📍8 Best Gold Coast Kayaking Locations For River, Lake, Island & Ocean Paddling Adventures. (2025.)

ByBelinda Antonenko
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WANT TO FIND THE BEST PLACES ON THE GOLD COAST FOR KAYAKING & PADDLING?

The Gold Coast is a gorgeous, world-class coastal destination famous for having some of the most idyllic and iconic long golden beaches that Australia is globally revered for. But that is just the spectacular headliner act for what this dynamic, perfect mix of city-meets-nature travel hotspot has to offer.

And if it’s calm water activities you’re hoping to enjoy, you’re in luck. The region is blessed with several stunning natural playgrounds that lie behind and between the towering beachfront skyrises and idyllic urban centres. Combine those stunning rivers and creeks with the few islands and hinterland lakes within a day trip striking distance, and you’ll find there is absolutely no shortage of outstanding opportunities for aquatic play.

And if that includes the serene allure of gently paddling on peaceful waterways, such as the beloved paradisacial azure blue waters of Tallebudgera Creek or the remote wilderness areas of Advancetown Lake, enjoy this list of the best regional Gold Coast kayaking locations from a longtime local who loves nothing more than immersive nature experiences. (These places are also great for canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding.)

👉 My top 3 picks for Gold Coast kayaking:

Best Gold Coast Kayaking Locations.

1. Tangalooma Wrecks.
Moreton Island.

Featuring prolifically on many high-profile lists covering South East Queensland’s most quintessential and unforgettable outdoor adventures and aquatic experiences is, undoubtedly, Moreton Island. This is all significantly thanks to one particular place that offers visitors the most exceptional and reliable year-round encounters with marine wildlife in this southern part of the state: the Tangalooma Wrecks.

What makes it such a magnificent drawcard is that it doesn’t just harbour the decaying hull of one rusty old ship. Oh, no. No, no, no. What it is is the spectacularly fitting retirement ground of 15 done-and-dusted sand-mining vessels deliberately sunk in shallow water. This was to create a striking semi-submerged artificial habitat close to shore, to draw in aquatic sea life such as graceful sea turtles and gorgeous tiny tropical fish, which it has done to brilliant effect as it is now the pinnacle of snorkelling in South East Queensland.

This also makes it an exceptional kayaking location, allowing you to see the eroding shipwrecks above the water up close while paddling peacefully past all kinds of incredible sea creatures that are exploring the island’s western coastline.

But since Moreton Island’s not actually close to the Gold Coast, it’s not exactly somewhere you can kayak to yourself unless you’re wonderfully superhuman because, for most people, that is an unobtainable mammoth undertaking. But if you think you won’t be able to get there unless you’re a boat owner or are visiting Redcliffe in 4WD to take the ferry across or have time to take a guided day trip there from Brisbane, you’re in luck. Several Moreton Island tours depart from the heart of the illustrious coastal city, allowing all-comers to explore this remarkable world-class snorkelling site with an included side adventure of kayaking in its crystalline azure blue waters.

✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

  • ✔️ Day trip tours from the Gold Coast.
  • ✔️ Easy for beginners.
  • ✔️ Shipwreck snorkelling!
  • ✔️ Chance to encounter turtles and see many fish.
  • ❌ No barge/ferry departing from the Gold Coast if you want to visit with a 4WD or kayak.

Best Solo Launching Locations.

  • N/A from the Gold Coast or mainland.

🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

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    Gold Coast Broadwater.

    Although it’s much less exclusively advertised, there is no denying that a substantial part of the fabric of what makes the Gold Coast one of the country’s most highly acclaimed and must-visit destinations lies heavily with the end of the Nerang River, better known as Gold Coast Broadwater.

    The combination of this beautiful riverine landscape, with the world-famous beaches and dizzyingly high city skyrises, is such an intoxicating trifecta because it creates the perfect arena for fun, adventure and activity that capitalizes on the immediate environment and year-round warm weather while being right on the doorstep of luxury accommodation and bustling urban atmosphere day and night.

