Step out of Cashelmara and the Burleigh beachfront path runs right past our door, so most of what you’ll want is on foot. Head north seven minutes to the surf club, or turn south for the foreshore parklands, the Pavilion, Rick Shores and the headland walk. Five stops, all within an eighteen-minute stroll of your apartment.
We sit at 170 The Esplanade, between the two Burleigh headlands, with the sand directly across the road. The path that follows the dune line is the reason guests so often leave the car parked for their whole stay. Below is what you reach on foot, in the order you meet it, with the walk times measured from our front door and the hours checked before we published this. Turn north first, then we’ll head the other way.
Where can you walk for breakfast? North Burleigh Surf Club
Turn north out of Cashelmara and follow the beachfront path along the dune line for about seven minutes and you reach the North Burleigh Surf Club at 293 The Esplanade. It sits right on the patrolled beach, which makes it the natural first stop of the day: a swim between the flags, then coffee or breakfast without changing out of your beach clothes.
The coffee window runs seven days from early, weekend breakfast starts at 7am, and the bistro deck serves lunch from 11.30am and dinner from 5.15pm on weekdays. Guests keep mentioning the deck at the end of the day, when the light goes gold over the water and the swimmers thin out. It suits early risers and families best, with the sand close enough to keep an eye on kids while you order.
The foreshore parklands: the green middle of the beachfront path
Head south from our door and the path opens onto the Burleigh foreshore parklands within about ten to twelve minutes. This is the green spine of the beachfront: wide lawns under the Norfolk pines, shaded picnic tables, a playground near Justins Park and the long paved promenade that carries walkers, prams, scooters and the occasional slow cyclist.
You don’t need a destination here, which is the point. It is where the beachfront path stops being a route and becomes somewhere to sit. Grab something from the village, spread out on the grass, and let an hour go by. Families use the playground and the flat lawns; couples tend to keep walking to the benches near the point, where the headland frames the whole sweep of the beach. On a clear winter morning the passing whales draw a small, quiet crowd to the grass.
Burleigh Pavilion: dinner with your feet near the sand
Keep south along the path for another few minutes, roughly fifteen from our door, and you arrive at the Burleigh Pavilion, sitting directly on the beachfront at the base of the point with stairs that run straight down to the sand. It opens from 11am every day except Christmas Day, and the casual bistro is mostly walk-in, so it works when you haven’t planned ahead.
The kitchen turns out woodfired pizzas, burgers and seafood, and the draw is the position rather than any one dish: a table looking over the break as the surfers trade the last of the light. Its sit-down sister restaurant, The Tropic, takes bookings if you want table service and a longer evening. For a relaxed dinner you can walk home from, the Pavilion is hard to beat, and the fifteen-minute amble back along the dark path is part of the appeal.
Rick Shores at the base of the headland
A minute or two past the Pavilion, at 3/43 Goodwin Terrace, Rick Shores tucks into the base of the headland with tables that look straight out over the water. It is the more considered meal on the path, a pan-Asian menu built around local seafood and designed to share, and it sits about fifteen minutes’ walk south of us.
Guests keep mentioning the Moreton Bay bug roll long after they get home, and it earns the reputation. The kitchen opens from 11.30am Monday to Thursday and from 11am Friday to Sunday, and the beachfront tables get claimed early, so book before you leave home rather than hoping for a walk-in. Treat it as the destination meal of the stay, order a few plates, and let the tide do the entertaining. It suits couples and any group happy to linger over a long lunch.
Is the Burleigh headland walk within walking distance? The Oceanview Track
Yes, and it is the natural end of the path. Just past Rick Shores, the sealed track into Burleigh Head National Park begins at the Goodwin Terrace end, about sixteen to eighteen minutes’ walk from our door. The Oceanview Track runs 1.2 kilometres one way, is free to enter, and stays open from sunrise to sunset.
It is the gentlest of the headland trails, mostly sealed and wheelchair-accessible with assistance, winding past pandanus and rock pools to lookouts over the water. Go early and the point belongs to locals and the odd pod of dolphins offshore. Through winter the lookouts turn into whale-watching perches. It suits everyone from families with prams to couples after a slow morning, and it closes the loop on a path that starts, quite literally, at our front door. A short section can shut after heavy weather because of rock-fall risk, so check the park alerts if it has been stormy.
FAQs
How far is the beach from Cashelmara?
Seconds. We sit at 170 The Esplanade with the sand directly across the road, so you can be on the beach before your coffee cools. The beachfront path runs along the dune line right past our building, which is what makes so much of Burleigh reachable on foot from your apartment door.
What is the closest surf club to Cashelmara?
North Burleigh Surf Club at 293 The Esplanade, about a seven-minute walk north along the beachfront path. It has a patrolled beach, a coffee window open seven days, weekend breakfast and a beachfront deck for lunch and dinner. The Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park club is roughly ten minutes south.
Can you walk to restaurants from Cashelmara?
Yes. Head seven minutes north to the North Burleigh Surf Club, or south along the path toward the point for Burleigh Pavilion and Rick Shores, both about fifteen minutes on foot. The village dining strip off James Street sits a little further south again, so most meals need no car at all.
Is the Burleigh headland walk suitable for kids?
The Oceanview Track is, yes. It runs 1.2 kilometres one way on a mostly sealed path and is wheelchair-accessible with assistance, which means it handles small legs and sturdy prams well. Allow extra time for the lookouts. The steeper Rainforest Circuit is better for older children and adults.
Where can you park along the Burleigh beachfront?
There is metered street parking along The Esplanade and free time-limited bays near Justins Park and Goodwin Terrace, but they fill fast on weekends and in summer. Staying with us means you can leave the car in your secure undercover space and walk the whole path instead.
The best thing about the Burleigh beachfront path is that it does not ask you to choose. Breakfast north, dinner south, a headland walk to finish, and the beach in between, all from one front door. When you want to plan your own version, our Burleigh nature walks guide maps the headland trails in more detail, and you can check availability and book direct with us to put the whole path within a stroll of your apartment.
Image credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
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