Maroochy River boating guide: speed limits, Eudlo Creek, depths and tides

Where the Maroochy River runs: Blackall Range to Cotton Tree

The Maroochy River is on Queensland's Sunshine Coast: it starts on the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and meets the sea at Cotton Tree, according to Sunshine Coast Council's heritage story on the river. The Bureau of Meteorology puts its catchment at 630 square kilometres. The North and South Maroochy rivers join downstream of Yandina. From there the river winds east past Bli Bli, under the David Low Bridge and then the Sunshine Motorway Bridge, and out past Maroochydore.

Creeks feed it all the way down. Coolum Creek joins upstream of Bli Bli. Petrie Creek comes in from the Nambour side, and Eudlo Creek joins about 950 metres upstream of the Sunshine Motorway Bridge. Eudlo Creek is the one to know if you're training with us, because our Maroochydore venue is at Apex Park, 107 Fishermans Road.

For safety gear, the river and its creeks are smooth waters. The Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 defines smooth waters as the waters of rivers, creeks, streams and lakes. Our life jacket rules guide explains what that means for the jackets you carry.

Maroochy River speed limits: five 6 knot zones, a 20 knot reach and 40 knots elsewhere

Maritime Safety Queensland's schedule of speed limits, updated 4 October 2024, lists five 6 knot zones on the Maroochy River itself, for every type of boat.

The first runs upstream from 50 metres below Brown's Rocks, at the suburb of Maroochy River. The second covers 50 metres upstream to 400 metres downstream of Lake Dunethin. The third is within 50 metres either side of the cane train bridge. The fourth is an area from Buna Street and Bradman Avenue at Maroochydore, around Chambers Island, to the Maroochy Waters canal entrance. The fifth starts about 110 metres downstream of the Picnic Point ramp and runs past Channel and Goat islands to a speed sign on the last groyne at Cotton Tree.

Above Bli Bli there's a 20 knot limit, gazetted 17 May 2013. It covers the reach from 1,500 metres downstream of the Coolum Creek junction to 1,050 metres upstream of the David Low Bridge.

Where no zone is listed, the general smooth water limit of 40 knots applies, and canals default to 6 knots. The distance rule never switches off. Under section 81 of the regulation, a boat must do 6 knots or less within 30 metres of a person in the water, an anchored or moored boat, or a jetty, ramp or pontoon.

Eudlo Creek 6 knot zones: two stretches measured from the Fishermans Road ramp

Eudlo Creek has two gazetted 6 knot zones, and both are measured from the public boat ramp in Fishermans Road. The first runs from 50 metres downstream of the Eudlo Creek Bridge on David Low Way to 50 metres upstream of that ramp, and it takes in the lagoon beside the creek. The second covers the creek upstream from 1,500 metres above the ramp. Both were gazetted on 6 September 2013 and are drawn on MSQ map S9-185-2.

That leaves a stretch of about 1,450 metres between the two zones that the schedule doesn't list as 6 knot water. Don't read it as open water. MSQ's Maroochy River review in 2011 found the creek often under a metre deep at lowest astronomical tide, with mud flats exposed along the western bank at low tide and submerged logs reported upstream. The same review said swimmers, including children, can reasonably be expected near a small beach on the eastern bank about 200 metres upstream of the ramp. Kayaks and canoes use the creek a lot too.

Read the speed signs as you go, and keep to 6 knots within 30 metres of anyone in the water.

Other creeks: 6 knots, with their own start points on Coolum and Petrie creeks

Most creeks flowing into the Maroochy River are 6 knot water. The schedule sets 6 knots for all creeks and waterways that flow into the river, except certain waters of Coolum, Petrie and Eudlo creeks, which get entries of their own.

On Coolum Creek, the 6 knot limit starts 920 metres upstream of where the creek meets the river, at a point near West Coolum Road, and runs upstream. On Petrie Creek, it starts 50 metres downstream of the bridge on David Low Way at Diddillibah and runs upstream, including the waters flowing into the creek. Both were gazetted on 17 May 2013, and map S9-183-1 shows them.

The lower parts of those two creeks sit outside the 6 knot listings, but they're still tight water. MSQ's 2011 review described lower Petrie Creek as less than two metres deep at lowest astronomical tide and about 30 to 60 metres wide, with a road bridge clearance of about three metres at the highest astronomical tide. Narrow, shallow and winding. Take it slowly.

