Noosa Lakes & Everglades
Above Tewantin the Noosa River turns into something else: Lake Cooroibah, then the big, shallow sweep of Lake Cootharaba with Boreen Point on its western shore, and beyond that the narrow tea-tree river of the Noosa Everglades inside the Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park. It's magic in a shallow boat, a kayak or a small trailer sailer. It's no place for a deep keel. This page is for the folk who want to explore after they've got the big boat tied up.
- 1Boreen Point, Orchard Ave ramp · TMR NS71.
- 2Boreen Point, Urunga Pde jetty · TMR NS73.
- 3Lake Cootharaba jetty · TMR NS80.
- 4Canoe Launch · OSM.
- 5Canoe Launch (north) · OSM.
- 6Harry's Hut public jetty · OSM.
At a glance
| What it is | Shallow lakes and upper river north of Tewantin |
| Depths | MSQ soundings median about 0.7 m on NR-2 and 1.8 m on NR-3. No soundings at all on NR-1 |
| Big warning | MSQ: shoaling into Kinaba can leave under 0.5 m at LAT |
| Engines | No power craft above camp site 3, except electric outboards (MSQ NR-1) |
| Map age | MSQ NR-1 current to 18 January 2021; NR-2 and NR-3 to 28 January 2021 |
| Permits | Camping in the national park needs a Queensland Parks permit |
Getting here
From Tewantin, follow the marked channel up through Lake Cooroibah and past the cable ferry, which runs day and night and has right of way. MSQ's open data lists 87 aids in the system, and none of them are lit, so this is daylight country. The pink tracks on the MSQ maps only show which side to pass each mark. They aren't a promise of water.
Across Lake Cootharaba the water is wide and thin. MSQ's soundings over the NR-2 frame are mostly under a metre, and the sheet warns of submerged ironwork, floating logs and flood debris. Into Kinaba, MSQ warns that shoaling can leave less than half a metre at LAT. Above Kinaba the upper river has no depth contours at all. MSQ marks the head of navigable water on NR-1, and power craft stop at camp site 3.
Anchoring and stopping
There are no keelboat anchorages in our sources. Shallow boats tie up at the Boreen Point jetty, and canoes and small craft land at the Harry's Hut jetties. Mind the national-park rules on where you can camp and land.
Skipper's notes
Garry's own observations from deliveries through Noosa Lakes & Everglades. First-hand notes, dated, and no substitute for the chart.
- Depth
- [Garry to add: depths seen, state of tide and date.]
- Holding
- [Garry to add: bottom type and how the anchor held.]
- Shelter
- [Garry to add: wind directions it is good or bad in.]
- Other notes
- [Garry to add: anything else worth knowing, with date.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Typical depth across Lake Cootharaba and into Kinaba, with the date seen.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Is there any point taking a keelboat above Tewantin?]
Notes last updated: [date]
Facilities
Boreen Point has the Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club, a ramp and a jetty. There's no fuel on the lakes in our sources, so fill up at Noosaville before you head up.
Boat ramps
From the TMR list: Boreen Point, Orchard Avenue (one lane, toilets, not tide-limited) and the Urunga Parade jetty, plus a jetty on Lake Cootharaba. OpenStreetMap shows canoe launches on the upper river and jetties at Harry's Hut.
Rules in brief
- Speed. 6 knots throughout the Noosa River and waterways (MSQ schedule).
- Power craft. None above camp site 3, electric outboards excepted.
- National park. Camping and landing need Queensland Parks permits.
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 Boreen Point, Orchard Ave ramp / Boreen Point, Urunga Pde jetty (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Lake Cootharaba Sailing Club | Yacht/boat club | 230 m | 24 Boreen Parade |
| Apollonian Hotel | Pub | 770 m | 19 Laguna Street, Boreen Point QLD 4565 |
| Entertainment | |||
| Kayak pitch up (81 Lake Flat Road) | Attraction | 1.2 km | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| Boreen Point Store | Convenience store | 260 m | 22 Boreen Parade |
From Harry's Hut public jetty (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | |||
| Harry's Hut | Attraction | 320 m | – |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Lake Cootharaba jetty; Canoe Launch; Canoe Launch (north).
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current MSQ 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.
- MSQ notices to mariners, SE Queensland outside pilotage areas (covers Noosa)
- MSQ speed limit schedule (PDF)
- 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
Written in our own words from MSQ Beacon to Beacon Noosa River sheets NR-1 to NR-3 (read 19 October 2026; each sheet carries its own 'information current to' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), Sector 5, the MSQ notices-to-mariners listings on publications.qld.gov.au (titles and dates checked 19 October 2026), the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 19 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages (checked 19 October 2026) and OpenStreetMap. Background from the Hartshorne Marine area guide for the Noosa River and lakes (16 October 2026).
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, pump-out map C2-335, speed-limit schedule, tide information) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Queensland legislation. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 and Transport Infrastructure (Waterways Management) Regulation 2012 © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0. Summarised; the authorised versions at legislation.qld.gov.au prevail.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are out of date; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles and some facility positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, data available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Others. Facts from local authority pages and notices (for example the Gold Coast Waterways Authority), volunteer marine rescue sites and businesses' own websites are cited for fact only and restated in our own words. Listing a business is not an endorsement.
Last checked: 19 October 2026.
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