A relaxed coastal town built around an infinity-edge lagoon, a foreshore lined with restaurants and cafés, and a marina that runs you 30 minutes out to Great Keppel Island. Yeppoon is the Capricorn Coast hub — the easy base for a long weekend, a beach holiday, or a Southern Reef adventure.
Yeppoon is the easy, friendly heart of Queensland's Capricorn Coast — a beachside town of around twenty thousand that punches well above its weight in coastline, food, and Southern Reef access. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through Rockhampton just inland; Great Keppel Island sits a 30-minute ferry off the coast; and the entire foreshore — newly reshaped over the past decade — is the kind of place where locals walk dogs at sunrise and visitors finish the day eating fish and chips with their feet in the grass. We acknowledge the Darumbal people as the Traditional Custodians of this Country.
The Yeppoon foreshore lagoon — free, public, and one of the most-loved swimming spots on the Capricorn Coast.
A small town with a big shoulder season. Beaches, a lagoon, a marina, food, and the Capricorn Coast's best base for a Keppel Islands day trip.
The town's signature draw since 2018 — a free, public, infinity-edge swimming lagoon on the foreshore, with a lap pool, a children's shallow play area, and grassy terraces overlooking the Keppel Islands. Open daily, lifeguarded, and the unofficial heart of Yeppoon weekends.
Plan a Capricorn day
The town's patrolled beach, fronting the foreshore park and the lagoon. Wide, easy walking, gentle waves outside cyclone season. Stinger-suit advice for November to May. The natural pairing with a morning coffee at the kiosks.
Capricorn Coast guide
The big-ticket experience. From Keppel Bay Marina at Rosslyn Bay (10 minutes south of Yeppoon) it's a 30-minute ferry to Great Keppel Island. 17 white-sand beaches, snorkel-from-shore reef, bushwalks, and a return ferry back in time for sunset cocktails.
Great Keppel guide
A short coastal headland circuit at the southern end of Yeppoon — sweeping views back to the town, north to Cooee Bay, and out to the Keppels. Around 1 hour return, easy grade. Best at sunrise or late afternoon.
Pair with Cooee Bay
The Capricorn Coast's main marina, ten minutes south of Yeppoon — base for Freedom Fast Cats and Keppel Konnections to Great Keppel, plus reef fishing charters, sailing day trips and waterfront dining at the marina village.
Plan a day on water
The annual celebration of the pineapple-growing region that surrounds Yeppoon. Markets, live music, a street parade, fireworks and more pineapple-themed everything than you'd think possible. Held over a weekend in late August.
Time a tour for August
Two kilometres south of Yeppoon — Cooee Bay's 500-metre dog-friendly beach, Wreck Point Lookout's panoramic sunset views, and the story of the 1848 sailing ship Selina. A classic Capricorn Coast pairing with a Yeppoon morning.
Cooee Bay guide
The neighbouring village of Emu Park sits 20 minutes south of Yeppoon — home to the famous Singing Ship, a 1970 Captain Cook memorial whose curved sails make sound in the sea breeze. Quiet beaches, the ANZAC Walk, and Sunday markets.
Emu Park guide
A 40-minute drive north of Yeppoon — Byfield National Park's coastal rainforest, ancient cycads, sand dunes and creek-side camping. The Capricorn Coast's quietest, wildest corner.
Byfield guideA small town's calendar punches above its weight. Pick a weekend and arrive ready.
Markets, parade, music, fireworks and pineapples in every form imaginable — the town's signature weekend.
Local produce, hot breakfasts, plants and crafts at the showgrounds. The Capricorn Coast's friendliest Saturday morning.
Handmade, home-baked and home-grown at Bell Park. Live music, coffee carts and a relaxed Capricorn atmosphere.
Wreck Point and Bluff Point are two of the best free whale-watching headlands as humpbacks migrate past the Capricorn Coast.
Yeppoon rewards a slow trip — but a few local notes make a short one twice as good.
April–October is the sweet spot — warm dry days, low-20s nights, low humidity, calm ocean. November–March is hotter, more humid; great for the lagoon, less so for long beach walks at midday.
40 minutes east of Rockhampton (fly in, drive out). 7 hours up the Bruce Highway from Brisbane. Cooee Tours runs guided Capricorn Coast itineraries from the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.
The Yeppoon Lagoon is purpose-built for kids. Patrolled main beach next door. Easy Bluff Point walk. Half-day GKI trip if the weather plays.
Book ferries to Great Keppel Island ahead in school holidays. Eat at the foreshore — Megalomania, the Beach House Yeppoon, the Strand kiosks. Wreck Point Lookout at sunset is a 5-minute drive south.
Bluff Point on a still afternoon — the lookout is gorgeous and there's almost always a free bench. Add a coffee from the marina village below for the perfect Yeppoon hour.
Walk the foreshore at dusk for the lit lagoon, finish with dinner along the Beach Strand, and catch the boardwalk back. On Friday nights in summer, the foreshore hosts food trucks and live music.
Stay in Yeppoon and day-trip to Great Keppel Island, Byfield National Park, Emu Park and Cooee Bay. Contact Cooee Tours to build the itinerary.
17 beaches, fringing reef, bushwalks. The Southern Reef's quiet jewel, 30 minutes from Rosslyn Bay.
Plan your island day
Two kilometres south — Wreck Point sunsets, the Selina shipwreck story and a dog-friendly beach.
Cooee Bay guide
Coastal rainforest, ancient cycads, sand dunes and creek-side camping — 40 minutes north.
Byfield guide
Twenty minutes south — coastal village, the Singing Ship sculpture and the ANZAC walk.
Emu Park guideYeppoon is a coastal town on Queensland's Capricorn Coast, roughly 40 minutes east of Rockhampton and about 700 kilometres north of Brisbane. It sits at the heart of the Capricorn Coast — between the Tropic of Capricorn to the south and Byfield National Park to the north.
Swim at the free Yeppoon Lagoon on the foreshore, stroll the patrolled Main Beach, eat at the foreshore restaurants, head to Keppel Bay Marina for a Great Keppel Island day trip, hike to Bluff Point Lookout, and time a visit around the August Yeppoon Pineapple Festival.
Drive 10 minutes south of Yeppoon to Keppel Bay Marina at Rosslyn Bay. Two operators — Freedom Fast Cats and Keppel Konnections — run daily 30-minute ferry transfers landing at Fisherman's Beach. Book ahead in school holidays.
Yes. Yeppoon Lagoon is free and open daily — an infinity-edge lap pool, a children's shallow play area, and shaded grass terraces overlooking the Keppel Islands. Lifeguarded during operating hours.
April–October is the sweet spot: warm, dry, low-20s to mid-20s, low humidity, ideal for the lagoon and the islands. November–March is hotter and more humid, with warmer ocean water. Easter and Queensland school holidays book out fast.
Around 7 hours by car via the Bruce Highway (M1/A1) — about 700 kilometres. Alternatively, fly to Rockhampton (1 hour from Brisbane) and drive 40 minutes east. Cooee Tours runs guided Capricorn Coast tours from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
Yes — Yeppoon Main Beach is patrolled, and the foreshore lagoon next door is the safest free swim on the Capricorn Coast. November–May is marine stinger season; stinger suits are recommended for ocean swimming.
Small groups, local guides, hotel pickup. Yeppoon, the Keppels, Cooee Bay, Byfield and Emu Park — a guided Capricorn Coast itinerary built around your dates.
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