Situated north west of the Camel Estuary, on the north coast, Polzeath is a west facing beach.

Car parking takes up a significant amount of the beach.

The sand is very soft and medium grained with a high shell content.

On the left (south) side the beach is bounded by cliffs of purple and green bounded slate. On the right side (north) there are a couple of coves with coarser gravel. One of these supports some sand dune but in a poor condition and restricted by the road.

Some of the exposed rocks support a population of mussels and the shells provide material for the beach.

Generally, dune development is restricted by the road and built development.

There is some rock block infill to stabilise the cliffs and protect the road and properties and some private vertical concrete block walls protect private gardens.
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The Polzeath Stream flows onto the beach at the southern end of the bay.