The Sandgate Pier extends into Bramble Bay at the foot of the foreshore park, a long timber structure that is one of the suburb's defining landmarks. At low tide the mudflats around the pier are good for wading birds — ibis, herons, and the occasional spoonbill feed along the water's edge — while at high tide the pier is popular with local fishers chasing bream and flathead. Dolphins occasionally enter the bay and can be seen from the pier at dusk.
The walk along the pier gives views back across the foreshore to the row of old shopfronts and the hills behind Sandgate — a view that has changed remarkably little since the Victorian period. The foreshore park below the pier has picnic tables and a playground; on weekends it fills with families from across northern Brisbane.