Rainbow Beach
Coloured Sand Cliffs and the Gateway to K'gari
On the lands of the Kabi Kabi people.
schedule 1 min read / Updated Apr 2026
A laid back beach town named for the 74 different shades of sand in the cliffs behind the beach. Rainbow Beach is the southern gateway to K'gari (Fraser Island) and the starting point for the Cooloola Great Walk through the world's largest coastal sand mass.
Rainbow Beach sits on Kabi Kabi country at the northern end of the Cooloola Great Sandy National Park. The cliffs behind the beach are made of 70 different shades of sand, stained by minerals that have leached out of decomposing vegetation over 40,000 years. Aboriginal oral tradition has a much older story, of a rainbow serpent that shattered itself into the cliffs while trying to rescue a young woman.
The town is the cheapest and most informal way to get onto K'gari (Fraser Island). The Manta Ray Barge leaves from Inskip Point, 15 minutes north of town, and four-wheel-drive hire companies in Rainbow Beach set you up to drive yourself across. The drive up 75 Mile Beach, Lake Mackenzie and the SS Maheno wreck are all easy day-trip distances.
Beyond K'gari, the Carlo Sand Blow just above town is a 15 hectare moving sand dune with views back down the Cooloola coast. Sea kayakers can paddle with dolphins in the Tin Can Inlet, and the wreck of the Cherry Venture (removed in 2007) is still remembered in local lore.
Where to stay
Holiday parks near Rainbow Beach.
2 options via our booking partner
BIG4 Rainbow Beach Holiday Park
2.3km away
Tin Can Bay Tourist Park
8.2km away
Bookings handled by our partner Parkbooker. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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Attribution
Sources & credits
Content (1)
Images (2)
- Beach and rainbow - Cefalù - Italy 2015.JPG · José Luiz · CC BY-SA 4.0
- From Rainbow Beach Caravan Park over the estuary. Fraser Coa... · Anonymous · CC BY 4.0
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