Tweed River Bar

The Tweed is the border entrance: the first bit of shelter on this coast if you're coming up from New South Wales, or the last if you're heading down. It's a proper river bar, trained by two breakwaters, open to every bit of swell rolling up the coast, and it sits in NSW waters, so Queensland's Beacon to Beacon maps stop just short of it. Get the tide and the conditions right and it's a handy door into Tweed Heads and Coolangatta. Get them wrong and it's one of the nastier places on this stretch to be caught out. North of here there's nothing all-weather until the Gold Coast Seaway, about 15 nautical miles up the coast.

At a glance

Approach from sea

Coming up from the south, Fingal Head carries a light, and NGA reports it as a good radar target out to about 18 miles. There's a tall white building about a mile inland of it, and Cook Island sits half a mile off to the east-north-east. On a clear day Mount Warning (1,155 m), well inland, is visible from a very long way off.

The thing to respect on this approach is Danger Reefs, three rocky patches off Fingal Head that break when there's any sea running. NGA puts the Inner Reef (2.7 m) about 1.5 miles east of the head, the South Reef (4.9 m) about 2 miles east-south-east and the Outer Reef (5.2 m) about 3.5 miles east, with deeper patches between them. There's also a 4.2 m reef between the head and Cook Island. Local boats use the gap between Cook Island and the Inner Reef. Without that local knowledge, go round the outside.

Point Danger marks the north side of the river mouth. The lighthouse there shows Fl(2) 10s, 45 m high, with a range of 11 miles (MSQ aids-to-navigation data). NGA reports Danger Point as a good radar target to about 22 miles. NGA also notes a dangerous wreck about 3.25 miles east-south-east of the point; it's on the chart, so plot it before you close the coast.

One more thing that catches northbound boats: the East Australian Current. NGA reports a south-going set of about 4 knots once observed off Danger Point. Close inshore it's usually much weaker, but don't count on your log matching your plotter.

Bar and tide notes

• NGA's warning, in plain English. The bar moves often, takes the full ocean swell, and can be very dangerous on the ebb and in heavy weather. NGA says to cross only on the flood, and only with local knowledge or local advice.
• Depth. ⚠ Dated. NGA gives the bar 2.9 m and says it's surveyed regularly, but also says to check with the local authorities for the latest before you plan around it. Treat 2.9 m as history, not a promise.
• The spit. After heavy weather a narrow sand spit grows north from the southern shore and squeezes the channel until it scours out again. When the channel ends up hard against Danger Point, NGA says the bar is only crossable in a calm sea.
• Bar signals. ⚠ Unconfirmed. NGA describes a signal station on Danger Point showing red at night when the bar is dangerous and green when it's safe. Nothing else we hold confirms it still runs, so don't rely on it.
• Before you go. Check the NSW coastal-bar advice and webcams, get a local condition report from Marine Rescue NSW, log on with the local marine rescue unit, have lifejackets on and the boat secured, and pick your tide. Marine Rescue Point Danger is the local unit (see the call-out above).

Inside the river

Inside the breakwaters the banks are lined with training walls, and NGA mentions a lit beacon on a crosswall about half a mile in. Coolangatta is on the north side of the entrance and Tweed Heads is to the south-west. Shoaling limits how far you can go: NGA says only small boats drawing about 1.4 m can get the 15 miles upriver to Murwillumbah. The river is buoyed by NSW, and the MSQ open data lists a run of lit port and starboard buoys well up the river. We don't hold surveyed depths for any of it.

Anchoring

• Waiting for the tide. NGA gives good anchorage in about 15 m, roughly 1.2 nautical miles north-west of Danger Point. It's an open-coast spot, fine for sitting out a tide in settled weather and not much else.
• Cook Island. NGA also mentions anchoring off the north-west side of Cook Island in about 13 m.
• Inside the river. We don't have a sourced anchorage, holding or shelter information for inside the Tweed.

Facilities

• Jack Evans Boat Harbour (just inside the entrance on the Tweed Heads side) is mapped as a marina in OpenStreetMap. Who runs it and whether there are visitor berths isn't confirmed.
• Ivory Waterside Marina is mapped as a marina in OpenStreetMap. Services aren't confirmed.
• GCBoatyards Tweed Heads was listed as a boatyard / haul-out business on 16 October 2026. Capacity and services aren't confirmed.
• Tweed Coast Marine (sales, hire and mechanical) and Tweed River Boat Hire were also listed on 16 October 2026.

Ring ahead before you count on a berth. If you need a sure thing, the Gold Coast Seaway marinas are 15 miles north.

Fuel, water and pump-out

We don't hold a confirmed fuel berth, water point or pump-out on the Tweed. The nearest fuel in our sources is on the Gold Coast Broadwater and in the Nerang River. If you're relying on the Tweed for fuel, confirm it before you commit.

Boat ramps

OpenStreetMap shows Kennedy Drive Boat Ramp on the Tweed Heads side, plus a scatter of unnamed slipways around the harbour and up the river. Lanes, parking and tide limits aren't confirmed, and none of these match a Queensland TMR record because they're over the border.

Rules in brief

• NSW rules apply. The Tweed is NSW water, so NSW rules apply, not Queensland's. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026, the NSW Government says everyone on board must wear a lifejacket when crossing a coastal bar, Level 100 or above on boats over 4.8 m. NSW also runs live webcams on some of its coastal bars (see the links below), and its own advice matches NGA's: cross on the incoming tide and avoid the ebb.
• Pilotage. None available. ⚠ Dated wording. NGA tells ships to consult the "District Officer" before entering. We can't confirm that role still exists, so go to the NSW Government's boating pages and Marine Rescue NSW instead.
• Over the border. Once you're north of the border, Queensland's Gold Coast waterways rules and speed limits take over (see our Gold Coast pages).

Ashore

What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.

From Jack Evans Boat Harbour (marina)

From Kennedy Drive Boat Ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)

Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Waiting anchorage (approx.); Ivory Waterside Marina.

† From our own marine business directory (live directory listings and business websites checked 16 October 2026), not OpenStreetMap; walk measured the same way from the listed position. Where no street address was published, only the suburb or nothing is shown.

Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.

About this page

This page is a planning aid written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. It is not for navigation. Use the official chart, current notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.

Official links

Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.

• NSW Government: crossing coastal bars (NSW rules apply here)
• NSW Government: coastal bar webcams
• NSW Government: when to wear a lifejacket
• MSQ: crossing a coastal bar (safety advice)
• Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
• MSQ Queensland tide tables
• Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
• Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
• Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts

Sources & credits