Kings Beach, Broken Head NSW

Which Kings Beach is this?

This is Kings Beach at Broken Head, in the Byron Shire of New South Wales.

It is not Kings Beach at Caloundra in Queensland, or Kings Beach at Lake Tahoe in California. We have not assessed salt runoff at either.

Is the beach open?

Yes. No works have been approved or scheduled at Kings Beach, and access has not changed. The beach is part of Broken Head Nature Reserve, which is managed by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). The reserve can close in poor weather or high fire danger, so check NPWS for current alerts before you go.

Getting to Kings Beach

Kings Beach is a walk-in beach. You can't see it from the road.

• From Byron Bay: drive south on Broken Head Road. About 2 km south of Suffolk Park, turn left into Broken Head Reserve Road.
• From Ballina: drive north through Lennox Head on Byron Bay Road for about 12 km, then turn right into Broken Head Reserve Road.
• Parking: continue past the holiday park and along Seven Mile Beach Road to the signposted Kings Beach car park. It is small and can fill early. Vehicle entry to the reserve is $4 an hour, paid by card or phone at the pay machines.
• The track: a steep track with stairs leads down through the rainforest to the beach. Allow about 15 minutes each way and wear shoes with grip, especially after rain.

Before you go

• The beach is not patrolled. NPWS warns of strong rip currents at beaches in the reserve and advises swimming at a patrolled beach, between the red and yellow flags.
• There are no facilities on the beach: no toilets, water or bins. Toilets, showers and drinking water are at the Broken Head picnic area. Please take your rubbish home.
• Mobile reception is limited. You need reception to call Triple Zero (000). NPWS recommends installing the Emergency Plus app before you visit.
• Reserve rules: pets are not permitted, apart from certified assistance animals. The reserve is a no-smoking area, and recreational drones need a permit.
• Marine park: the water off the beach is in a sanctuary zone of Cape Byron Marine Park. Fishing, spearfishing, reef anchoring and jet skis are not allowed.
• Nude bathing: NPWS says nude bathers may be encountered on Kings Beach, and that anti-social and inappropriate behaviour is not acceptable.

History

Kings Beach is on Bundjalung Country, the traditional lands of the Arakwal people. The surrounding land was gazetted as a recreation reserve in 1896 and became Broken Head Nature Reserve in 1974.

The beach has been an important place for LGBTQ+ people for more than fifty years. It became a gathering place for gay men in the early 1970s, when homosexuality was a crime in NSW, and during the HIV/AIDS crisis many people scattered the ashes of loved ones there. A nomination for the NSW State Heritage Register was lodged in 2025 and was not accepted. Tweed Regional Museum's Clothing Optional and the Wikipedia article on Kings Beach have more of this history.

Kings Beach and salt runoff

At present there is no barrier of any kind between the sand at Kings Beach and the ocean. Our preliminary estimate is that around 847 tonnes of salt moves from the beach into the ocean each year, although that figure has not been independently verified.

Read about the issue   Read the proposal

Visitor information on this page is drawn from NPWS and local guides, and was last checked on 2 November 2026. Conditions and fees change, so treat NPWS as the current source. NPWS has not reviewed or endorsed this page or the proposal.