# Road trips in Western Australia

> 14 road trips and 113 hand-picked places in Western Australia, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/roadtrips/western-australia/

14 road trips and 113 hand-picked places in Western Australia, with routes, stops and practical tips for driving and camping.

## Road trips through Western Australia

- [Perth, Fremantle and Rottnest Island](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-wa-perth-fremantle-rottnest/): Three easy days around Western Australia's capital: city views, the old port of Fremantle, a ferry to the quokkas of Rottnest Island and an optional taste of the Swan Valley.
- [Indian Ocean Drive: Perth to Kalbarri](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-wa-indian-ocean-drive/): Follow the Indian Ocean Drive north from Perth past the Lancelin dunes and the Pinnacles to Geraldton and the gorges and coast of Kalbarri, with a pink lake along the way.
- [Margaret River and the Capes](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-wa-margaret-river-capes/): Dolphins at Bunbury, the long Busselton Jetty, then Caves Road between two lighthouses: wineries, surf, caves, karri forest and a coast of rocky headlands.
- [Tall Timber and the South Coast to Albany](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-wa-southern-forests-albany/): From the karri forests of Pemberton to the tingle giants near Walpole, then along the south coast to Albany, its granite coastline and the Stirling Range.
- [Wave Rock, the Goldfields and Esperance](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-wa-goldfields-esperance/): Cross the Wheatbelt to Wave Rock, reach the gold-rush city of Kalgoorlie and its Super Pit, then run south to Esperance and the white beaches of Cape Le Grand.
- [Kalbarri to Ningaloo: Shark Bay and the Coral Coast](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-wa-shark-bay-ningaloo/): A long northbound coast road from Kalbarri through Shark Bay's stromatolites and dolphins, Carnarvon and Coral Bay to Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef, with long fuel gaps and wide skies.
- [Pilbara: Rock Art, Oases and Karijini](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-pilbara-coast-to-karijini/): From the Port Hedland coast through Karratha and the Murujuga rock art to Millstream and the red gorges of Karijini, finishing at Newman. Five days, best from May to September.
- [Port Hedland to Broome via Eighty Mile Beach](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-port-hedland-to-broome/): About 600 km along the Great Northern Highway, a long coastal desert drive with an overnight stop at Eighty Mile Beach, ending at the white sand and red cliffs of Broome.
- [Great Northern Highway: Broome to Kununurra](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-broome-to-kununurra-highway/): About 1,050 km across the Kimberley on a fully sealed highway: boabs at Derby, Fitzroy Crossing and Geikie Gorge, Halls Creek and Warmun, ending in the Ord River valley.
- [Gibb River Road: Derby to Kununurra](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-gibb-river-road-adventure/): About 660 km of mostly unsealed outback track through the Kimberley, with gorges, swimming holes and cattle stations. A dry-season trip only (roughly May to September), best with a 4WD.
- [West Kimberley: Windjana, Tunnel Creek and Geikie](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-west-kimberley-gorges/): A three-day dry-season loop through an ancient Devonian reef: boabs and tides at Derby, two gorges on the Napier Range, then Geikie Gorge by boat from Fitzroy Crossing.
- [East Kimberley: Kununurra, Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-east-kimberley-bungle-bungles/): Five dry-season days based on Kununurra: Mirima and the Ord River valley, Lake Argyle, Wyndham's viewpoint over five rivers, then two nights in World Heritage Purnululu, reached by a 4WD track.
- [The Savannah Way west: Broome to Katherine](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-savannah-way-broome-katherine/): About 1,600 km across the Kimberley and the northern savannah, from Broome's beaches to gorges, a meteorite crater, Lake Argyle and Katherine, with long gaps between fuel stops and seasonal road closures.
- [Crossing the Nullarbor on the Eyre Highway](https://camping-spirit.com/guides/au-nullarbor-eyre-highway/): From Norseman to Port Augusta along Australia's great southern crossing: roughly 1,700 km of straight road, remote roadhouses, sea cliffs and whale watching, with fuel and rest stops planned in advance.

