Mudlo Rocks can stop you even at low tide.
Double Island Point lighthouse walk
A short climb to the lightstation at the headland, where the tower and its buildings were put up in 1884 and the view runs from K'gari down toward Noosa. The walk itself is 2.2km return and 1 hour at Grade 3, but the reason people hesitate is the drive: you get here along the beach or over the inland sand tracks, and wave action can shift the sand and change access. Check the Cooloola conditions report before you commit the vehicle to the beach run.
Carlo Sand Blow walk
A moving wall of white sand above Rainbow Beach, reached through scribbly gum forest. From the Carlo Sand Blow car park on Cooloola Drive the short option is 1.2km return and 30 minutes; from the QPWS Rainbow Beach Information Centre the full walk is 2.8km one way. QPWS's dedicated page allows 1 hour of walking while its track summary allows 3 hours for the same route, so treat the times as a floor rather than a promise. The sandblows here move at up to a metre a year, and there is nothing to shelter behind on top, so take water and sun protection.
Kinaba Track and the Upper Noosa River
From the Elanda Point car park north of Boreen Point, the Kinaba Track runs 12.2km return and 4.5 hours at Grade 3 through open woodland and paperbark country to the Kinaba Information Centre on the Upper Noosa River, where the wetlands act as nurseries for juvenile fish and other aquatic life. River crossings on the neighbouring Cooloola Wilderness Trail can close after flood damage, so check the QPWS alerts before you plan any through-walk. Mosquitoes are abundant at Kinaba and Fig Tree Point seasonally and carry Ross River and Barmah Forest virus risk, so repellent and long sleeves earn their place. From the same end, the Melaleuca circuit is 400m and 30 minutes through paperbark, gum and blue gum forest, and the Mill Point circuit is 5.1km and 2 hours.
Poona Lake walk
A perched lake sitting high in the dunes behind the coast, reached on a 4.2km return walk of 1.5 hours at Grade 3. It is one of the easier ways to see Cooloola's lake country without committing to the Great Walk, and a swim here is fresh water with no surf. Carry your water and check the conditions report, since the tracks around it are sand.
Cooloola Sand Patch walk
The walk for anyone who wants the sandmass explained on foot: 12km return and 5 hours at Grade 4, with the first 600m easy before a shaded 2.8km steep climb. You finish on bare moving sand with the whole dune system around you. It is a half-day commitment on soft ground, so start early, carry water and treat the QPWS times as estimates that assume fitness.
Searys Creek boardwalk
The park's shortest walk and its most accessible: 200m return and 30 minutes at Grade 2 on a boardwalk over tea-stained water. The Bymien picnic area is 3km down an unsealed road from a turn-off 4km south of Rainbow Beach, and 2WD vehicles can reach it, with wheelchair-accessible toilets and tables at the picnic area. It is the easy warm-up before the coloured sands or the sandblow.
Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) itineraries: 1, 2 or 3 days
3 plans
One day: Rainbow Beach and the coloured sands
- Morning. Start at the Carlo Sand Blow car park on Cooloola Drive and walk out onto the sandblow — 1.2km return and 30 minutes from the car park, or 2.8km one way if you come up from the QPWS Rainbow Beach Information Centre. Then drive 4km south of Rainbow Beach, turn onto 3km of unsealed road and park at the Bymien picnic area for the Searys Creek boardwalk: 200m return, 30 minutes, Grade 2.
- Midday. Come back to town and walk the coloured sands from the beach access ramp at the end of Griffin Esplanade — 8km return, 3 hours, Grade 3 — with Rainbow Gorge and the Pinnacles among the named formations along the cliff line.
- Afternoon. Finish at the Carlo Sand Blow lookout for the view north toward Double Island Point, then drive back to Rainbow Beach. Between the sandblow, the boardwalk and the beach walk you have covered three grades of walking without leaving sealed roads and short unsealed spurs, which is the point of this end of the park.
No nights. Base in Rainbow Beach, where fuel and supplies are available, and none of these three walks needs a vehicle access permit — the permit applies to driving on Teewah Beach and the Bymien to Teewah section of Freshwater Road. Carry drinking water with you: there is no fuel or treated water inside the park. Check the Cooloola conditions report and park alerts before you go, because wave action can expose rocks and close beach sections overnight.
