Low Isles

Low Isles is a small coral cay comprising Low Island and Woody Island located about 15 kilometres northeast of Port Douglas in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It is notable for its historic 1878 lighthouse, extensive fringing reef, and long-running marine research station. The islands feature a lighthouse, mangroves, and sandy beaches, and are a popular day-trip destination for snorkelling and reef interpretation.

Visitors arrive by licensed boat tour and land on a sandy beach on Low Island. The setting includes a fringing coral reef surrounding the cay, a historic lighthouse and former lighthouse keepers' cottages, mangroves on Woody Island, and a small marine research station. Visitors can explore the beach, join guided snorkelling and glass-bottom boat tours, view reef fish, turtles and corals, observe seabirds, and learn about reef ecology and lighthouse history on guided walks.

Low Isles Lighthouse was established in 1878 to guide shipping through the inner Great Barrier Reef channel. The islands hosted the landmark 1928-1929 Great Barrier Reef Expedition led by the British Association, the first major scientific study of coral reefs, and have housed a continuously operating weather and marine research station since that time.

Low Isles lies within the sea country of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji and Yirrganydji peoples, who have traditional connections to the reef and islands. The lighthouse and research station reflect Queensland's maritime heritage and Australia's history of reef science and conservation.