Rainbow Bay and adjoining Snapper Rocks Beach are the southernmost beaches in Queensland. Rainbow Bay (1600) is a relatively small, 300 m long, north facing beach that is bordered in the west by Greenmount Hill. It ends at a low, rocky point, beyond which Snapper Rocks beach (1601) continues on for another 100 m to Snapper Rocks; part of the larger 30 m high Point Danger that forms the border with New South Wales (Fig. 4.170). The Rainbow Bay Surf Life Saving Club is the newest on the Gold Coast, being formed in 1963. It is located on the low, rocky point that separates the two beaches. A road runs along the back of both beaches, ending in a parking area behind Snapper Rocks Beach. There is a grassy foreshore reserve behind Rainbow Bay Beach. Both beaches receive waves that are lowered after moving around Point Danger to an average of about 1 m. The width of both beaches and offshore bar conditions depend on both the prevailing waves and, in particular, the status of sand waves moving around Point Danger. When the bars are present, the beaches are connected by sand, there is a wide surf zone and excellent surfing conditions (Fig. 4.171). When the bars are absent, the beaches are separated by the rocky point, are narrower and there is an attached bar cut by one rip at Snapper Rocks Beach and two at Rainbow Bay. Low rocks dominate the Snapper Rocks surf zone and are a hazard for swimmers. read more

Beach Length: 0.1km