The Best Hikes and Trails in Esperance: A Local's Guide

Esperance is an adventurer and hiker's dream with many bush, beach and wetland trails ready to walk, run, ride and explore. There’s something for everyone - from gentle strolls to serious hikes for the committed adventurer!

Not only is the Esperance region incredibly stunning and thriving with a wonderful diversity of flora, fauna and wildlife, it’s also incredibly diverse. Surreal blue water lapping at long white beaches, meeting bold and big granite headlines, surrounded by seas of Banksia Speciosa, that flows out into sand dunes and then encompassing farmland and red dirt mallee country. You can drive 15kms and be surrounded by completely different vegetation and ecosystems.

Right on our front door step and close to Esperance we have Dempster Head and the Great Ocean Trail that takes us out to Twilight Beach and potentially through to the Pink Lake. On our back door step, we’ve got some incredible lakes and wetlands systems - including the Lake Warden system and Lake Monjingup. Along the coast we’ve got stunning coastal trails weaving through Cape Le Grand National Park and along the Cape Arid coastline. And then we have our inland adventures around Mt Ragged and Peak Charles.

Here’s an introduction to a few of our favourites - these trails are all very different yet all equally beautiful and enjoyable.

The Great Ocean Trail, from West Beach to Twilight Cove: 14km return, 6-8hrs.

Ah, the Great Ocean Trail - a favourite right on our front doorstep. This 40m loop kicks off from West Beach and weaves along the coast all the way to Twilight Cove and on to the not-so-pink but still so pretty Pink Lake (Spencer Lake). The trail offers stunning scenes of the coastline and views of the islands of the Recherche Archipelago.

It’s 7km sealed path (good for prams and bikes!) from West Beach to Twilight, then from Twilight you can either loop back to West Beach or carry on 6km through to Pink Lake.

From Pink Lake, you can either return to Twilight/West Beach or carry on along a footpath at the Pink Lake that takes you back into Esperance town.

This trail can easily be split up into smaller sections along the way, starting from any of the carparks along the Great Ocean Drive.

Kepawari Walk Trail: 7km return, 2-3hrs.

A short drive from town is the Kepawari Walk Trail, a 7km return trail that weaves through bushland, over boardwalks, and alongside a series of internationally significant lakes in the Lake Warden wetland system. The trail is designed to be an interpretive learning experience, with information signage and bird hides along the way. This is certainly one for the bird lovers out there!

Kepawari is a cultural word, meaning ‘place of moving water’.

We have some internationally significant lakes and wetland systems around Esperance, that includes 7 major lakes and over 90 satellite lakes, with Esperance being a home and host to tens of thousands of waterbirds throughout the year and some remarkable flora and fauna.

Two of our wetland reserves, Lake Gore and Woody Lake, are RAMSAR listed wetlands. Which means that these wetlands are included in the RAMSAR Convention, “an international treaty for the conservation and

sustainable use of wetlands”. RAMSAR listed wetlands are recognized for their international importance in terms of ecology, botany, zoology, limnology, or hydrology. Pretty incredible to have such places right in our backyard!

Access is from either Windabout Way or Lakes Rd, both of which are adjacent to Fisheries Rd. A heads up - a part of the track has been closed recently due to bushfire damage, but you can still walk from Woody Lake to Windabout Lake. Keep up to date on trail closures and conditions at https://alerts.dbca.wa.gov.au/

Le Grand Coastal Trail, 20km (one way), allow 8hrs one way or multiple days.

The Le Grand Coastal Trail is a spectacular but at times challenging 20km walk trail between Rossiter Bay and Le Grand Bay. You can hike from bay to bay, taking in the insane coastal views around the area - the beautiful bays, the bush land, the granite boulders and headlands, the rising peaks and capes. In Djilba season (late Winter to Spring), this trail comes alive with wildflowers!

This one is ideal as a multiple day hike, breaking it up by camping a night at either Lucky Bay campground or Le Grand Bay campground. These places both have camping facilities including toilets and camp kitchens.

The track runs from Le Grand Beach to Rossiter Bay (or vice versa), with additional access points at Hellfire Bay, Thistle Cove, and Lucky Bay, making it easy to break the trail up into four shorter sections:

Rossiter Bay to Lucky Bay – Class 3, 6.6km allow 2-3 hours, medium walking.

Lucky Bay to Thistle Cove – Class 3, 2.5km allow 1 hour, easy walking.

Thistle Cove to Hellfire Bay – Class 4, 4.7km allow 2 to 3 hours, hard walking.

Hellfire Bay to Le Grand Beach – Class 4, 6.2km allow 3 hours, hard walking.

Munglinup Estuary Walk: 6km return, 2-3hrs.

The Munglinup Estuary walk trail is a 6km return walk that runs along the Oldfield River estuary down to Munglinup Beach where the river meets the ocean. We’d allow 2hours return.

The trail is pretty quiet and unmarked in places (which is a part of it’s charm), but it’s easy to see where you need to go. You walk through bushland, along sandy tracks and over limestone ridgelines, before meeting a 4x4 track that will take you into the river mouth and beach.

Pack your swimmers for a dip when you meet the ocean!

There’s a parking area along Munglinup Beach Rd - you’ll see a sign with a bit of info about the river, estuary, and area, near a gravel area that you can park in and start the walk from.

We’d recommend making the most of your time out that way - spend a night at the Munglinup Caravan Park or camping at Munglinup Beach campground, go for a snorkel or dip at the beach, and make sure to swing by and grab some hot chippies and roadtrip treats from the Munglinup Roadhouse! A local icon.

Check out more of the amazing trails on offer around the Esperance region and get more info at https://trailswa.com.au/

Remember to be prepared and sensible always - pack enough water, first aid supplies, and wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Always let someone know where you are going. Stay on the tracks and adhere to all signage and warnings, and check weather forecasts and tides ahead of your adventures.

Happy hiking and adventuring!