The south-western shore of Magnetic Island faces toward Townsville, just 5 km away. This is the low energy, protected side of the island and much of the 9 km of shoreline is dominated by tidal flats, coral reefs and mangroves. While the coast is freehold land, there is little development on this side of the island, with just one rough track running from Picnic Bay to the small settlements at Cockle and Young Bays and the north-western West Point. Cockle Bay (MT10) lies 500 m west of Picnic Bay on the western side of 100 m high Sailors Rock. It is a low energy bay containing a low, narrow high tide beach fronted by sand, then coral flats up to 1 km wide. There is an open, 200 m section of beach at the southern end, with mangroves to either side. A few shacks back the beach, together with the vehicle track from Picnic Bay. read more

Beach Length: 0.2km