    And with scenic cruises, jet boating, parasailing, and jet skiing all taking place here, this river is where the bulk of the best Gold Coast aquatic activities and experiences happen, with kayaking being one of the most peaceful and immersive ways to see this illustrious destination.

    2. Wave Break Island.

    No paddling adventure on the Gold Coast comes as unforgettably close to kayaking the Broadwater to Wave Break Island. One of the city’s signature natural attractions along its spectacular coastline, it is a beloved snorkeller’s paradise offering plenty of excellent opportunities to enjoy close encounters with schools of gorgeous tropical fish, offering you one of the city’s most immersive 2-for1 outdoor experiences.

    Best of all, because it’s a top-tier attraction close to the heart of a world-class city, you can do it in all manner of ways If you’re visiting without a kayak, you can either join a fully organised guided tour with a group of other enthusiast sightseers or hire one out for an unforgettable self-guided adventure to make the memories your own, which is a great eco-friendly alternative to reaching this beloved biodiverse island than the boat tours for the most memorable close-to-nature adventure.

    As for those travelling to the city with a kayak in tow, that’s even better as there’s so much more freedom to explore these places without adhering to the time constraints for when you need to be back, except for maybe sunset. So you can spend more quality time enjoying the peaceful paddling experience while looking for dolphins at skyscrapers and multi-million dollar mansions or exploring the underwater world off Wave Break Island, making friends with the resident marine wildlife. It’s the dealer’s choice.

    Best of all, the island is also only a short distance from the Spit, the riverside parks at Bigger Waters and even the Broadwater Parklands, which all have close parking to easy-to-access beach launching areas, making it an ideal above-and-below-water adventure for all comers to the city.

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️ Many kayak/snorkelling tours & rental opportunities.
    • ✔️ Easy for beginners.
    • ✔️ Calm waters if approaching from the western side.
    • ✔️ Chance to encounter sea turtles and see many fish.
    • ✔️ Away from crowds.
    • ✔️ Several easy launching locations.
    • ✔️ Free all-day parking at The Spit.
    • ❌ If kayaking from the Spit, there’s frequent boat traffic to contend with.
    • ❌ Eastern side is much more prone to choppy water.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • The Spit.
    • Parks Aong Bigger Waters.
    • Broadwater Parklands.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    3. Budds Beach.

    Despite being within short walking distance of the famous Cavill Avenue shopping mall in the heart of Surfers Paradise, Budd’s Beach flies surprisingly low under the radar. Much of this probably has to do with being part of a residential suburb, but still, this place offers one of the best paddling locations on the Gold Coast because it caters so well to people visiting the city with or without a car or kayak.

    For those without either, it is within 1.5km of many of the CBD’s hotels, which is about a 20-minute walk, and there are guided tours, hire options and lessons available for both kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. And with the beach being located further upstream on the western shores of the Nerang River, the naturally calm waters, aided by the slow speed of the boats in the 6-knot movement zone, make it the perfect beginner- and family-friendly terrain for both these activities.

    As for those with a car and/ or kayak, this is also an excellent place to visit because despite being so close to a high-traffic tourist area, parking is typically much easier to find, free and close to the beach, so it’s both budget-friendly and convenient to get your kayak or paddleboard to and from the water, especially for solo travellers.

    As for the scenery, it is a lovely place. The park behind is narrow but beautiful with lots of shady trees, making it the perfect before or after paddling picnic spot. It’s also picturesque looking up and down the Broadwater at the nearby bridge, towering skyscrapers and across to the expensive homes. The view is even better looking back the further out you are as it’s just a gorgeous view of the city skyline from a different perspective.

    Budds Beach is a hidden gem that’s fantastic for kayaking & stand-up paddleboarding,
    And with calm water and views like this, it’s easy to see why.

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️ Several tours & lessons.
    • ✔️ Kayak hire.
    • ✔️ Easy for beginners.
    • ✔️ Walking distance from Cavill Avenue & many hotels.
    • ✔️ Free & easier 3-hour parking.
    • ✔️ Parking is close to water and has no obstacles for launching.
    • ❌ Driving through Surfers Paradise can be pretty intense.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • Budds Beach.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    4. Gold Coast Canals.

