The Great Sandy National Park now consists of 56,000 hectares and was originally gazetted the Cooloola National Park in December 1975 which originally covered 40,000 ha.
The aboriginal name “Cooloola” means coastal cypress pine. The park was extended in 1983 with an additional 16,370 hectares of the western Noosa River catchment. It has been enlisted in the Great Sandy Region for World Heritage Listing. The Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park offers a diversity of natural landscapes. This section stretches from the north shore of the Noosa River, through vast areas of open wallum heathland, and touches the mangrove lined fish habitats of the Tin Can Bay inlet. The Park also features towering coloured sand dunes, tropical rainforests and crystal clear lakes.
Cooloola's facinating landscape on sand includes long beaches backed by high dunes, open heath splashed with colourful wildflowers, mangroves, woodlands of banksia and scribbly gum, shady blackbutt forests, rainforests with towering trees, and tranquil lakes and waterways.