The Carrara Road ramp sits on the Nerang River in Pidd Family Park, upstream of the Surfers Paradise canals and below Nerang. It is a small single-lane ramp at a gentle seven per cent grade, with a rocky foreshore, little turning room and unmarked parking for half a dozen rigs. Council contractors use it from time to time to unload dredged material, so it can be busy on a weekday for reasons that have nothing to do with fishing.
It is better suited to smaller boats. What it offers is the river: a scenic run downstream past Emerald Lakes and the Carrara stadium to the canals and Surfers Paradise, through six-knot zones for most of the way, and the freshwater-influenced upper reaches towards Nerang for bass and jack after rain. The state register lists it as usable on all tides.
If you need lanes, parking or a walkway, Ferry Street at Nerang (two lanes, ten bays) is upstream and Proud Park at Main Beach is the big ramp at the river mouth. Marine Rescue Queensland Gold Coast monitors VHF 16.