Two lighthouses. One ancient coastal ridge. Around 125 kilometres of beaches, sea cliffs, hidden valleys, caves, forest and some of the wildest ocean views in Western Australia.
The Cape to Cape Track stretches between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin through Wadandi and Pibulmun Country in the Margaret River Region. It is a journey shaped by salt, wind, limestone, granite, forest, rivers and the people who have cared for and travelled through this landscape across countless generations.
It is also a trail of constant surprises. One moment you are moving through low coastal heath with the Indian Ocean filling the horizon. The next, you are picking your way across ancient granite, descending into a peppermint-shaded creek or walking beneath the smooth pale trunks of towering karri trees. No kilometre feels quite like the one before it.
You can walk the Cape to Cape with everything you need on your back. You can return to a comfortable bed each evening. You can complete it end to end, collect it in sections or simply choose a few unforgettable highlights. However you approach it, this Cape to Cape Track guide will help you plan a trip that stays with you.
The track follows the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Ridge along the far south-west coast of Western Australia, approximately three hours south of Perth.
Its northern end sits beside Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse near Dunsborough. From there, the route travels south through or near Yallingup, Smiths Beach, Injidup, Gracetown, Ellensbrook, Prevelly, Redgate, Contos, Boranup Forest, Hamelin Bay and Deepdene before finishing at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse near Augusta.
Most of the journey lies within Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Although the track passes several settlements and popular visitor sites, long sections retain a wonderfully remote feeling. Road access is often surprisingly close, yet hidden by dunes, heath or forest.
That balance is one of the trail’s strengths: wild landscapes, supported by enough access points to make day walks, section hiking and vehicle-supported itineraries possible.
You may have seen the Cape to Cape Track distance described as 123km, 124km, 125km, 130km or even 135km. So which number is correct?
The most honest answer is: it depends on what is being measured. Current sources do not all use the same figure:
This does not necessarily mean anyone has measured it badly. Long-distance trails are living routes.
Track realignments.
Sections may be moved to manage erosion, protect sensitive environments, improve safety or respond to fire and storm damage. A newer digital route may therefore differ from an older guidebook.
Seasonal diversions.
River mouths and coastal crossings can change with rainfall, sandbars and ocean conditions. The Margaret River mouth is a well-known example. When it cannot be crossed safely, walkers must use the signed inland diversion, adding distance.
Where the measurement starts and stops.
One source may measure strictly between official trail markers. Another may include access walks to accommodation, campsites, lunch points or vehicle pick-ups.
GPS variation.
Consumer GPS devices and phone apps rarely produce identical totals. Signal drift, recording intervals, pauses and small movements can add or remove kilometres.
Side trips and highlights.
Lookouts, waterfalls, campsites, beaches and facilities are sometimes a short distance off the main line. Those worthwhile detours count beneath your boots, even if they are not included in the official track length.
Many long-distance trails are defined by one landscape. The Cape to Cape refuses to choose.
Across a single journey, you encounter:
The experience changes not only from day to day, but often within the hour.
It is challenging without requiring high-altitude mountaineering. Its difficulty comes from accumulation: soft sand, repeated undulations, exposed coastline, rough limestone, weather, long days and the need to keep moving after tired legs begin negotiating with your brain.
Then there are the rewards.
Whales may travel the coast during migration seasons. Dolphins can appear below the cliffs. Kangaroos, emus, reptiles and an enormous variety of birds inhabit the park. In spring, the coastal heath and forest erupt with orchids and native flowers.
It is a trail where geology, ecology, culture and human history remain visible all around you.
The Cape to Cape Track crosses Wadandi and Pibulmun Boodja—Country that holds deep cultural meaning and has been cared for by Noongar people for tens of thousands of years.
Wadandi people are Saltwater People, connected to both land and sea. The coastline, freshwater places, caves, plants, animals, seasons and travel routes are not separate attractions. They form an interconnected cultural landscape.
Noongar relationships with Boodja are expressed through lore, language, family, story, seasonal movement and responsibilities to care for Country. Places along the modern track existed within these systems of knowledge and connection long before they appeared on recreational maps.
The region’s caves are particularly significant. Archaeological evidence at Devil’s Lair demonstrates Aboriginal occupation of the South West extending back at least 40,000 years, while Traditional knowledge speaks to a much deeper and continuing relationship with Country.
Mokidup, now commonly known as Ellensbrook, was an important Noongar place before the construction of the homestead. Nearby Meekadarribee is a culturally significant place associated with Wadandi story and freshwater.
Walking respectfully means understanding that we are visitors.
The Undalup Association shares Wadandi culture, history and Caring for Country knowledge with the broader community. Its work is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding before visiting.
European names across the region reflect a period of maritime exploration, colonisation, settlement and industry that profoundly changed Wadandi and Pibulmun Country.
In 1801, French navigator Nicolas Baudin charted parts of the coast during a scientific expedition aboard Le Géographe and Le Naturaliste. Cape Naturaliste and Geographe Bay were named after the expedition’s ships.
Cape Leeuwin carries an earlier Dutch connection. The name Leeuwin is associated with the Dutch vessel Leeuwin, which visited the south-west coast in 1622.
These European names sit over a much older Aboriginal cultural geography.
