Mooloolaba Esplanade is the kilometre-long beachfront strip that defines the town. Restaurants, ice-cream parlours, surf shops and a few hotels line the inland side; mature Norfolk Island pines and a wide grass verge stand between the road and the sand on the seaward side.
Most of it is closed to cars on a few Sundays each year for the Mooloolaba Foreshore Festival. The rest of the time it is the obvious place to walk, run, push a pram or eat outdoors in the evening. The free outdoor showers at intervals along the beach are well used.