Arthur Earle Park is on the river at Nerang, below the Ferry Street bridge, and its ramp is the highest public launch on the tidal Nerang. Two concrete lanes in good order, toilets, a tap and a small car park of about ten bays, in a park that is pleasant rather than busy. The state register lists it as usable on all tides, though this far up the river runs thin on a low spring and after long dry spells.
The appeal is the river itself: from here it winds some 20 km down through Carrara, Emerald Lakes and the Surfers canals to the Broadwater and the Spit, with six-knot zones through most of the built-up reaches. Upstream it becomes freshwater-influenced towards the Hinze Dam release point, with bass, jack and bream in the snags and a run-off that colours the water for days after rain. Ski boats use the wider reaches downstream.
Carrara Road is the next ramp down, a small single lane; Proud Park at Main Beach is the big one at the river mouth. Marine Rescue Queensland Gold Coast monitors VHF 16.