Sunnymead Beach

Sunnymead Beach is a small, sand-and-reef cove below the eroding bluffs at Aireys Inlet. It’s a good pick for a quieter beach stop and low-tide rock pools; the surf is unpatrolled, so it’s best for experienced swimmers. Start at the Boundary Road access and expect a steep descent through a gully on steps, plus a short bridge. You’ll climb back out the same way.

The rock shelves and pools are easier to explore at low tide. At high water, there may be very little sand left, so check the tide if you’re planning a longer wander along the shore. The Boundary Road lookout looks over Sunnymead toward Urquhart Bluff; frame the beach with that bluff behind it, or include the dark reef shelves from below. Basic restrooms and free parking are available near the access, and parking can fill during busy periods.

The bluffs along this stretch rise roughly 20 to 50 metres and are made of limestone, tuff, clay and silt that erode more easily than hard rock. The sea leaves platforms and reefs at the waterline, with pools and ledges to explore when the tide allows.

The beach takes its name from a 106-acre coastal property owned by Charles Lane, who spent much of 1913 to 1925 there. In 1920, Lewis Grutzner won the right to buy a one-acre Sunnymead parcel along Boundary Road in a card game. He built a holiday cottage called The Shack and a bathing box. The cottage was lost in the 1936 bushfire; bathing boxes lasted through the Second World War, then were removed by the early 1960s.