Queensland's laid-back coastal paradise between the beaches and the Hinterland — where the Sunshine Coast stretches 100 km of Pacific coastline from Caloundra (in the south) to Noosa Heads (in the north) and Noosa Heads (the northernmost town of the Sunshine Coast, where the national park meets the beach and the boutique restaurants of Hastings Street end directly at the sand of Noosa Main Beach) is the only town in Australia where a national park — Noosa National Park, 4,000 hectares of coastal heath, rainforest, and cliff walks — begins literally at the end of the main commercial street, the Sunshine Coast Hinterland (the Glass House Mountains, 20 km south of Maroochydore — the volcanic necks of 10 separate volcanoes that eroded over 25 million years to leave isolated basalt plugs rising 250–365 metres from the flat coastal plain) is one of the most dramatic small-scale landscapes in subtropical Australia, the Noosa Farmer's Market (every Sunday morning at Noosa Heads — regarded as the best food market in Queensland for the quality of local produce including Sunshine Coast finger limes, custard apples, and hinterland bush tucker) is the most prestigious regional producers' market in Queensland, and the Cooloola Great Sandy National Park (north of Noosa — the 75-km Cooloola Wilderness Trail through the largest coloured sand dunes in the world) begins 10 km from the Noosa River
The Sunshine Coast (350,000 population in the local government area; 500,000 in the greater Sunshine Coast region) is Queensland's major coastal resort region stretching 100 km of Pacific coastline from Caloundra to Noosa Heads, 100 km north of Brisbane. The Sunshine Coast is Queensland's fastest-growing major urban area (growing at approximately 3% per year since 2015), driven by remote work migration from Brisbane and Sydney attracted by the combination of beaches, Hinterland food culture, and lower housing costs.
The Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) people have lived on the Sunshine Coast for tens of thousands of years — the Noosa River system and its associated wetlands (Noosa Lakes) are one of the most significant coastal resource systems in Queensland, supporting diverse fish, shellfish, and waterfowl populations. European settlement began in the 1880s with timber-getters who logged the coastal forests of the Glass House Mountains region. The Sunshine Coast's tourist identity was established in the 1960s–1970s when Noosa Heads developed as an alternative to the more commercialised Gold Coast, attracting a y…