## Places worth the detour in Western Australia

- [Fremantle Prison](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-fremantle-prison/): A convict-built limestone prison from the 1850s that held inmates until 1991. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Australian Convict Sites, and guided tours cover the cell blocks, the tunnels and the gallows.
- [Rottnest Island (Wadjemup)](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-rottnest-island/): A largely car-free island 19 km off Fremantle where the friendly quokka lives around the Thomson Bay settlement. Hire a bike, swim in clear bays and look but never feed or touch the animals. Book ferries early in summer.
- [The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-pinnacles/): Thousands of limestone pillars, some taller than a person, rise from yellow sand in Nambung National Park. A one-way gravel loop drive passes through them; go at sunrise or late afternoon for the best light and fewer people.
- [Hamelin Pool Stromatolites](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-hamelin-pool/): Living stromatolites, rock-like microbial mounds that resemble some of Earth's earliest life, grow along the shore of this salty bay and can be seen from a boardwalk. Do not step on them; low tide gives the best view.
- [Monkey Mia](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-monkey-mia/): A beach in Shark Bay where wild bottlenose dolphins come into the shallows most mornings for a ranger-led encounter. Arrive early; the dolphins' visits are not guaranteed.
- [Turquoise Bay, Cape Range National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-turquoise-bay/): Cape Range National Park's best-known beach, with white sand and clear water over Ningaloo Reef. The drift snorkel follows a current along the reef, but it can be strong and dangerous, so read the signs and exit at the marked point.
- [Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-tree-top-walk/): A steel walkway about 40 m above the forest floor in Walpole-Nornalup National Park, among rare red tingle trees found only in this corner of the south-west. A ground-level boardwalk, the Ancient Empire, explores their huge buttressed bases.
- [Bluff Knoll, Stirling Range](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-bluff-knoll/): At 1,099 m, the highest peak in the Stirling Range and in the south-west. The climb of about 3 km each way takes several hours, and the weather changes fast, with occasional winter snow. Start early and carry water and layers.
- [Lucky Bay, Cape Le Grand National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-lucky-bay/): Cape Le Grand's famous white beach, where kangaroos rest on the sand beside turquoise water. The fine sand squeaks underfoot. Keep a respectful distance from the animals and never feed them.
- [Wave Rock, Hyden](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-wave-rock/): A 14 m granite wall about 110 m long, shaped like a breaking ocean wave, at Hyden in the Wheatbelt. Walk along the base, then over the top for views. Hippo's Yawn and other rock formations are nearby.
- [Murujuga National Park (Burrup rock art)](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-murujuga-rock-art/): Among the densest concentrations of Aboriginal rock engravings on Earth, on the red boulder hills of the Burrup Peninsula. The area is jointly managed with its Traditional Owners and part of a World Heritage landscape. Stay on marked trails and never touch the art.
- [Dales Gorge, Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-karijini-dales-gorge/): The easiest of Karijini's gorges: stone steps lead down to Fortescue Falls and a swim at Fern Pool, a shaded spring-fed hole. Water is cold even in summer. Allow half a day for the rim trail and the gorge floor.
- [Oxer Lookout and Weano Gorge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-karijini-weano-oxer-lookout/): Oxer Lookout overlooks Junction Pool, where four gorges meet 100 m below the rim. Close by, Weano and Hancock gorges offer water-filled slots, but Handrail Pool and the Spider Walk are demanding grade-5 routes. Never enter gorges if rain is falling anywhere nearby.
- [Cable Beach](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-cable-beach-broome/): A 22 km sweep of white sand and turquoise Indian Ocean, famous for sunsets and camel trains on the beach. The beach is named after the 1889 telegraph cable. Swim between flags where patrolled and heed signs about stingers and crocodiles.
- [Gantheaume Point](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-gantheaume-point/): Red pindan cliffs drop to turquoise water just south-west of Broome. At very low tides, dinosaur footprints about 130 million years old appear in the rock platform; casts above show them at any time. Check the tide table before you go.
- [Windjana Gorge (Bandilngan)](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-windjana-gorge/): The Lennard River has cut a 3.5 km gorge through a 375-million-year-old Devonian reef, with limestone walls up to about 30 m high. Dozens of freshwater crocodiles bask on the sandbanks. Open in the dry season only, roughly April to November; keep your distance from the water.
- [Danggu (Geikie) Gorge](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-geikie-gorge-danggu/): White limestone walls of an ancient Devonian reef rise above the Fitzroy River about 20 km from Fitzroy Crossing. Boat tours in the dry season show freshwater crocodiles and sawfish. Flooding can close the park, so check its status before you go.
- [Cathedral Gorge, Purnululu](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-cathedral-gorge-purnululu/): A huge amphitheatre of banded orange and grey rock in the Bungle Bungle Range, with a pool at its base and remarkable acoustics. A walk of about 3 km return from Piccaninny car park. Go early; the track is exposed and hot by midday.
- [Lake Argyle and Ord River Dam](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-lake-argyle-dam/): A vast reservoir of the Ord River, completed in 1971, holding roughly 19 times the volume of Sydney Harbour and dotted with hilltop islands. Cruises show birdlife and freshwater crocodiles. About 70 km from Kununurra by sealed road; the lake is best seen from the water.
- [Eucla Telegraph Station ruins](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-eucla-telegraph-station/): Stone ruins of the 1877 telegraph station, slowly swallowed by drifting white dunes beside the Southern Ocean. The old jetty and the dune walk make a memorable stretch-your-legs stop on the long Nullarbor crossing.
