Hassell Beach (WA 362) is one of the longer beaches on the South Coast. It commences against the 100 m high, 1 km long, migmatite headland that separates it from South Warriup beach (WA 361) and curves for 22 km to the southwest, then south, finally spiraling to face northeast in the southern corner at Cheyne Beach (Fig. 4.87), in lee of Lookout Point and Bald Island. The beach is exposed to moderately high waves, which gradually decrease to the south. They average over 1.5 m in the north where they maintain a double bar system, the outer shore parallel longshore bar that extends for 20 km to the south, usually lying about 150-200 m off the shore. The inner bar is a 100 m wide transverse bar and rip system backed by a relatively steep beach in the north. The inner bar narrows, but continues inside the outer bar, as rips diminish in size down the beach. Only along the southern 2 km, as wave height drops substantially, does a single continuous bar, then reflective conditions prevail, with a patch of seagrass off the very southern end of the beach. The southern corner has finer sand, a low slope and is firm for driving on. The beach is exposed to strong winds along the central-northern section, which have generated both active and earlier now vegetated dune transgressions. There are active dunes extending up to 1.5 km inland backing the northern 12 km of the beach, with some older dunes extending up to 2 km inland. In the south the dunes stabilise and average 1 km in width, with dunes only diminishing along the final north facing 2 km of shore. The small Bluff River and two smaller creeks occasionally break out across the beach just south of the main active dune area. Farm land backs most of the dunes areas with a few vehicle tracks to the beach. There is 4WD access in the north near Swan Lake, the track crossing a 1.5 km wide section of dunes and deflated surfaces to reach the beach. In the south the sealed Cheyne Beach road reaches the small settlement of the same name that backs the southern end of the beach. At the very southern end, against the gneiss rocks of 70 m high Lookout Point is a large car park and beach boat launching area, adjacent to a camping and picnic area. There is a caravan park with a small store located on the slopes behind the southern end of the beach. read more

Beach Length: 0.022km