North Stradbroke Island by bike

Getting there with a bike

Two operators cross from Toondah Harbour in Cleveland to Dunwich. SeaLink's fare page says bicycles are free with a passenger ticket, on both its water taxi and its vehicle ferry. The Stradbroke Flyer says you can bring your bike but doesn't publish a bike fee.

• Where they land: SeaLink's water taxi and car ferry arrive at Junner Street, Dunwich. The Flyer docks at One Mile Jetty, about a kilometre north, beside the Little Ships Club.
• Flyer fares rose on 13 July 2026 and the new list isn't on its website as text, so ring 07 3821 3821 to ask about the fare and any bike charge. Its timetable lists 14 boats a day from Cleveland, 4.45 am to 8.15 pm, though the 4.45 am doesn't run on weekends and public holidays.
• E-bikes: we found no e-bike rule from either operator. Ask before you travel.
• Arrive early. SeaLink asks for 30 minutes before departure.

The train to Cleveland

Cleveland is the end of the Cleveland line. Queensland Rail allows bikes on all South East Queensland trains, but only in the first and last carriages of six-car trains (not three-car trains), with two bikes per carriage at a time. You stay with your bike and walk it on station property. From Cleveland station it's about 2.4 km by road to Toondah Harbour along Shore Street, Passage Street and Middle Street. The Flyer runs a free courtesy bus from the station for its passengers; it doesn't say whether that bus carries bikes, so plan to ride.

Roads, hills and the island bus

One main sealed road, East Coast Road, runs from Dunwich across the island to Point Lookout, with a sealed branch to Amity. Each leg is about 20 km. Expect some climbing, narrow shoulders, and trucks on weekdays.

• Traffic: the island's visitor guide warns that the roads have narrow or no shoulder in parts and that large trucks use them during business hours. OpenStreetMap records 60 to 80 km/h limits on East Coast Road. A weekend or an early start will be quieter.
• Hills: it isn't flat. Our rough reading of satellite elevation data puts the high point of the Point Lookout road at around 100 m above sea level, about 13 to 14 km from Dunwich, before it drops to the coast. The Amity road tops out lower, around 60 m. These are estimates; we'll measure them when we ride.
• No traffic lights, as the visitor guide likes to point out.

Putting your bike on the bus

The island bus (qconnect routes 880 and 881, run by Transit Systems) links Dunwich, Point Lookout and Amity and meets the water taxis, though not every early or late boat. Every fare is 50 cents. The timetable says bicycles, e-bikes and scooters "may be permitted aboard, subject to the driver's discretion", for an extra $5 a trip, and may not fit at busy times. Treat it as a back-up, not a plan.

Fat bikes on Main Beach and Flinders Beach

We couldn't find a rule that names bicycles on Main Beach or Flinders Beach, either allowing or banning them. The rules that do exist are written for 4WDs. Before you ride the sand, ask Minjerribah Camping, which manages the beaches, or Queensland Parks.

Both beaches sit in the Minjerribah Recreation Area, managed by the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) through Minjerribah Camping, with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS). Here is what the rules actually say.

• Off limits for everyone: the dunes and vegetation (signed Restricted Access Areas), anything closed by signs or barriers, and trail bikes (motorbikes), which are banned across the recreation area and Naree Budjong Djara National Park.
• Where 4WDs drive: on Flinders Beach, between the Amity Point and Adder Rock entrances at up to 40 km/h; on Main Beach, from the George Nothling Drive entrance south, at up to 60 km/h. If you're riding there, you're sharing it with them.
• Flinders Beach closure: the entry near Amity Point is closed for erosion from 19 May 2026 to 18 January 2027. For now the beach is reached only from the Flinders township access and Adder Rock.

Camping and bikepacking

For a bike trip, use the township camping grounds. QYAC runs six through Minjerribah Camping, and four take tents and have drinking water and hot showers. The beach camps are 4WD-only and "not suitable for walking to".

• Book first. Book and pay before you arrive, online or on (07) 3059 4042. Check-in is from 11 am and check-out by 10 am. A site takes up to four adults, or two adults and three children.
• Beach camping: 200 sites behind Flinders Beach and 300 at the southern end of Main Beach, about 17 km south of Point Lookout. Both are listed as 4WD-only. Asked whether you can walk in, Minjerribah Camping says, "We do not recommend it". We'd read that as a no for bikes too, unless they tell you otherwise.
• Supplies: Amity Point, Adder Rock and Cylinder Beach camping grounds have stores, and Point Lookout and Dunwich have shops and cafés. Fill your bottles at the camping grounds before you ride.
• Fires and wildlife: on the beach camps only small cooking fires are allowed, with your own wood. Look at the koalas and kangaroos, but don't feed them.

Bike hire on the island

We couldn't confirm a bike hire business operating on Straddie as of 9 October 2026. Bring your own bike across on the ferry.

The island's visitor guide lists scooter hire and a shuttle, but no bike hire, and the bike hire mentions we found elsewhere were undated. If you know of a current operator, tell us and we'll check it and add it. Nothing on this page is a paid listing.

A two-day bikepacking outline

About 55 km over two days on sealed roads: Dunwich to Point Lookout, camp, then over to Amity and back to the ferry. This is a suggestion built from distances, not a ride we've done.

Packing for it? See how to load panniers, including the front and rear weight split and what goes where.

Quandamooka Country

Minjerribah is Quandamooka Country. The Quandamooka people are its Traditional Owners, and their native title was recognised by the Federal Court on 4 July 2011.

The Quandamooka estate takes in the waters and islands of central and southern Moreton Bay and the coast between the Brisbane and Logan rivers. Its peoples are the Noonuccal (Nunukul) and Goenpul (Gorenpul) of Minjerribah and the Ngugi (Nughi) of Mulgumpin, Moreton Island. "We are the people of the sand and the water," as Minjerribah Camping puts it.

On 4 July 2011 the Federal Court made two native title consent determinations recognising the Quandamooka people's rights and interests over land and waters on and around the island. QYAC holds and manages those rights. About half the island is now Naree Budjong Djara National Park, which means "My Mother Earth" and has been jointly managed by the Quandamooka people and QPWS since 2011.

You'll see the dual names as you ride: Redland City Council and QYAC have put place markers and dual-name signs at Amity Point (Pulan) and Point Lookout (Mulumba), and Dunwich is Goompi. Stay on roads and marked tracks, respect closures and signs, and learn more from QYAC.

Sources

1. SeaLink South East Queensland: North Stradbroke Island ferry fares (from 1 July 2026), FAQ, timetable.
2. Stradbroke Flyer: home, timetable and prices, getting here, travelling to Straddie.
3. Queensland Rail: travelling with your bike or e-scooter.
4. Queensland Government (Translink regional qconnect): North Stradbroke Island bus timetable, routes 880 and 881 (printed June 2025).
5. North Stradbroke Island visitor guide: getting here and around, Dunwich (Goompi).
6. Minjerribah Camping (QYAC): camping grounds and each ground's page, FAQ, 4WD permits, beach conditions, terms and conditions, Main Beach, Flinders Beach, getting to Minjerribah, national parks and recreation areas, our people and culture.
7. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service: Minjerribah Recreation Area, Flinders Beach access closure, North Stradbroke Island map, camping legal requirements, Naree Budjong Djara National Park.
8. Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation: home, native title.
9. Redland City Council: entry statements for Amity Point and Point Lookout.
10. Distances: our routing on © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) data, 9 October 2026. Heights: our rough estimate from SRTM elevation data via OpenTopoData.