Where to see wildflowers

There is nowhere better to experience the world-famous Western Australian wildflowers than the Golden Outback - where orchids and everlastings carpet the landscapes in colour each spring.

Home to the biggest display of wildflowers in the world - both in size and in species - Western Australia puts on quite the show to celebrate the end of winter every year. In fact, with over 12,000 different varieties, the Golden Outback is the most diverse wildflower region on Earth, making it perfect for a springtime adventure!

During WA’S wildflower season runs from July to November every year - you can see wildflowers popping up all across the region, with pink, white, purple and yellow everlastings as far as the eye can see in the Gascoyne-Murchison and the Goldfields, jewel-like orchids and the famous wreath flower in the Wheatbelt and the rather unusual-looking royal hakea in Fitzgerald River.

From hidden groves and reserves to billion-year-old granite rocks and national parks where the wildflowers outnumber the people by a million, read on to discover more about the best places to see wildflowers in Western Australia’s Golden Outback.

Let's jump in:

• Top tips for wildflower spotting
• Wildflowers in the Gascoyne-Murchison
• Wildflowers in the Wheatbelt
• Wildflowers in the Goldfields
• Wildflowers in Esperance, Fitzgerald Coast, Norseman & the Nullabor

Where to see Wildflowers in the Gascoyne-Murchison

Wildflower season officially kicks off in the Gascoyne-Murchison around late July/early August and lasts several months, slowly following the sun south as the season progresses. Unfortunately, the drier regions are very much subject to the whim of the weather, so the wildflowers can be a little sparse after a dry winter.

Still, on a good year, the wildflowers in the Gascoyne-Murchison can be some of the best. It not only has the earliest flowers in the region, but it’s also usually quieter, meaning you can have all the flowers - and the stunning ancient landscapes - all but to yourself.

Where to see Wildflowers in the Wheatbelt

From August onwards, Western Australia’s wildflower wave starts to descend down into the northern Wheatbelt - and you’ll soon start to see dazzling arrays of wildflowers and fields of canola spreading across the landscape. Even on a dry year, the orchids tend to come out in abundance, but on a good year, the Wheatbelt has some of the best wildflower displays in the world.

One of the biggest regions in the state, the wildflowers of the Wheatbelt are as varied as the landscapes - from rolling hills and Monastic towns to farming hotspots, huge salt lakes and giant granite rocks dotted with colourful paper daisies.

In terms of flowers, you can expect to find everything from everlastings, pom poms, mulla mulla, wreath flowers, verticordia, banksia, sundew, mouse ears, fringed lilies, boronia, verticordia, scented custard powder grevillea, eromophilia, phebalium, macrocarpa, bottlebrush, thousands of varieties of orchid, and many more

The Northern Wheatbelt - Wildflower Country

The northeastern Wheatbelt is one of the best places to see wildflowers in Western Australia, with carpets of everlastings and wreath flowers attracting visitors from all over. Encompassing part of the Golden Outback, Wildflower Country also extends further west to the coast, including Mullewa, Coalseam Conservation Park, Mingenew and Coorow.

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Where to see Wildflowers in the Goldfields

While you can usually start to see the first signs of wildflowers in the Goldfields from August onwards, wildflowers out here can be a little bit of a mixed bag. In a good year, they can be absolutely spectacular, while in a not-so-great one they can be a little shy and don’t quite put on the epic displays they do after very wet winters.

Fortunately, the Goldfields wildflower hotspots also line up with the best attractions in the Goldfields - from the epic statues at Lake Ballard to the spooky gold-rush ghost towns and the rich architecture and heritage of Kalgoorlie, along with the fascinating story of the Golden Pipeline and the starry night skies. And, with perfect temps, spring is the ideal time to visit anyway, so the wildflowers are just the cherry on the cake.

Wildflower-wise, you can expect to see mulla mullas, bush tomatoes, eremophilas, sundews, everlastings, sturt peas and a whole plethora of orchids, amongst many more.

• Coolgardie - there are plenty of wildflower hotspots along the Great Eastern Highway into Coolgardie, like Yellowdine Nature Reserve, Karalee Rock, Boorabin National Park and Boondi Rock. Around Coolgardie itself, you can usually find eremophilas, native hop bushes, mulla mullas and bush tomatoes.

• Kalgoorlie-Boulder - one of the best places to see wildflowers in the Goldfields is Karlkurla Bushland Park, where you’ll find plenty of wildflowers endemic to the region, including eremophilas, jam wattle, tan wattle, Goldfields hop bush, thorny hovea, lemon-flowered gum, Goldfields daisy, cassia and westringia rigida.

