[1] Machans Beach is impacted by noise from Cairns International Airport, which keeps real estate prices in check.

The north-eastern coastline is a rocky sea wall, but the south-eastern coastline has a sand beach with the two sections separated by Redden Creek, which flows from the Barron River as a second mouth on the Coral Sea, creating an area known as Redden Island.

[7] Redden Island is an important habit and feeding ground for shorebirds with over 200 species of bird being recorded there, including some rare and endangered species such as the eastern curlew, the great knot, the curlew sandpiper, the bar-tailed godwit, the red knot, and the lesser sand plover.

It is named after Richard Morton Machan who was among the first permanent white settlers in the area, having purchased land in the 1920s.

He built a jetty to encourage tourist boats from Cairns to call at nearby Barron Beach.

[2] Machans Beach is located about 1 to 2 kilometres (0.62 to 1.24 mi) north of the Cairns International Airport.

[13] The coastline and waterways in the area are unstable due to storm surge and flooding, which have changed the course of the Barron River over the years.

From April 2014 to August 2015, the crumbling seawall along the suburb's northern coastline was rebuilt combined with the construction of a causeway further out to sea to provide greater protection for the growing number of residences along the coastal area following a number of severe storms.