Cairns Esplanade - Cairns, North Queensland, Australia

The Cairns Esplanade, Australia, has been a focal point for locals and visitors in Cairns city since the region was founded in the late 1800s. It is a recreational area for people from all walks of life – backpackers travelling around Australia, couples having an early morning jog, teenagers using the skateboard ramp, CBD workers resting on the grass for lunch, and countless more.

It has been a meeting place for rallies, family reunions and birthday parties. Families use the large grassy areas to fly kites, enjoy barbeque dinners, or just relax in the tropical lifestyle.

This website serves as a comprehensive guide to the Cairns Esplanade, including the status of the Cairns esplanade development and other activities related to this vibrant part of the city.

The Cairns foreshore has been transformed from a tidal mudflat swamp into a world-class facility incorporating an outdoor amphitheatre, a large sandy swimming lagoon, grassy picnic areas, walking tracks, public barbeques, children's playground, shops and restaurants, an environmental interpretation centre and a Great Barrier Reef Cruise departure terminal. The swimming lagoon is capable of accommodating 1000 swimmers at a time. It is open for free public use between 6am and 10pm daily.

Of course, this development doesn’t come without environmental controversy. The Cairns Esplanade is an internationally recognised migratory water bird habitat and is a declared fish habitat area. It is adjacent to a declared Fish Habitat Area, the Trinity Inlet/Marlin Coast Marine Park, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and is an important bird roosting site for Whimbrel on their southern migration.

Whether you like it or not, the Esplanade development has converted Cairns from a holiday town with mud frontage into a vacation paradise with a sandy lagoon face.