Two days: the beach drive to Double Island Point
- Day 1. The day above — Carlo Sand Blow, the Searys Creek boardwalk and the 8km return coloured sands beach walk — with the night at a booked Teewah Beach camping zone or at Freshwater.
- Day 2, morning. Drive the beach: the Cooloola Beach drive runs 60km one way and QPWS allows 1 hour 30 minutes for it, on sand with loose patches, washouts and exposed obstacles, where Middle and Mudlo Rocks can be impassable even at low tide. Stop at Double Island Point and walk to the lighthouse — 2.2km return, 1 hour, Grade 3 — past the lightstation buildings put up in 1884.
- Day 2, afternoon. Retrace the beach to camp, keeping an eye on the tide and the sand cliffs, and settle in for the night behind the dunes. Freshwater has toilets and hot showers about 500m inland in scribbly gum woodland; the Teewah Beach zones have nothing at all, so everything you need is in the vehicle.
One night. Camping at Freshwater or a numbered Teewah Beach zone is $7.75 per person per night or $31.00 per family per night, booked for a named site and dates before you arrive, since every Cooloola camping area is an e-permit area. A vehicle access permit is required for the beach drive. No campfires at Teewah Beach or Freshwater — a gas or enclosed manufactured-fuel cooker is the only way to cook — and there are no bins, so rubbish leaves with you.
Three days: add the Noosa River country
- Day 1. The day above — Carlo Sand Blow, the Searys Creek boardwalk and the coloured sands beach walk — with the night at Freshwater or a Teewah Beach zone.
- Day 2. The beach drive to Double Island Point and the 2.2km return lighthouse walk, as in the two-day plan, with a second night at the same camp.
- Day 3, morning. Drive out and around to the Elanda Point car park north of Boreen Point and walk the Kinaba Track to the Upper Noosa River: 12.2km return, 4.5 hours, Grade 3, through open woodland and paperbark country to the Kinaba Information Centre.
- Day 3, afternoon. Finish with the Melaleuca circuit at Elanda Point — 400m and 30 minutes through paperbark, gum and blue gum forest — before driving out toward Tewantin or Gympie.
Two nights, and the walks are the Searys Creek boardwalk, the coloured sands beach walk, the Double Island Point lighthouse walk and the Kinaba Track. Book the named camping area and dates before you arrive and add the vehicle access permit for the beach driving; camping is $7.75 per person per night or $31.00 per family per night and QPWS opens bookings 12 months ahead, recommending at least 6 weeks for popular periods. Take repellent for the river end of the trip — mosquitoes are abundant at Kinaba and Fig Tree Point in season — and carry your drinking water, since there is no fuel or treated water in the park.
Experiences worth booking
Full-Day Guided Noosa Everglades Kayak Tour
Check availability →
Epic Kayak With Dolphins & Wildlife - 4WD Beach Adventure Noosa
Check availability →
Rainbow Beach: Dolphin & Wildlife Ocean Kayak & Beach 4WD Tour
Check availability →
Self-Guided Noosa Everglades Kayak Tour
Check availability →
Serenity Cruise to Australia's Everglades
Check availability →
Great Beach Drive 4WD Tour - Private Charter from Noosa to Rainbow Beach
Check availability →Tours run by independent operators and booked on Viator. Booking links go to Viator, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices are "from" figures in AUD, checked 2026-11-09.
Suggested gear for Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola)
18 items
- Water bottles or a hydration bladder Carry at least 2 litres per person on the walks.
- Water treatment tablets or a filter Treat creek and camping-area water before drinking.
- Sun hat, sunscreen (SPF 50+) and sunglasses
- Sturdy, broken-in walking shoes or boots
- Day pack (20–30 L)
- First aid kit, including blister care
- Insect repellent
- Head torch with spare batteries
- Lightweight rain jacket
- Personal locator beacon Mobile coverage is unreliable in remote parks.
