Mawgan Porth is a cove lying to the east of Newquay, on the north coast.

This west facing beach is wide and gently sloping. The sand is medium-grained and soft with a high shell content.

The dunes are steep and narrow and highly constrained by residential development. The vegetation is scrubby and in poor ecological condition.

The active face is unstable and eroding. There are considerable sections of collapsed fencing and attempts to stabilise the dunes by fencing off. The Lifeguards Station is vulnerable to the moving coastline.

The Menalhyl River enters the southern end of the beach under a road bridge. Upstream of the road is some wetland vegetation but natural development of the valley is constrained by the presence of holiday parks. Downstream of the road bridge, the southern end of the beach has pebbles and cobbles. A pile of cobbles by the bridge may be material that has been cleared from the river.

There is rock armour and other forms of hard coastal protection along the full length of the dune.

Either side of the beach are undefended cliffs.