Cow Bay Beach, Queensland: The Daintree nude beach?
Is Cow Bay Beach in the Daintree Rainforest, Queensland, officially a nude beach? And are there crocodiles in Cow Bay?
Where is Cow Bay Beach?
Cow Bay Beach in Queensland is often regarded as the nude beach of the Daintree region in the far north of the state.
Cow Bay is a village north of the Daintree River on the drive from Cairns to Cape Tribulation. It is home to the Mount Alexandra Lookout, the Daintree Discovery Centre and Jindalba Boardwalk. The Floravilla Ice Cream Factory is here, while the Daintree Ice Cream Company and Daintree Tea Company are just to the north in Diwan.
5 Daintree experiences worth booking in advance
- Daintree Discovery Centre tickets.
- Hour-long Daintree River cruise.
- Mossman River drift snorkelling.
- Daintree River late afternoon cruise.
- Barramundi fishing experience.
Is Cow Bay Beach a nude beach?
Despite a reputation for being clothing-optional, Cow Bay Beach is not officially a nude beach. There are no official nude beaches in Queensland, so exercise judgement if deciding to take your clothes off here.
Cow Bay Beach is actually three beaches, which are lightly separated by rocks. Of these three, it is the third, northernmost beach that nude bathers generally use.
7 Cape Tribulation experiences you should book in advance
- ▶️ An attraction-packed Cape Tribulation day tour from Cairns or Port Douglas.
- ▶️ (Highly recommended ✅) Small group reef snorkelling – on the Ocean Safari Great Barrier Reef tour.
- ▶️ See the Daintree come to life – on a guided rainforest night walk.
- ▶️ Uncover jungle secrets – on a small group rainforest trekking adventure.
- ▶️ Whizz through the trees – on a thrill-a-minute zipline adventure course.
- ▶️ Saddle up, and go horse-riding along the beach.
- ▶️ Stretch those legs on a full day waterfall hike.
Are there crocodiles at Cow Bay?
Nude bathers are Cow Bay should worry less about police and more about crocodiles. This is very much saltwater croc territory, there is a creek mouth and it is surrounded by rainforest. Very big crocodiles have been spotted swimming here in the past and, in 2016, a woman was killed by a crocodile at Thornton Beach just to the north.
Get your Aussie beach kit on the cheap
Fix up great deals on swimwear, beach towels and snorkelling gear now.
And look for discounts on sunglasses, sun cream or a really good book.
In short: getting in the water at Cow Bay Beach is a spectacularly bad idea.
Access to Cow Bay Beach is at the end of Buchanan Road.
Best Cape Tribulation accommodation
There are more than a dozen Cape Tribulation accommodation options. Search for the best deals here.
However, the best bets are…
- For an effectively private beach: Cape Trib Beach House.
- For backpackers after a good time: PK’s Jungle Village.
- For couple-friendly tropical bungalows: Cape Trib Farm.
- For self-catering and green credentials: Noah Creek Eco Huts.
More Queensland travel
Where to stop on the drive from Proserpine to Cairns.
Walk to the summit of Walshs Pyramid near Cairns.
Explore the Mount Quincan Crater in the Atherton Tableland.
Tackle the Rainbow Gorge Walk on Fraser Island.
Visit Isabella Falls on the Gordonvale to Cairns drive?