Coolum Beach

Coolum Beach is a beachside town on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast (it is also the beach around which the town is based).

Mount Coolum (which can be accessed via a half hour bush walk) dominates the landscape, and can be seen from most of Coolum.

How to get there:

Coolum is about 90 minutes drive north of Brisbane, or 10 minutes south of Noosa.  To get there from Brisbane,simply travel north on the Bruce Highway and take the Yandina-Coolum Rd.  From Noosa, travel south on the David-Low Way.

Best Locations:

From the Coolum Surf Club there is a walkway along the cliffs up to a headland, with a lookout giving great views back over the beach.  This is also a decent spot for sunset (and sunrise) photos (on a good day).

Just south of the patrolled beach, you can scramble over the rocks and get some good action surfing shots.

You can also walk north up the beach a kilometre to Sumners Creek, or if you are keen, all the way (8 or so kilometers) to Noosa Headland.  The beach 1-2km north of Sumners Creek borders natural forest and marshland, has many outcrops of “coffe rock” and is good for a variety of wildlife.

Make a holiday of it

Coolum beach is a great place to stay for a few days and serve as a base.  It has a good variety of reasonably priced accommodation and cafes/restaurants.  It also has easy access to a number of good locations on the coastline (from Caloundra/Mooloolaba in the south to Peregian Beach and Noosa to the North).  You can also travel inland to the Glasshouse mountains, the Mooloolah Valley or up onto the range to Milaney or Mapleton .