You can experience the best of Main Beach on foot from Ocean Sands, and this guide covers five stops along one flat, north-bound walk. From our front door on the corner of Tedder and Hughes Avenue, you can reach the patrolled beach in about five minutes and walk all the way to the tip of the Spit in roughly 45 to 50 minutes, no car needed.
Where does the walk begin on Tedder Avenue?
It begins the moment you step out of reception. Ocean Sands sits on the corner of Tedder and Hughes Avenue, so the Main Beach dining and shopping strip is about a one minute walk away. Most guests start here with a coffee. The Winey Cow does a proper flat white if you want a caffeine hit before the sand, and there is a bakery run for something to carry.
Tedder Avenue is the calm, tree-lined heart of the suburb, and it is the natural launching point for the walk north. Grab your hat and water here, because the rest of the route hugs the coast with limited chances to top up once you pass the surf club.
Is Main Beach patrolled, and where do you swim?
Yes, and the patrolled sand is about a five minute walk from our door. Head east to the end of Macarthur Parade and you reach Southport Surf Life Saving Club, which patrols this stretch of Main Beach. Lifesavers set the red and yellow flags on weekends, public holidays and every day through the summer school holidays, so swim between them.
The pavilion cafe here opens from 6am to 3pm, which makes it an easy second-breakfast stop if you skipped Tedder Avenue. Guests keep mentioning how gentle the shore break feels here on a calm morning, which is why it suits families with younger swimmers and early risers chasing a quiet sunrise dip.
What is Federation Walk and how long does it take?
Federation Walk is a 3.5 kilometre coastal path that runs the green spine of the Spit, and the beachfront stroll to reach its southern end takes about 25 minutes from Ocean Sands. Keep walking north from the surf club along the foreshore and you slip into Federation Walk Coastal Reserve, 93 hectares of littoral rainforest, native grasses and shaded sandy tracks.
The main trail begins near a large fig tree in the car park opposite the Sea World entrance, with seven beach-access side paths branching off toward the ocean. It is flat, shaded and popular with walkers and birdwatchers, so it is the most comfortable part of the route on a warm morning. If your legs are done by here, it is a seven to eight minute drive back instead.
Is the fishermen's co-op worth the walk?
For fresh seafood you can carry home, yes. About 25 to 30 minutes on foot from our door, at 168 Seaworld Drive, the Gold Coast Fishermen's Co-op sells the day's catch straight off the trawlers. It opens from 7am until they sell out, seven days a week, weather permitting.
Prawns, bugs, spanner crabs, whiting and octopus come in fresh, and guests keep mentioning the cooked tiger prawns eaten straight from the bag on the deck outside. If you are self-catering in your apartment, this is the stop that turns a walk into dinner. Time it for the way back so the seafood is not sitting in your bag for the whole loop.
What is at the tip of the Spit?
Calm water, fishing and open space, about 45 to 50 minutes north of Ocean Sands on foot. The Spit is the long sandbar that separates the Broadwater from the Pacific, and its northern end at Doug Jennings Park is where the walk finishes. The Broadwater side gives you sheltered, flat water that suits paddlers and kids, while the ocean side draws surfers to the seaway wall.
Anglers work the sand for bream, flathead and whiting. There is plenty of grass for a picnic and it is a favourite kite-flying and sunset spot. It is a solid one-way walk, so many guests stroll up and take the short drive back, or the reverse.
FAQs
Can you walk from Main Beach to the Spit?
Yes. From our front door on Hughes Avenue it is a flat, roughly 45 to 50 minute walk north along the foreshore and Federation Walk to the tip of the Spit. There are no hills and shade along the reserve, so it suits most fitness levels at a steady pace.
Is Main Beach patrolled for swimming?
Yes. Southport Surf Life Saving Club patrols the sand at the end of Macarthur Parade, about five minutes from Ocean Sands. Lifesavers put out the red and yellow flags on weekends, public holidays and daily through the summer school holidays. Always swim between the flags.
How far is Tedder Avenue from Ocean Sands?
About one minute. We sit on the corner of Tedder and Hughes Avenue, so the cafes, boutiques and coffee spots of the strip are on our doorstep. It is the natural place to grab a flat white before you set off north toward the beach and the Spit.
Do you need a car to enjoy Main Beach?
No. Almost everything in this guide is reachable on foot from Ocean Sands, from the patrolled beach to Federation Walk. The Spit and the fishermen's co-op are a longer stroll or a short drive of under ten minutes if you would rather save your legs for the sand.
Every stop on this walk starts and ends at our door, which is the quiet advantage of basing yourself in the middle of Main Beach. Stretch your legs to the Spit, carry home prawns from the co-op, then come back to the pool. Book your stay in our Main Beach apartments and plan the rest of your days with our guide to Gold Coast attractions from Ocean Sands.
Image credit: Chris Olszewski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
