Sunshine Coast Patrolled Beaches: 20 Beaches, Access Points, Dog Rules and Facilities (QLD)

The Sunshine Coast Council’s pages cover 20 patrolled beaches, counting Mooloolaba’s Main Beach and the Spit separately. Eleven of them are patrolled year round, and the other nine are patrolled for part of the year or during school holidays. This guide uses the council’s own beach pages, checked on Sunday 8 November 2026. Times are Queensland time, which has no daylight saving. The council’s pages tell you where the clubs and lifeguard towers are, but they do not list daily patrol hours: for those, the council sends you to the Beachsafe website.

Which Sunshine Coast beaches are patrolled all year?

The council describes these beaches as patrolled year round. Beach access numbers are the numbered access points the council uses on its beach pages.

Beach	Beach access points	What the council says is nearby
Alexandra Headland	154 to 168	Alexandra Headland Surf Life Saving Club; restaurants, cafes and takeaway outlets; Buhk Family Park and Wilkes Family Park
Coolum Beach	68 to 81	Coolum Beach Surf Life Saving Club; Tickle Park and the lifeguard tower at access point 77; a boardwalk
Dicky Beach	262 to 271	Dicky Beach Surf Club and lifeguard tower at Coochin Street; playground, skate park and picnic facilities
Discovery Beach	113 to 116	Lifeguard tower at access point 115; an open stretch of beach north of Mudjimba Esplanade to Warana Way
Kawana Beach	220 to 228	Kawana Waters Surf Life Saving Club in Coopers Lookout Park; lifeguard tower at access point 223; two playgrounds; beach showers at access points 225, 226 and 227
Kings Beach	283 to 291	Surf club on Spender Lane at the northern end; Kings Beach Ocean Pool; cafes, restaurants and playgrounds
Maroochydore Beach	141 to 153	Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club at access point 146, near Beach Parade, with beach showers and public amenities
Mooloolaba Main Beach	Not listed	Parklands, playgrounds, restaurants and takeaway outlets; protected by Point Cartwright Headland to the south
Mooloolaba Spit Beach	Not listed	Lifeguard tower next to Cheese Block Park; the council calls the beach generally calmer
Mudjimba Beach	117 to 131	Mudjimba Surf Life Saving Club at access point 123, next to Power Memorial Park
Twin Waters Beach	131 to 136	Lifeguard tower and public amenities at access point 131; amenities and picnic shelters at the end of North Shore Road

The council counts Mooloolaba’s Main Beach and the Spit as two patrolled beaches, which is why this table has eleven rows. Its page for Kings Beach says only a section of the beach is patrolled, and the same page names the surf club there as the Caloundra (Mets) Surf Club on Spender Lane.

Which beaches are only patrolled in season or on holidays?

These nine beaches have a shorter patrol. The seasons below are the council’s wording from its patrolled beaches page and the individual beach pages.

Beach	Beach access points	Patrol, according to the council
Boardwalk Beach	94 to 97	Seasonal; lifeguard tower at access point 96
Bokarina Beach	239 to 245	Weekends and school holidays, September to May; the council calls the tower the Sunshine Coast’s newest service and tower
Bulcock Beach	296 to 300	Weekends, school holidays and public holidays, September to May
Coolum North Beach	73	7 days a week from the September school holidays to the Easter school holidays, 7:30am to 5pm; in Coolum Beach Caravan Park
Currimundi Beach	255 to 262	Seasonal, and only part of the beach; lifeguard tower at access point 254, at the northern end of Watson Street
Happy Valley Beach	293 to 295	Seasonal; sand bars and shallow pools at low tide
Marcoola Beach	98 to 112	Seasonal; Marcoola Surf Life Saving Club at 64 to 76 Marcoola Esplanade, beside Felix Parry Park
Maroochy River Mouth	140 to 143	Holiday service, during Queensland school holidays in September, Christmas and Easter, 7:30am to 5pm
Yaroomba Beach	89 and 90 (patrol)	Seasonal patrol near Birrahl Park; no lifeguard tower, so lifeguards work from a vehicle

Where can I take my dog?

