Evans Head, between Ballina and the Clarence River, sits within the largely undeveloped Bundjalung National Park coastline, and its rocky headlands and reefs — around Chinamans Beach, Snapper Rock and the Iron Gates formation — are dived far more rarely and far less formally than the better-known sites to the north and south. There has never been a dedicated dive centre in the town, so what diving does happen here is almost entirely the domain of local residents with their own boats, occasional shore divers taking advantage of a flat day, and the odd visiting group from Ballina or Yamba. The underwater terrain follows the same broken rock-and-gutter pattern typical of this coastline, with depths generally in the 4 to 16 m range close to the headlands, colonised by wobbegongs, reef fish, rays and the seasonal chance of a passing turtle or grey nurse shark moving along the coast between the Ballina and Solitary Islands aggregation grounds.

Because so few people dive it, there is little published information on named sites, exact marine life counts or precise depths, and much of what is known comes from local and club knowledge rather than an operator's website or guidebook. Access is the defining challenge: Chinamans Beach and Snapper Rock require a walk over rock platforms that are only safely enterable in very small swell, while a boat trip means launching on the Evans River and crossing its own shallow, swell-dependent bar. There is no dive-shop support, air-fill station or rescue infrastructure specific to diving in the town, so anyone diving here should be self-sufficient, experienced with unassisted shore or small-boat diving, and conservative about conditions.

For divers exploring the full length of the Far North Coast who want to see genuinely undived, undocumented reef, Evans Head is worth investigating with strong local knowledge, but it is not a site to visit on spec expecting facilities or guidance.

From Evans Head township, follow signs to Chinamans Beach/Snapper Rock within Bundjalung National Park; a short unsealed access road leads to a car park, from which it is a walk of a few hundred metres over rock and sand to the entry point — only sensible in very small swell. Boats can be launched at the Evans River public ramp in town and run out through the river mouth, tide and bar permitting, to reach the reefs off the headlands.

This stretch of coast within Bundjalung National Park is fully exposed to easterly and south-easterly swell and has no dive-specific infrastructure, so both shore and boat access depend on a genuinely calm, settled weather window; the Evans River bar is shallow and can be hazardous to cross in any swell or on a strong outgoing tide.

Enter from the rock platform on a calm day and work the near-shore reef and gutters at 4-10 m, or drop from a boat onto the deeper headland reef to about 16 m, keeping the entry/exit point or the boat in sight throughout given the lack of any dive-shop backup nearby.

No dive centre based in Evans Head; dived by private boats from the Evans River and by experienced shore divers on flat days, with occasional visits from Ballina or Yamba-based divers.