    If the lifestyles of the rich and famous intrigue you, then the illustrious Gold Coast has just the kayaking location for you. Upstream from the Breakwater and Budds Beach, the Nerang River has, surprisingly, 9 times more canals than Venice, the most famous canal-centric place on the planet.

    Only instead of ancient thousand-year-old buildings to romanticise about, there are the opulent lifestyles of the mega-rich and super-famous to admire here with rows of spectacular multi-million dollar modern mansions lining the waterfront, some with their own helicopters and superyachts. It’s one hell of a stark contrast, but with places like Macintosh Island being nearby, it’s an eye-opening way to spend time on the water, provided you don’t die of extreme envy, which is a very real thing that could happen.

    Die of envy paddling the canals, home to the rich and famous residents of the Gold Coast.

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️ Different scenery.
    • ✔️See how the super-rich live.
    • ✔️Peaceful kayaking.
    • ✔️Less water traffic.
    • ✔️Slow boat speed so no wash rippling through the water.
    • ❌ May experience extreme envy.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • Budds Beach.
    • Pelican Beach.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    5. Tallebudgera Creek.

    No list of anything to do with the Gold Coast beaches or waterways is complete without having the Tallebudgera Creek and its popular access beach of the same name prominently featured. That’s because this place is so spectacularly beautiful that it is consistently ranked as one of Queensland’s best and most beautiful in both categories, and it’s no wonder.

    With vivid turquoise and sometimes azure blue-coloured waters and a lush, mountainous backdrop, it looks like it belongs to a distant paradisical island, not something in the middle of a huge city! But the fact that it is just makes it a beloved favourite amongst all the locals and visitors seeing it for the first time. And with warm weather year-round and the scenery looking like that, it is a place that very clearly beckons you to swim there, especially if you’ve got family, thanks to its calm and protected crystalline waters, making it one of the safer natural waterways there is.

    For the same reasons, it also makes it the ideal spot to go on a leisurely kayaking or paddleboarding adventure, offering a much more natural landscape compared to the more prominently urban cityscapes on this list. One of the quintessential must-do things while exploring this place is to head over to its northern banks, where the aforementioned mountain harbours Burleigh Head National Park. This solitary coastal peak is the city’s only coastal national park and is a rarity, being one of the last remaining natural seaside rainforests in the state, making it the perfect place to stop and take a break where, hiding within, lies some of Gold Coast’s best lookouts.

    Tumgum Lookout is the showstopper here, with breathtaking views looking back across the Tallebudgera Creek mouth as it empties into the sea and all along the southern coastline as far as the eye can see. Meanwhile, the Oceanview Track and Jebbribillum Lookout are also gorgeous, with the foremost scenery being the distant Gold Coast skyline. Meanwhile, Burleigh Hill on the other side of the national park provides a more open space to enjoy the landscape in that same direction, making the whole endeavour from Tallebudgera Creek Beach by foot and paddlecraft and back the perfect exploration of the city’s duplicitious urban and environmental landscape.

    Tallebudgera Creek’s waters make you feel like you’re on an idyllic island paradise.

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️ Kayak hire & tours.
    • ✔️ Easy for beginners.
    • ✔️ Gorgeous crystalline waters & natural landscape.
    • ✔️ Walking/ paddling/ swimming distance to Burleigh Head National Park.
    • ✔️ Free 3-hour parking.
    • ✔️ Parking is reasonably close to the beach.
    • ❌ Difficult parking at Tallebudgera Creek Beach.
    • ❌ Not as solo-friendly as dur to navigation through a usually packed car park.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • Tallebudgera Creek Beach.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    6. Currumbin Creek.