Rules differ beach by beach. Several of the council’s beach pages say dogs are not allowed in the dune areas or in foreshore bushland reserves, and the council says it publishes an interactive map of off-leash, on-leash and prohibited areas on its dogs website. It also says dog owners should carry their own doggie bags, because the dispensers run out.

Beach	Dog rule on the council’s page
Kings Beach	Dog-free zone
Mooloolaba Beach	No dogs along the entire Mooloolaba Beach foreshore; a dog-free zone
Bokarina Beach	Off leash at all times; not in the dunal areas or the Bokarina Foreshore Bushland Reserve
Coolum Beach	Off leash at all times from the Lions and Norrie Job Park at access point 72 to access point 68, 1 kilometre north of the Stumers Creek car park
Coolum North Beach	The closest off-leash area is Stumers Creek, access points 67 to 72
Boardwalk Beach	Off leash only between 5pm and 8pm and 5am and 8am, between access point 97 at Glen Retreat Park and access point 96 at Breezeway Street
Marcoola Beach	Off leash between access points 97 and 98 only, 5am to 8am and 5pm to 8pm, or as signs say
Twin Waters Beach	Off lead at all times on the ocean side, from 140 metres north of access point 132 to access point 136; none on the river side west of access point 136
Currimundi Beach	Off leash at all times from Gothic Parade to Ann Street at Dicky Beach
Dicky Beach	Off leash north of Ann Street only, and north from Buderim Street to Gothic Parade at all times

Two of those rows describe the same stretch of sand differently. The Currimundi page puts the off-leash area between Gothic Parade and Ann Street at Dicky Beach, and the Dicky Beach page says dogs are allowed off leash north of Ann Street only, and north from Buderim Street to Gothic Parade. The council does not explain the difference. Twin Waters also has an unpatrolled off-leash dog beach at the end of the road, according to the council’s patrolled beaches page, and dog wash facilities near the public amenities block in the North Shore Road park.

Which beaches have accessible matting and an ocean pool?

The council says accessible matting is available on weekends during the volunteer patrol season at Alexandra Headland, Coolum Beach, Kings Beach and Mooloolaba Beach. Kings Beach also has the Kings Beach Ocean Pool at the northern end of the sand: a 25 metre sea water pool with disabled access and a children’s wading area.

For a calmer swim, the council points to a few beaches:

• Mooloolaba Spit Beach, which it describes as generally calmer than other locations and a popular beach for families with children.
• Happy Valley Beach, where the foreshore is generally protected from large surf and sand bars leave shallow pools at low tide.
• Mooloolaba Main Beach, a popular swimming beach protected by the Point Cartwright Headland to the south.

Is there parking at these beaches?

The council’s beach pages do not list car parks, so this guide does not either. If you are driving to Mooloolaba, our guide to PARKnGO Mooloolaba Central covers the council’s multi-deck car park, and PARKnGO Lightning Lane covers the one in Maroochydore. The street signs and fines that apply on the Coast are in our Sunshine Coast parking rules guide.

How do I find the patrol times?

Most of the council’s beach pages end with the same line: for patrol times, visit the Beachsafe website. The council also recommends the Beachsafe app, which it says provides patrol status, facilities and hazards, plus weather, swell and tide. The beach access numbers in the tables above are the ones the council uses on its pages.

Sources

• Sunshine Coast Council — Patrolled beaches (the list of 20 beaches, access points and patrol seasons; checked 8 November 2026)
• Sunshine Coast Council — Beaches (Beachsafe app)
• Individual beach pages under the council’s patrolled beaches section: Alexandra Headland, Boardwalk, Bokarina, Coolum, Coolum North, Currimundi, Dicky, Discovery, Happy Valley, Kawana, Kings, Marcoola, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba Main, Mooloolaba Spit, Mudjimba, Twin Waters and Yaroomba (checked 8 November 2026)

Featured image: Dicky Beach at the creek mouth, Queensland, photographed in 2018 (photo: Kgbo / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Sunshine Coast Council or Surf Life Saving Queensland. Patrol times and dog rules can change; check the council’s page and the signs on the beach before you go.