The Cairns Esplanade Swimming Lagoon
Since it was built more than twenty years ago, the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon has significantly boosted tourism in far north Queensland by offering a safe and attractive place to swim, with no risk of being stung by a stinger or taken by a crocodile.
With an area of 4,800m2 this is one of the largest free public swimming lagoons in Queensland. Cairns Council claims that the lagoon is large enough to hold a thousand swimmers.
The lagoon is located in a central part of the Cairns beachfront, close to hotels, shops and restaurants.
Most public swimming lagoons in Queensland use fresh water but the Esplanade Lagoon contains filtered salt water taken from the adjacent Trinity Inlet.
The lagoon is sandy-bottomed with depths increasing gradually from zero to about 1.5 metres. When the lagoon is open to the public, it is patrolled by lifesavers. Opening hours are from 6:00am to 9:00pm daily except for Wednesdays when it’s closed for maintenance until midday.
Construction of the Esplanade Lagoon took less than 12 months. Excavation work began on 12 April 2002 and the new lagoon was officially opened on 29 March 2003, as shown in Cairns Council’s Instagram post marking the project’s 20 year anniversary.
The project’s total cost was reported to be $22.5 million, with the State Government contributing $11.5 million. The equivalent total project cost in present-day dollars would be about $44 million, if costs are adjusted in line with general inflation as measured by the ABS CPI index (Brisbane).
Cairns Aquatic Facilities Strategy
A proposed Cairns Aquatic Facilities Strategy is currently the subject of community consultation by Cairns Regional Council for a commendably lengthy, period – from 10 December 2025 until 30 April 2026.
At present the Cairns Council has five aquatic centres open to the public which include a total of four 50 metres swimming pools and five 25 metres swimming pools.
The regions’ premier aquatic facility is the Tobruk Memorial Pool where the ten lane 50 metres swimming pool was redeveloped ten years ago to FINA standards at a cost of $22 million.
Two other 50 metres swimming pools (Marlin Coast and Woree) are reported to be well maintained and are to be retained in service, with upgrades.
The Council strategy proposes to close the 50 metres pool at Babinda which is over 50 years old (built in 1971) because it is little used and expensive to operate. By way of comparison, the 50 metres Cleveland swimming pool was built in 1977and it’s now 48 years old.
The Cairns Aquatic Facilities Strategy includes a number of proposed upgrades to existing facilities including shade cover over outdoor pools and replace leisure pools with water play parks at Marlin Coast and Woree. Subject to funding availability the Council’s medium term plans include a new public swimming pool at the Sugarworld site in Edmonton.
Cairns and Redlands compared
Over the past 25 years Cairns and Redlands have had similar populations, but clearly the Cairns Regional Council has led the way in planning and delivering aquatic facilities for its residents and visitors.
Further reading about free public swimming lagoons in Queensland
25 years since Airlie Beach got a free public swimming lagoon
Settlement Cove swimming lagoon in Redcliffe
Public swimming lagoons in Queensland – South Bank
