It includes a camping area and the old munitions depot, and finally the Coogee Beach Resort and a northern recreational jetty, with a terminal groyne just south of James Rocks. The beach is patrolled by the Coogee Beach Surf Life Saving Club founded in 2003.
From James Rocks the shoreline trends north for 5.5 km to the southern training wall of Fremantle Harbour. In between is a once continuous sandy shore that has been heavily modified by structures and development when the area was backed by industry.
Since the 1990’s its backshore has undergone a transformation from a power station, railway yards and meat works, to in part, the Catherine Point Reserve, the South Beach Recreational Reserve and a large fishing and small boat harbour to the north. All the beaches face west and are partly sheltered by a string of reefs, including Carnac Island, that extends north of Garden Island. The reefs lies 5-6 km offshore and lower ocean waves to less than 1 m at the shore.