- A tyre pressure gauge and a 12V compressor Every signature drive here is on soft sand — Teewah Beach, Freshwater Road, Kings Bore — and pressures are what keep you floating on top rather than digging. Drop them before the sand, check with the gauge, and re-inflate before the sealed run home.
- Recovery gear — shovel, recovery boards, snatch strap and rated shackles Washouts, deep loose sand on Poverty Point Road and soft creek mouths bog vehicles on good days, and help can be hours away with patchy reception. The shovel is the first tool out of the bag.
- A printed tide table for Teewah Beach and Double Island Point The beach drive works around the tide, and Middle and Mudlo Rocks can be impassable even at low tide. A paper chart works when reception does not, and it is how you plan the day rather than discover it.
- A gas or enclosed manufactured-fuel stove There are no campfires at Teewah Beach or Freshwater — a standing fire prohibition applies on the beach — and Poverty Point is the only camp where fires are allowed at all. On total fire days even that goes.
- Collapsible water containers for several days There is no treated water in the park and no fuel either. The walkers' camps have untreated water with tank supplies not guaranteed, and the beach zones have nothing at all.
- Long sleeves, repellent and a mozzie net for the river camps Mosquitoes are abundant at Kinaba and Fig Tree Point seasonally and carry Ross River and Barmah Forest virus risk. The Upper Noosa River is exactly the paperbark swamp country they like.
- Offline maps and a GPS or compass marked with the Cooloola map The Kings Bore circuit is remote and unsigned with washouts and steep hills, reception is intermittent or absent across most of the park, and the sand tracks braid where they run through the forest.
- A full jerry can Fuel stops are Rainbow Beach, Tewantin and Gympie, none of them inside the park, and a day of beach driving uses more fuel than a day of sealed-road touring.
How this compares
Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) vs K'gari (Fraser Island)
K'gari is Cooloola's northern twin in the same sandmass system: 123km of island with perched lakes, rainforest growing on sand and 75 Mile Beach as a highway, reached by vehicle barge and run under its own permit and dingo rules. It is bigger, more famous and more complicated to reach. Choose K'gari for the perched lakes, the island scale and the World Heritage rainforest on sand; choose Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) for beach driving and lakes without a barge booking, and for a walk that runs between two towns.
- Difficulty
- 4 of 5 — Demanding
- Access
- Vehicle and passenger barges from River Heads and Inskip Point; a vehicle access permit and camping permit for every vehicle and night
- Best for
- 4WD island trips · perched lake swimming · the K'gari Great Walk
Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) vs Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) National Park
Mulgumpin is Queensland's other big sand island, closer to Brisbane and reached by vehicle and passenger ferries, with the Tangalooma wrecks for snorkelling, large dunes and beach driving under its own permit system. It is a more contained trip with a resort on its western shore. Choose Moreton Island for wrecks, snorkelling and a shorter run from the city; choose Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) for a 102km walk, a mainland beach drive and quiet river camping.
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — Challenging
- Access
- Vehicle and passenger ferries from the Brisbane bayside; a vehicle permit is required to drive on the island
- Best for
- Brisbane-based 4WDers · families · snorkelling the Tangalooma wrecks
Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) vs Conondale National Park
Conondale is the Sunshine Coast hinterland's answer to Cooloola: rainforest, waterfalls and rock pools in the Conondale Range, on gravel roads rather than sand, with creek swims instead of ocean beaches. It is the wetter, greener, cooler trip. Choose Conondale for rainforest walking and freshwater rock pools without a 4WD; choose Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola) for beach driving, coloured sands and the long coastal walk.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5 — Moderate
- Access
- Sealed and unsealed roads through the Sunshine Coast hinterland; some walks start from gravel roadheads
- Best for
- Rainforest walkers · creek swimmers · campers avoiding beach driving
Before you go
- Two things to buy before you arrive: a camping permit for a named site and dates, because every Cooloola camping area is an e-permit area, and a vehicle access permit for Teewah Beach and the Bymien to Teewah section of Freshwater Road. Rangers check permits at camp and cameras record number plates 24 hours a day. QPWS publishes no dollar figure for the vehicle permit on its Cooloola pages, so check the booking service; camping is $7.75 per person per night or $31.00 per family per night.