    Further down the coast, Currumbin Creek is another spectacularly ideal Gold Coast kayaking location that is well worth dipping your paddle into.
    Similar to Tallebudgera Creek, it is also a calm and idyllic waterway next to an iconic coastal landmark, this time Currumbin Rock, with a car park close to the water and a clear run to the beach, making it easy to launch for solo adventurers.

    Paddle across the other side, where you can see dogs chasing each other in the water to their heart’s content or to Tarrabora or Beree-Badalla Reserve, where you can stretch your legs mid-kayak or get them to stop shaking mid-paddleboard.

    Currumbin Creek on the Gold Coast.
    Currumbin Rock

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️ Kayak hire & tours.
    • ✔️ Easy for beginners.
    • ✔️ Calm waters & lovely natural landscape.
    • ✔️ Currumbin Rock.
    • ✔️ Free 3-hour parking.
    • ✔️ Parking is close to the beach.
    • ❌ Currumbin Alley car park is usually packed.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • Currumbin Alley.
    • Thrower Drive Public Boat Ramp.
    • (Possibly) Currumbin Creek Northside Beach Car Park.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    7. South Stradbroke Island.

    Travel even further up past Wave Break Island along the Gold Coast Breakwater, and you’ll discover one of the city’s best-hidden gems: South Stradbroke Island. Significantly less well-known than its northern neighbour, it’s hard to believe that there is a wilderness paradise this close to one of Australia’s biggest cities, which makes the river one hell of a kayaking destination.

    Easy solo launch from the Spit, riverside parklands at Runaway Bay or the Paradise Point Parklands and access the most pristine and unspoilt natural beaches on the Gold Coast where the likelihood of coming across other people on the island is slim to none. And if an overnight adventure interests you, North Currigee and South Currigee Campground are great places to change up the nighttime scenery to exchange sparkling skyscrapers for twinkling stars.

    Alternatively, if you’re interested in discovering the island’s northern half, Jacobs Well in the neighbouring region of Logan is another fantastic place to enjoy a relaxing kayak from and where you can also access the rustic Tipplers Campground, another lovely place to spend the night.

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️Close.
    • ✔️Remote & Isolated.
    • ✔️Pristine, Peaceful & Untamed.
    • ✔️Overnight Trips.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • The Spit.
    • Runaway Bay Parklands.
    • Paradise Point Parklands.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    • North Currigee Campground.
    • South Currigee Campground.
    • Tipplers Campground.

    8. Advancetown Lake.

    If you’re looking for a change of scenery, head inland to where the Gold Coast’s only lake awaits.

    What makes Advancetown Lake, more well-known as Hinze Dam, such a lovely place to go kayaking and canoeing is that it is much more vast and expansive, allowing you to navigate to your own secluded area rather than following the narrow path of rivers.

    Plus, the landscape is so much more visually appealing to nature-loving eyes, with the waterway surrounded by gorgeous mountainous terrain, so it’s the ideal location to enjoy a picturesque paddle.

    Unfortunately, there’s no water access from the Hinze Dam Visitor Centre and Day Use Area near the dam wall, but travel further down the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road and launch your paddle craft from the tarred, 2-lane Western Boat Ramp and this gorgeous remote area of this stunning lake, perfect for those days when you don’t want to interact with anybody.

    ✔️ Pros & ❌ Cons.

    • ✔️Huge, expansive area.
    • ✔️Mountain views.
    • ✔️Remote & Peaceful.
    • ✔️Free unlimited parking.
    • Boat ramp isn’t the most ideal for solo launching.
    • ❌Can’t launch at the day use area.

    Best Solo Launching Locations.

    • Western Boat Ramp.

    🏨 Top Rated Nearby Accommodation.

    Conclusion: Where To Go Kayaking On The Gold Coast.

    If you are planning to visit the Gold Coast, consider looking at these other posts.

    🚣‍♀️ Gold Coast Kayak Hire.

    Belinda Antonenko is the founder of Journey.Discover., a travel website primarily dedicated to showcasing Australia. She lives in South East Queensland and loves nothing more than road trips, adventure, camping, photographing everything and finding unique and exhilarating experiences.