At Cape Le Grand National Park
Cape Le Grand National Park has beautiful wild coastal scenery, beautiful beaches with squeaky sand and crystal clear blue waters. It’s located a 48km drive from Esperance town center to Cape Le Grand entrance.
Entance Fees
One day pass – $15 per vehicle
Five day pass – $25 per vehicle
If your stay in Esperance is short, then a one day pass will be enough. Or if your like us and will be visiting all the national park’s in Western Australia there is also a yearly pass from $120. When you receive your pass place it on the dashboard, you’ll also be given a photocopy of a basic Cape Le Grand map.
Beaches
There are five main beaches to explore.
Lucky Bay
A long beach made of pure white sand with turquoise waters lapping onto its shore. Then the colour gradually morphs into dark blue the further you are from shore. You can drive onto the beach if you have a 4WD or AWD. The sand is rock hard, so no chance of bogging. Once you get to the wooden stairway, You can either head to the viewing platform Or the start of the Rossiter-Lucky Bay hike. If you’re not into long hikes but would like to see views from above, I would recommend walking up the trail for about 35 minutes to Mississippi Hill.
This is where the path passes between two boulders. Stop and turn around for spectacular views overlooking Lucky Bay. Then walk back down. If you have time, hang around until 4pm. This is when the kangaroos come out of hiding and hop down to the beach. They don’t run away from people but be mindful to not touch or feed them.
Hellfire Bay
Is the Smaller beach to Lucky Bay. There is a rocky outcrop at the start of the beach, where you can walk up for better views of the bay. Alternatively, you can visit the smaller and calmer Little Hellfire Beach. Follow the signs from behind the carpark. It’s a 20 minute walk through a beautiful scrubland.
Thistle Cove
This beach is about the same size as Hellfire Bay but the waves are not as rough. If you would like to do a small hike, you could follow the Thistle Cove-Lucky Bay trail from the carpark. Heading eastwards for about 20 minutes, you will reach a rocky granite area.
Rossitier Bay
Rossiter Bay is located the furthest away. It’s another 6km on gravel road from Lucky Bay. It’s a long stretch of a beach curving into a crescent shaped bay. There are no dunes to make the landscape interesting. However, it does seem to be sheltered by the winds. 4WD can drive along this beach, if you feel exploring
Le Grand Beach
You can walk 50m up the beginning of the Le Grand-Hellfire trail, for a better views. Its one very long and straight beach, lined by low lying scrubland.
Frenchman’s Peak
I recommend this hike for the hikers or those who like to see views from the top. It’s a short but strenuous trail and definitely worth it. Frenchman Peak was named as such by the first white man to discover it. The peak reminded him of the caps worn by the 1800s French soldiers. The signs say to allow one hour to climb. The first 10 minutes is a walk along a path that takes you to the base of the granite rock. Then the rest of the trail is a steep climb (45-degree angle) up smooth granite rock. At the top, explore inside the open-air cavern. You can also climb over rocks to the top of the cavern, the top of the ‘French cap’. Great views overlooking the national park and the ocean in the distance.
Cape Le Grand Coastal Trail
To walk the whole Cape Le Grand Coastal Trail at once, it will take a good 8 hours. Plus you will need two cars, one parked at either end of the trail. However, the hiking trail can be divided up into 4 separate sections, each one separated by a walk along the beach. Click Here for More Information on the Coastal Trail
The trails:
-Le grand beach to Hellfire Bay. 6km one way allow 3 hours, class 4
-Hellfire Bay to Thistle Cove.4.5km allow 2 hours, class 4.
-Thistle Cove to Lucky Bay.2km one way allow 1 hour. Class 3.
-Lucky Bay to Rossitier Bay. 6km one way allow 2 hours. Class 4.
Click here to see the best places to visit in Esperance.