- There is no fuel inside the park. Fill up at Rainbow Beach, Tewantin or Gympie before you turn off the sealed road, and carry a jerry can if you plan to spend days on the beach.
- Take a high-clearance 4WD with low range for the beach and the inland sand tracks, and deflate for the sand. The inland tracks are not suitable for caravans, camper trailers need good clearance, and only Elanda Point and the Bymien picnic area are 2WD accessible.
- Check the Cooloola conditions report and the park alerts the day before you travel. Beach conditions change quickly after rain, strong wind and high tides, wave action can expose rocks such as Mudlo Rocks overnight, and sections of Cooloola Way and the sand tracks can be impassable after wet weather.
- No campfires at Teewah Beach or Freshwater — a standing fire prohibition applies on Teewah Beach, and Poverty Point is the only camping area where fires are allowed, unless a fire prohibition or total fire ban says otherwise. A gas or enclosed manufactured-fuel cooker is the way to cook on the beach.
- No dogs in any Cooloola camping area, and no bins anywhere in the park. Every bag of rubbish, and any fish scraps, leaves with you.
- Carry your drinking water. Walker's camps have untreated water and tank supplies are not guaranteed, the Teewah Beach zones have nothing, and treated water is a mainland luxury.
- Assume no phone reception between the gateways, carry a PLB, and book ahead: QPWS opens bookings 12 months ahead and recommends at least 6 weeks for popular spots and holiday periods.
When to go
seasons & the hard months
May to September is the window: the cooler, drier months with average daily temperatures of 12 to 22°C, and the stretch QPWS nominates as the walking season from late March. Humpback whales pass this coast from June to October, and the QPWS visitor guide points to August to October for spring wildflowers through the heath along Cooloola Way. Book camps early for the July school holidays, which is peak domestic season on this coast.
December to February is the hard stretch: summer days run 22 to 30°C with high humidity, February is the wettest month, and storms can close tracks and camping areas at short notice and leave the sand tracks boggy. The Cooloola Great Walk and its four walkers' camps close from 1 December to 28 February each year for fire and storm risk, mosquitoes are at their worst around the river, and Ross River and Barmah Forest virus risk around Kinaba and Fig Tree Point makes repellent a requirement rather than a nicety.
Questions
6 answers
It is the same sandmass system but a separate section. This is the Cooloola Recreation Area of Great Sandy National Park on the mainland, between Noosa Heads and Rainbow Beach; K'gari is the island to the north across the Great Sandy Strait, with its own permits, barge access and camping system. Cooloola is where you drive onto the sand without a ferry.
For the beach and the inland sand tracks, yes: Teewah Beach and the Freshwater Road sand section are 4WD only, and the inland tracks are not suitable for caravans. If you are staying on sealed roads you can still reach Elanda Point for the Upper Noosa River and the Bymien picnic area for the Searys Creek boardwalk in a 2WD.
Camping is $7.75 per person per night or $31.00 per family per night, with children under 5 free, and a vehicle access permit is required for Teewah Beach and the Bymien to Teewah section of Freshwater Road — QPWS publishes no dollar figure for that permit on its Cooloola pages, so check the booking service. Buy both before you arrive through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service, by phone on 13 QGOV or over the counter at a booking office.
No. You camp in a named camping area or numbered beach zone for the dates on your permit. Teewah Beach has seven numbered zones behind the dunes with no facilities, and the river and inland sites such as Fig Tree Point, Harrys and the Upper Noosa River camps have toilets and picnic tables but no campfires.
Yes, in a high-clearance 4WD, along the beach or over the inland sand tracks, and the lighthouse walk from the end of the track is 2.2km return and 1 hour. The catch is the tide and the rocks: Middle and Mudlo Rocks can be impassable even at low tide, so get local advice and check the conditions report before you commit.
For most of the year, but not in the middle of summer: the walk and its four walkers' camps, Brahminy, Dutgee, Litoria and Kauri, close from 1 December to 28 February. QPWS nominates the cooler months for walking, the walk is 102km one way over five days at Grade 4, and you book the walkers' camps before you leave.
Nearby & next
Official information
Always check current alerts before you travel.