• Menzies & Lake Ballard - not only is Lake Ballard one of our favourite places in the Golden Outback, it’s also a great spot to see bush flowers, wattles, native cornflowers, everlastings and eremophilas. You can also see them around Goongarrie, Niagara Dam and Kookynie. Menzies Cemetery also usually has lots of flowers blooming around it and you can sometimes see sturt peas on the road up to Menzies from Kalgoorlie.

• Leonora & Gwalia - the Leonora Loop Trails are a good place to start when wildflower-searching in the Goldfields. You can usually see everlastings, smoke bush and billybuttons, along with purple flannel bush.

Want to know more? Take a look at the Granite & Goldfields and Goldfields Wildflower Trail road trip itineraries.

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Where to see Wildflowers in Esperance, Fitzgerald Coast, Norseman & the Nullabor

By the end of August/early September, Western Australia’s wildflower wave has usually started to make its way south to the coast, where the National Parks are transformed with vibrant colourful blooms, perfectly contrasted against the colours of the ocean. This is also prime whale-watching season in Esperance - just in case you needed another excuse to visit this beautiful part of the world.

There are also two festivals every September that celebrate and showcase wildflower season down here: the Esperance Wildflower Festival and the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show and Spring Festival, so be sure to check them out if you’re in town.

Flower-wise, the region is home to many different varieties of wildflowers, including the royal hakea, cauliflower hakea, taxandria marginata, pink-flowered silver tea tree, leptospermum sericeum, redcaps, dainty wedding brush, ricinocarpos pilifera, banksia and even the carnivorous utricularia menziesii, along with the beautiful qualup bells, acacia, wattles and orchids.

• Esperance - check out the wildflowers at the Dempster Head Walk Trail, Woody Lake Nature Reserve, Lake Moningup and the Great Ocean Drive. Esperance Wildflower Festival is also amazing, with over 500 different local species.

• Dempster Head & Rotary Lookout - Panoramic views of Esperance and the Recherche Archipelago. The trail offers two loops, ranging in distance and difficulty. During late spring, this site boasts impressive orchid colonies and the remainder of the year displays of Bluegrass Lilly, Pom-pom Darwinia, Eucalyptus mallee species and numerous Banksia species.

• Woody Lake Nature Reserve - Kepwari - Walk along the Kepwari Wetland Trail through pristine wetlands that provide an intimate experience with this critical and unique ecosystem. Wander through fringing sedgelands, Melaleuca thickets, heathlands, under Banksia canopies and over dune ridges.

• Lake Moningup - Murdidyinakabi - Lake Monjingup features an over-water boardwalk, winding through a sensitive Paperbark wetland. A 1km loop walk trail offers views of diverse Proteaceae and Myrtaceae species rejuvenated by a fire in 2015. The vegetation in the Lake Monjingup Reserve shows the typical vegetation community along the Esperance sandplains.

• Cape Le Grand National Park - while Cape Le Grand might be best known for Lucky Bay and its kangaroos, the park is especially stunning in spring, with flowers everywhere you look. Climb Frenchman Peak for epic views.

• Mount Ridley - Marbeleerup - Marbeleerup is a granite outcrop, with phenomenal views from the summit. During spring the road side brims with wildflowers, however in winter 4WD only is recommended. There are two main trails to explore, one leading to the summit and another revealing an impressive wave rock. It has many granite specialist plants, including Orchids, Hakeas, Borya, Allocasuarinas and Cypress Pines. It is a special place to the local Nyungar people, so please treat it with respect.

• Stokes National Park - Benwenerup - A wide range of habitats support some amazing vegetation communities, such as thick yates and paperbarks along the inlet, coastal heath on the beaches, sand dunes and Melaleuca/Eucalyptus bushland in between. The floral highlight of the area is the magnificent yellow flowers in autumn of the Bell-Fruited Mallee.

• Ravensthorpe - home of the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show & Spring Festival and the beautiful qualup bell flower, along with some larger than life year-round banksia blooms on the Ravensthorpe PUBLIC Silo Trail.

• Fitzgerald Coast - the Fitzgerald River National Park is one of the best places in WA to see wildflowers, where the rugged rocky coastline and ancient mountain ranges play host to over 1,800 different varieties of colourful wildflowers every spring.

Raring to hit the road? Check out our five-day Coastal Wildflower and 7-10 day Esperance Wildflower Trail road trips for more wildflower trip planning inspiration.

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