The wide and sandy beaches of Broadwater National Park include: Main Beach at Evans Head, which is patrolled in season and suitable for children; Air Force Beach, Evans Head Beach and Broadwater Beach - all of which are unpatrolled.

South of Evans Head are Chinamen's Beach (so-called because 300 Chinese miners searched for gold here), New Zealanders' Beach (as per Chinamen's Beach) and Snapper Rock. They are also not patrolled. Beaches south of Snapper Rock are closed to the public because of their proximity to the bombing range. To get onto Chinamen's Beach, there is an elevated walkway, which bridges the marsh behind the frontal dune and leads down to the beach past the lagoon. At low tide there are many rock pools to explore.

Broadwater Beach has great fishing , in particular bream, jewfish and tailor, and in summer, whiting. It also has good surfing and birdwatching opportunities. Seabirds common to the area include the wedge-tailed shearwater, pied oyster-catcher, gulls and terns. In fact, the area between South Ballina and Broadwater, which is about 20 kms in length, supports 14 - 15 pairs of the threatened Pied Oystercatcher. Occasionally, wallabies and echidnas can be seen on the fore dunes. Dolphins are often seen close to shore, and whales occasionally seen on their north and south migration trips.

Strolling north or south along Broadwater Beach, at dawn or on a full moon, are exhilarating experiences because of the absolute expanse of endless miles of wilderness. On any day, you are unlikely to experience more than a handful of other humans on the beach.

Broadwater Beach is renowned for its changing, and rather soft coffee rock formations. These blackish and brown outcrops exist at a shallow depth over most of the park and are easily damaged. Coastal vegetation includes sea rocket, native pigface and coastal Spinifex, which are found on the frontal dunes.