A Few Hours in the Stunning Sand Dunes of Rainbow Beach
If you are anywhere near Rainbow Beach, go!
I managed to live in Noosa for 6 weeks without visiting Rainbow Beach. We recently went back for a visit, and planned on a day at Rainbow Beach, but got deterred due to rain.
Maybe it is a good thing we waited, as the weather was perfect. Blue skies, cool winds, and very strong sun.
I hadn’t heard of Rainbow Beach until my husband’s family started talking about it as a day trip option. His parents have a picture of him with his mom and big brother sometime in the mid-80s.
My kids love playing at the beach, even if they can’t go in the water. I was just looking for an excuse for a nice day out. We tacked it on to a trip to Bundaberg, a stop on the way.
Keep reading to find out more about Rainbow Beach and the best things to do there if you just have a few hours.
About Rainbow Beach
Despite my 5-year-old thinking that Rainbow Beach gets its name from the rainbow benches outside of the shops and restaurants, Rainbow Beach is named after the colorful sand.
Rainbow Beach is part of Great Sandy National Park, which is about 2 hours north of Brisbane.
We drove through the town, which consists of a few blocks of tourist shops and cafes, and bypassed the beach to first do the Cooloola Great Walk, which leads to Carlo Sand Blow.
Cooloola Great Walk
I had no idea what to expect from the Cooloola Great Walk.
My father-in-law told us to go there and gave us directions on how to get to the spot where they had a photo from the 80s. Having not yet seen the picture, we weren’t sure, based on the walk, if we were heading to the beach or a lookout.
There was a parking lot where we got out and left most of our things in the car, so we did not have to hike with them.
We brought the backpack with snacks and drinks, just like we do on every hike.
Cooloola Great Walk looks like a nature hike.
Z brought along the sand buckets and shovels, but we warned him that we might not be able to get to the beach from this hike, and we would take him back to the beach if that was the case.
We were wrong.
Cooloola Great Walk is a nature hike, complete with stairs. It takes 10-15 minutes to get to the top, where there is a wooden structure with a view of the dunes.
I never got a picture from the lookout, as it was crowded with people when we arrived and when we left.
We didn’t see anyone in the parking lot or on the hike, but there were plenty of people on the dunes. It is just that thedunes are so enormous, you aren’t ever close to anyone.
Carlo Sand Blow
We left our shoes at the entrance to the dunes and stepped out onto the sand.
It is hard to describe the view, but I remember thinking it was unlike anything I have seen before.
I am not entirely sure that is true, as I have been to the desert before and spent a few days hiking in the Negev. Either way, the dunes are incredible.
Looking to the right, all you can see is sand. The sand was a medium tan color, and it wasn’t easy to see other colors at this point. A few people were walking from that direction, and all I could wonder was how far they had to walk in the sand, which wasn’t packed tight from the tide.
In the distance, on the left, you can see the ocean.
Between the lookout and the ocean are dunes.
Families were walking up the dunes, and some had brought boogie boards to slide down on. Others were using make-shift items.
To be honest, I was glad that we did not have anything to use.
Walking in the Sand Dunes
My kids had no trouble walking across the sand and up the hills. They enjoyed sliding down on their bottoms, even if it wasn’t fast.
Walking on the sand was not as easy for me. The sand is loose, and while the kids can just run across without sinking, my footsteps sank.
The view of the ocean was all the motivation I needed to walk across.
There is a steep drop from the dunes to the water, as it is basically a cliff. You are not going to get to the ocean from the dunes.
We stopped a ways from the edge of the cliff and set our things down. I decided to move a little closer for pictures while the kids played with their sand toys.
Of course, one kid immediately followed me, and the other started climbing the hill behind us.
The Sand on Rainbow Beach
Maybe if I had looked harder, I would have seen more colors. I was just focused on the view because the colors of the ocean were beautiful, as were the dunes.
Trying to get the best picture, I moved closer and closer to the rocks at the end of the cliff. It is impossible to get a picture that is anywhere near the beauty of the dunes at Rainbow Beach.
Closer to the rocks, the sand is white in some places. My daughter wanted to see the white sand, which she claimed to have never seen before (until I reminded her that she is from Clearwater, which has white sand beaches).
Digging under the white sand, we saw 2 shades of tan sand. Even digging through the sand, it was surprising that it did not seem to mix.
In the shops, they sell bottles of sand, with quite a few colors in each bottle.
Suggested Packing List for Rainbow Beach
The most obvious thing is to pack sunscreen. There is absolutely no shade on the dunes, and the sun is strong. Even if it is winter, bring sunscreen.
Hats are important because again, the sun is strong. I am thankful we visited on a nice, cool day, but hats are a must. While we don’t have hats on in every picture, we did have them on most of the time.
Water comes everywhere with us, and so do snacks. I wish I had packed a lunch because I wasn’t ready to leave, but we needed to get some food. It is probably best that we left, as again, the sun was strong. Walking over the sand is a workout because the sand is loose and you sink. It is a decent walk back to the trail, depending on how far you venture out.
Boogie boards if you want to slide down the dunes. We also saw people using plastic garbage bags.
Shops and Restaurants on Rainbow Beach Road
There is plenty of parking available by the shops and restaurants on Rainbow Beach Road.
Without doing any research, we decided on lunch at Somewhere Over Coffee.
While the pastries in the case looked amazing, I went with the Vegan Stack to be healthy. I was surprised that my meal wasn’t served “stacked” as I had imagined it, but it was delicious.
The kids enjoyed their pancakes, and Mark went with his standard fish and chips.
After lunch, we wandered up and down Rainbow Beach Road. The kids love the tourist shops, as they are filled with toys.
We wandered up to the beach but didn’t head down to the sand. Cars can drive on the beach, which I don’t love. We also didn’t want our kids to get wet before we got back in the car and continued our drive to Bundaberg.
Some shops offer tours and experiences. They have so many options from boat rides to surfing, fishing to diving, and all kinds of land, sea, and sky activities.
We just had a few hours in Rainbow Beach, and we are already planning our next trip.
Places to Explore Within 2 Hours of Rainbow Beach
Hiking with Kids
Noosa National Park and the Fairy Pools
Boat Rides
Misc.
Pin Rainbow Beach for Later!