- [Kings Park and Botanic Garden](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-kings-park/): A 400-hectare park on a ridge above the Swan River, with bushland, a botanic garden of Western Australian plants and the best skyline view in Perth. Wildflowers peak in spring, around September.
- [Cottesloe Beach](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-cottesloe-beach/): Perth's classic city beach, with white sand, calm swimming and Indian Ocean sunsets that draw crowds on summer evenings. Swim between the flags when lifesavers are on duty, and arrive early for weekend parking.
- [Fremantle Markets](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-fremantle-markets/): A Victorian market hall that has traded since 1897, now full of local produce, coffee, craft and street food. It is the easiest way to feel Fremantle's port-town character, but it only opens on certain days, so check ahead.
- [Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-fishing-boat-harbour/): A working harbour where trawlers unload and waterfront cafes serve fish and chips, calamari and local seafood. Sit on the quay with the pelicans and watch the boats come in, and guard your chips from the gulls.
- [Round House, Fremantle](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-round-house/): Western Australia's oldest surviving public building, a twelve-sided limestone jail completed in 1831 on a headland at the Fremantle harbour entrance. Below it, the Whalers Tunnel cuts through the rock to the water.
- [Little Salmon Bay, Rottnest](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-little-salmon-bay/): A sheltered bay on Rottnest's western side with a marked underwater snorkel trail over reef, fish and clear water. Calm conditions are best, and the island's main road passes close by, so combine it with a bike ride.
- [Swan Valley wine and food trail](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-swan-valley/): Western Australia's oldest wine region, a short drive from Perth along the Swan River, with cellar doors, breweries, chocolate and farm produce. Many tastings need a designated driver; the flat land suits a cycling day.
- [Lancelin Sand Dunes](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-lancelin-dunes/): Big white dunes beside the Indian Ocean about 125 km north of Perth, popular for sandboarding and 4WD play. Walk up for views over the sea, and take water because there is no shade.
- [Lake Thetis stromatolites](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-lake-thetis/): A salty coastal lake near Cervantes with living stromatolites and thrombolites, among the oldest forms of life on Earth, seen from a short boardwalk. A quiet, easy stop on the way to or from the Pinnacles.
- [Greenough Historic Hamlet](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-greenough-hamlet/): A cluster of restored stone buildings from the 1860s, once a farming settlement on the fertile Greenough Flats about 25 km south of Geraldton. Nearby, river red gums are bent sideways by the strong coastal wind.
- [HMAS Sydney II Memorial](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-hmas-sydney-memorial/): A hilltop memorial in Geraldton for the 645 crew lost when HMAS Sydney II sank in 1941 after fighting the German raider Kormoran. Its Dome of Souls holds hundreds of stainless-steel gulls, and views reach over the harbour.
- [Hutt Lagoon pink lake](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-hutt-lagoon/): A shallow salt lake near Port Gregory whose water turns pink to red from algae that make beta-carotene. The colour is strongest on bright, calm days and from the lookout; it can look dull when overcast.
- [Nature's Window, Kalbarri National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-natures-window/): A rock arch in Kalbarri National Park framing the Murchison River gorge, reached by a short loop walk from the car park. Visit early, as summer heat can close gorge sites, and carry plenty of water.
- [Red Bluff, Kalbarri](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-red-bluff-kalbarri/): Red sandstone cliffs and a small beach just south of Kalbarri, known for a surf break and wide coastal views. Humpback whales pass offshore on their migrations, so bring binoculars in winter and spring.
- [Natural Bridge, Kalbarri coast](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-natural-bridge-kalbarri/): A wave-carved sea arch on Kalbarri's cliff-lined coast, reached by a short walk from the car park. Cormorants and other seabirds nest on the rocks; stay behind the fences, as the sea here is unpredictable.
- [Shell Beach, Shark Bay](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-shell-beach/): A long white beach made entirely of tiny cockle shells, piled metres deep. The water is saltier than the open sea, so swimming feels buoyant. Blocks of compacted shell were once cut here to build local walls.
- [Peron Homestead, Francois Peron National Park](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-peron-homestead/): A historic sheep station on the red-sand peninsula of Francois Peron National Park; beyond the homestead, tracks are 4WD only. The old shearing shed has a warm artesian tub, and Skipjack Point lookout shows sharks and rays.
- [One Mile Jetty, Carnarvon](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-one-mile-jetty/): A historic timber jetty from the late 1890s, stretching about 1.5 km across the tidal flats at Carnarvon. Walk out along it; fishers, rays and birds are common in the shallows.
- [Quobba Blowholes](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-quobba-blowholes/): Waves forced through cracks in the limestone cliff shoot spray high into the air, about 75 km north of Carnarvon. Stay well back from the edge, as freak waves are a real danger.
- [Bill's Bay, Coral Bay](https://camping-spirit.com/places/au-wa-bills-bay-coral-bay/): Ningaloo Reef comes within wading distance of the beach here, so you can snorkel over coral and fish straight from the sand. Calm, shallow and good for families. Check conditions and the reef rules before you swim.

## FAQs

**What are the best road trips in Western Australia?**
Popular routes include Perth, Fremantle and Rottnest Island, Indian Ocean Drive: Perth to Kalbarri, Margaret River and the Capes and Tall Timber and the South Coast to Albany. CampingSpirit has 14 trip guides that pass through Western Australia, each with a stop-by-stop itinerary and a route map.

**Which places in Western Australia are worth a detour?**
Our editors recommend Fremantle Prison, Rottnest Island (Wadjemup), The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Hamelin Pool Stromatolites, Monkey Mia and Turquoise Bay, Cape Range National Park.