Burleigh Heads

Burleigh Heads is a coastal headland, beach and suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, between Surfers Paradise and Coolangatta. Centred on a rocky basalt headland and Burleigh Head National Park, it is known for its sandy surf beach, foreshore parklands and panoramic coastal views. The area combines a protected national park with walking tracks, a patrolled swimming beach and a village precinct with dining and shops.

Visitors can expect a prominent rocky headland covered by Burleigh Head National Park with rainforest, pandanus groves and basalt columns, fringed by a long sandy beach to the north and Tallebudgera Creek to the south. The foreshore offers patrolled swimming areas, surf breaks, grassy parklands and oceanfront paths. Walking tracks circle the headland with lookouts over the coastline to Surfers Paradise and the hinterland. The adjacent James Street precinct provides cafes, restaurants and shops.

The headland, known as Jellurgal to the Kombumerri people, has long been a significant place for the Yugambeh language group. European settlement developed from the late 19th century, with the name Burleigh attributed to surveyor James Warner after Burleigh Heads in England. The headland was reserved as a national park in 1947 to protect its rainforest and geological features.

Burleigh Head holds cultural significance for the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh region as a traditional meeting and ceremonial place, interpreted today at the Jellurgal Aboriginal Centre. The beach and point break are also central to Gold Coast surfing culture and host long-standing surf events.