Sunrise Beach
Best for. Long barefoot walks, a dawn swim for confident surfers and swimmers, and dogs off the lead, all on a wide open ocean beach that the day trippers to Noosa Main mostly miss.
Best spot. The stretch below the dune accesses toward Sunshine Beach, where the sand runs for miles and you can walk to Castaways and beyond with the dogs and almost no one else.
Know this. This is an open surf beach with rips and it is only patrolled at Easter and Christmas. For a safe family swim walk to patrolled Sunshine Beach nearby. Never swim outside the flags.
Noosa sends almost everyone to the sheltered north facing curve of Main Beach and the Noosa National Park coves, so the eastern beaches keep a wilder, emptier feel just over the hill. Sunrise Beach is the first of them, a long open run of ocean sand facing the Pacific, backed by low vegetated dunes and quiet residential streets rather than cafes and crowds. Come down one of the numbered dune accesses and the beach opens in both directions with room to walk for as long as you like, the surf rolling in on your side and the dunes hiding the town behind. For a barefoot walker or a dawn swimmer it is the honest, unpolished Noosa that the guidebooks skip.
The pleasure here is space and simplicity. The sand runs unbroken south past Castaways toward Sunshine Beach, so you can walk for miles at low tide with the dogs, since long stretches of the eastern beaches are off the lead from the marked accesses. Surfers read the banks for a clean wave, anglers cast into the gutters, and early risers get the sunrise the beach is named for, straight up out of the ocean with the sand to themselves. There are no shops or clubs on the sand, only the dune paths and the sea, which is exactly why the people who love it come back.
The honest and important note is safety. Sunrise is an open ocean beach with surf and rip currents, and unlike sheltered Main Beach it is patrolled only at the peak holiday periods around Easter and Christmas. That makes it a fine beach for a walk, a surf for those who know the water, and a paddle at the edge on a calm day, but not the place for a casual family swim. When you want flags and lifeguards, patrolled Sunshine Beach is a short walk or drive south. Read the water, respect the rips, keep children at the edge, and never assume a friendly looking bank is safe. Treat conditions as typical and always changing.
No club, just dunes and surf
Sunrise is a natural residential surf beach with nothing on the sand. Noosa keeps its beach club and cafe scene at Hastings Street and Main Beach.
There is no beach club at Sunrise, and that is the whole character of it. The eastern beaches are dune backed and residential, a place for a walk, a surf and a swim for those who know the water, not for daybeds and table service. You bring your own towel and water, come down a dune path, and the reward is space and quiet that the busy end of Noosa cannot offer. For a naturalist it is the pick of the town, all open sand, sea birds and the sound of the surf.
When you want a lounger, a long lunch or a cocktail by the water, Noosa gathers that a short way over the hill at Hastings Street and Main Beach, where the cafes, bars and the calm north facing swimming beach line up together. Our Noosa beach clubs guide is honest about which of those are worth your afternoon and where the free sand and a picnic serve you better. Pair a dawn walk on Sunrise with a served lunch in town, and let the eastern beaches stay the wild, unhurried half of the day.
Down the dune accesses
Sunrise Beach sits on the eastern beaches of Noosa, over the hill from Main Beach and Hastings Street in the residential streets that back the dunes. You reach the sand by the numbered beach accesses that thread down through the dunes, with street parking nearby, so a hire car, a bike or a short walk from Sunshine Beach are the usual ways in. There is no car park on the sand and no shops, so plan to arrive with what you need for the walk or the surf.
Come prepared for an open natural beach. Bring water, sun cover and a hat, since there is no shade beyond the dunes and no kiosk on the sand. Read the surf before you go in, keep to the edge on an unpatrolled day, and walk to the flags at Sunshine Beach for a proper swim. If you bring a dog, check the marked off the lead accesses, carry water for it too, and keep clear of the patrolled and flagged areas at the busy holiday periods.
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Sunrise is a free public surf beach with no club, but tell us your dates and party size and we will help arrange a lounger, a table or day access at a beach club or restaurant in Noosa. We reply by email.
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Common questions about Sunrise Beach
Where is Sunrise Beach in Noosa?
Sunrise Beach is on Noosa's eastern beaches, over the hill from Main Beach and Hastings Street. You reach the open ocean sand by numbered dune accesses off the quiet residential streets, with street parking nearby and Sunshine Beach a short walk to the south.
Is Sunrise Beach patrolled?
Only at the peak holiday periods around Easter and Christmas. For most of the year it has no lifeguard, so it is not a beach for a casual swim. When you want flags and patrols, walk or drive a short way south to Sunshine Beach, which is regularly patrolled in season.
Can you swim at Sunrise Beach?
It is an open ocean beach with surf and rip currents, best suited to confident surfers and swimmers and to paddling at the edge on a calm day. Read the water carefully, keep children at the shallow edge, and for a safer swim between the flags head to patrolled Sunshine Beach nearby. Never assume a calm looking bank is safe.
Can you take dogs to Sunrise Beach?
Yes, much of Noosa's eastern beaches allow dogs off the lead from the marked accesses, which makes Sunrise a favourite for early morning dog walks along the sand toward Castaways. Check the current signs at the access you use, carry water for your dog and keep clear of any patrolled and flagged areas at busy times.
Is Sunrise Beach good for walking?
Very. The sand runs unbroken for miles south past Castaways toward Sunshine Beach, so at low tide you can walk a long way with the surf on one side and the dunes on the other, and often see almost no one. Early morning gives the sunrise the beach is named for and the firmest sand underfoot.
When is the best time to visit Sunrise Beach?
The warmer months from about September to May bring the most inviting water and long light mornings, though the beach walks well year round. Early morning is best for a quiet walk, a dog run and the sunrise, while the peak holiday weeks are the only time you will find patrols on the sand.