How deep is the Maroochy River? From a metre or less to more than 6 metres

The Maroochy River's depth swings a lot. MSQ's 2011 review recorded the lower river at about a metre or less at lowest astronomical tide near the mouth, and more than six metres at the Cod Hole. Between the David Low Bridge and the Sunshine Motorway Bridge it measured about one metre to more than four metres, with the main channel squeezing to under 60 metres between sand banks 500 metres to one kilometre below the David Low Bridge. Above that bridge, the main channel ran about one to six metres, and the channels around the Bli Bli Islands shift as sand banks move.

Treat those figures as a guide. The review said MSQ didn't survey these reaches regularly, and the last survey then was in February 2001. Follow the channel markers, which mark the main channel below the David Low Bridge, and heed the signs warning of shoaling and shifting sand banks in the south channel.

Bridges cap your height too. The review gave the David Low Bridge 2.8 metres of clearance at the highest astronomical tide, and the Sunshine Motorway Bridge 8.6 metres. If you run aground and anyone is hurt or in danger, call 000.

Tides on the Maroochy River and Eudlo Creek: plan around low water

Plan any Maroochy River trip around the tide, because low water uncovers the shallows. The Bureau of Meteorology notes that tides affect the lower river, with river height peaks at Picnic Point usually lining up with high tide.

Eudlo Creek runs behind the published tables. MSQ set up a tide gauge in the creek and, in its 2011 review, compared it with the Mooloolah River, the nearest standard port. Low tide in Eudlo Creek came about 55 minutes after low tide in the Mooloolah River, and high tide about 100 minutes after. The height of low tide in the creek was less than half the height of low tide in the river. So use the Mooloolah River table as a starting point, add the offset, and expect the creek to sit low on a low tide. MSQ adds that weather and season can shift tides anywhere.

Rain changes the river as well. The Bureau says flash flooding is common across the Sunshine Coast, with Eudlo among the at-risk areas in the Maroochy catchment. After heavy rain, check the Bureau's warnings before you head out.

Jet skis on the Maroochy River: the 60 metre rule does most of the work

Jet skis can ride the Maroochy River under the state-wide jet ski rules and the gazetted speed zones. The regulation's marine zones in schedule 5 are Tallebudgera Creek, the Noosa River, Riverston Bay and Lake Wivenhoe, so the private jet ski ban that applies in the Noosa River marine zone doesn't reach the Maroochy.

Distance is the big rule. Under section 82 of the regulation, a jet ski must do 6 knots or less within 60 metres of a person in the water, an anchored or moored boat, a jetty, ramp or pontoon, a bathing reserve boundary, or the shore. Within 30 metres of another moving boat, the cap is 10 knots. On a creek about 90 metres wide or less, as MSQ's review described Eudlo Creek, almost all the water is within 60 metres of a shore. There's a narrow exception on waters under 120 metres wide, where you keep near the centre or in a marked channel and travel straight through.

Hire and drive jet skis are capped at 30 knots in all Queensland waters. For the full set of jet ski rules, read our Queensland jet ski rules guide.

Protected banks and wash: slow down past habitat, paddlers and soft banks

Much of the Maroochy River runs past protected ground, so watch your wash. MSQ's 2011 review described the reach above the David Low Bridge as part of the Maroochy fish habitat area, with a wetland sanctuary along about 2.2 kilometres of the western bank from just upstream of the bridge. Downstream, the Maroochy River Conservation Park lines the northern bank from about 500 metres below the Sunshine Motorway Bridge to the river mouth. Eudlo Creek and lower Petrie Creek are part of the fish habitat area too.

The speed sign isn't the only limit. Under section 83 of the regulation, you're responsible for your wash: if it's capable of damaging the bank or causing a marine incident, you're going too fast, whatever the posted number says. The review recorded ongoing bank erosion near the houses at the end of Cook Road, Bli Bli, probably from wave action and rain runoff.

So treat the 20 knot sign above Bli Bli as the most you may do. Ease off past kayaks, anchored boats and soft banks, and your wash stays small.

Learning on the Maroochy River at our Maroochydore venue

You can train for your licence on the Maroochy River at our Maroochydore venue, Apex Park, 107 Fishermans Road. The Maroochydore page has the venue details. Our boat licence course is priced from $329, and the jet ski licence course is from $275. You do the online theory before your practical day, and the boats and safety gear are provided.

Once you're licensed and heading out on your own, use this guide's numbers as a starting point. Then check the posted signs for the stretch you're on, and keep MSQ's speed limit schedule handy for the official boundaries. For the rules that apply on every Queensland waterway, read our Queensland boating rules guide.

When you're ready, pick a Maroochydore date on the course dates page.