Cooya Beach is a coastal suburb near the mouth of the Mossman River, 7 km north west of Port Douglas. The origin of its name is not recorded.
A township plan and formal naming were approved in 1963, but development awaited a further 30 years. Planning approvals and development proposals for a resort and a small shopping centre occurred in the mid-2000s.
Although Cooya Beach might seem to be a retirement haven, it is also an out-of-town suburb for working families and has a long-day care centre. At the 2011 census Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders made up 24% of the population. Recreational activities include mud-crabbing and boating.
Census populations for Cooya Beach have been:
| census date | population |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 598 |
| 2011 | 544 |
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