Cape Range roads: where the sealed road ends

What the sealed road covers

From the park entrance the road turns south along the western edge of the cape, between the range and the reef, with turn-offs to the beaches. The snorkelling most people come for is all on this stretch: Turquoise Bay, Lakeside and Oyster Stacks. WA Parks notes that Oyster Stacks, five islets standing off the reef, can only be snorkelled at high tide, so that stop is timed by the water rather than by your plan.

The campgrounds along the same road are bookable, and one of them, Tulki, sits closest to Turquoise Bay. If the plan is a few nights under the range rather than a day trip, this is the stretch that carries it.

The tide decides one beach, not the whole day

Turquoise Bay and Lakeside do not have a tide window in the same way. Oyster Stacks does. That is worth knowing before you build a beach-hop plan in the wrong order, because the difference is a wasted drive of a few minutes at the wrong end of the day.

The tide is one constraint and the surface is the other, and for the unsealed roads, campervans for hire in Exmouth is the category to check before the gate.

Where the seal stops

At Yardie Creek the road crosses a creek that holds permanent water, which is rare on this coast. The gorge behind it is the reason to drive that far: a two-kilometre walking trail follows the rim, and the cliffs above the water are one of the few reliable places on the cape to look for a black-footed wallaby. Boat tours run up the gorge from the crossing.

Yardie Creek Campground is near the southern end of the sealed access road. WA Parks also lists campgrounds south of the crossing that require four-wheel drive access.

The two campgrounds past the crossing

Past the crossing, WA Parks lists two small campgrounds: one about a kilometre south of the Yardie Creek crossing and one about three kilometres south. Both can only be reached by four-wheel drive. Small is the operative word, and bookable means booked online in advance, not found on arrival.

The tide is one constraint and the surface is the other, and for the unsealed roads, 4WD hire is the category to check before the gate.

The canyon drives on the eastern side

The canyons are not on the beach road. Both drive trails leave the main road south of Exmouth and climb the eastern side of the range, and both are unsealed.

Charles Knife Canyon

The Charles Knife Canyon drive is a winding road from the main road south of Exmouth up to the top of the range, with Charles Knife Lookout at the top. It is the shorter and more civilised of the two unsealed drives, and it gives you the range from above rather than from the beach.

Shothole Canyon

Shothole Canyon runs along the floor of the canyon instead of climbing above it. WA Parks describes that road as passing through one of the most rugged areas of Cape Range National Park, which is a description written by the people who maintain it.

Check the current park entry fees and road conditions before visiting either canyon. WA Parks lists Shothole Canyon as suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles only.

What the park charges, and what it doesn't

Cape Range National Park charges standard park entry fees, and a valid park pass covers them. Check the current fee requirements for each area you plan to visit.

Campgrounds in the wider Ningaloo Coast area have been closed for repair after weather damage, so the alerts page is not optional reading before a park day. A closed campground can turn a two-night plan into one long drive.

Sealed side, unsealed side

The decision is made in town, not at the gate

There is no road surface switch you can flip halfway up the cape. Whatever you drive out of Exmouth is what you have at the crossing and at the canyon turn-offs, and the nearest place to change your mind is back in town.

If you plan to travel past Yardie Creek or visit the canyons, check current road conditions, vehicle suitability and rental terms before leaving town. WA Parks specifies a four-wheel drive for Shothole Canyon.