European settlers arrived at Augusta in 1830. In the following year, a party of settlers travelled north on foot towards the Swan River, moving between beaches and inland ridges. Their journey is sometimes compared with the modern Cape to Cape route, although their purpose, experience and relationship with Country were entirely different.
Colonisation brought land dispossession, conflict, introduced industries and lasting disruption to Noongar life. Any account of regional settlement history should acknowledge both the buildings and industries that remain visible and the impacts that made them possible.
The late nineteenth century brought expanding pastoral activity and a major timber industry. Maurice Coleman Davies established mills, railways and ports that exported local hardwoods.
Hamelin Bay became a busy timber port. A long jetty and timber railway once extended into the bay; today, weathered piles remain in the water as reminders of the settlement and the dangerous maritime conditions that eventually undermined the port.
Ellensbrook Homestead at Mokidup was constructed for Ellen and Alfred Bussell from the mid-1850s using local materials and labour that included Wadandi people, Bussell servants and ticket-of-leave workers. The place has layered Aboriginal and colonial histories that should be understood together, rather than presenting the homestead as the beginning of the site’s story.
Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse was constructed during the 1890s and officially lit in 1896. Rising above one of Australia’s most exposed headlands, it became a vital navigational aid for vessels travelling around the south-west corner of the continent.
The nearby water wheel was built to pump fresh spring water towards the lighthouse precinct. Calcium-rich water gradually coated the structure, creating the heavily calcified landmark visible today.
Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse followed in 1903. Built from locally quarried limestone, it improved maritime safety around Geographe Bay and the rugged northern cape.
Together, the lighthouses now create one of Australia’s most satisfying long-distance trail narratives: leave one beacon behind, follow the coast and finish beneath the other.
The modern walking track began taking shape in the late 1980s, supported by government funding and the efforts of local advocates.
The Friends of the Cape to Cape Track formed in 1998 and have played an important role in the track’s development, maintenance and community stewardship. The complete route was officially opened in 2001.
Today, Parks and Wildlife Service manages the trail with continuing support from the Friends and volunteers who adopt and care for sections.
The Cape to Cape is a lesson in geology written across the landscape.
Ancient metamorphosed rocks form the deep foundation of the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Ridge. Granite and gneiss appear dramatically at places such as Sugarloaf Rock, Canal Rocks, Wyadup and the southern headlands.
These hard rocks resist erosion, producing rugged platforms, channels, islands and headlands that meet the ocean with enormous force.
Much of the ridge is capped by younger limestone formed from wind-blown coastal sands rich in shell fragments. Rainwater slowly dissolves the limestone, creating a karst landscape of caves, sinkholes, cliffs, overhangs, springs and underground drainage.
More than 150 caves are known along the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Ridge. Ngilgi, Lake, Mammoth and Jewel caves are among those open to visitors, while many others are protected because of their cultural, ecological or scientific significance.
On the trail, limestone can be beautiful and demanding. Expect sharp, irregular surfaces and sections where careful foot placement matters.
The meeting of ancient basement rock, younger limestone, sand dunes, waterways and varied soils creates a narrow mosaic of habitats.
That geological diversity helps explain why the trail moves so quickly between heath, woodland, forest, wetland, cliff and beach—and why the region supports such remarkable biodiversity.
The Cape to Cape sits within south-western Australia, internationally recognised as a biodiversity hotspot because of its exceptional concentration of plants found nowhere else and the threats facing their habitats.
Along the track, vegetation shifts with soil, exposure, fire history, rainfall and distance from the ocean. Look for:
The coast is also an important wildlife corridor. Depending on season and luck, walkers may see migrating humpback and southern right whales, dolphins, Australian sea lions or fur seals offshore, western grey kangaroos, emus, reptiles and many bird species.
Observe wildlife from a respectful distance. Hamelin Bay’s stingrays are wild animals, not a petting attraction: give them space and never feed or pursue them.
The northern trailhead provides a gentle beginning, with lighthouse history and elevated views across Geographe Bay and the Indian Ocean.
The constructed path from Cape Naturaliste towards Sugarloaf provides the track’s most accessible experience and an inviting introduction to the northern coast. Sugarloaf Rock rises dramatically offshore from the ancient granite landscape.
Coastal cliffs, beaches and renowned surf breaks lead towards Yallingup. The name Yallingup comes from Noongar language, a reminder that Aboriginal geography remains present in many regional place names.
This section brings walkers close to the power of the Leeuwin Complex. Canal Rocks—known as Winjee Sam in Noongar language—is a line of granite-gneiss formations divided by channels carved by the sea.
The coast around Injidup combines granite, beaches, vegetation and exposed headlands. Seasonal Quininup Falls offers a delightful inland contrast after winter rain.
Rugged coastline, high viewpoints and a hike-in campsite make Moses Rock an important end-to-end staging point.
The route climbs from the brook towards Wilyabrup’s imposing sea cliffs. The constructed staircase, climbing areas and huge ocean views create one of the track’s signature sections.
After days of open coast, entering Boranup can feel like stepping into another world. Tall karri trees provide shade, scale and a softer forest atmosphere before the trail turns back towards the ocean.
Long beach sections test tired legs. At Hamelin Bay, the remains of the timber jetty recall the former port, while stingrays may glide through the shallows.
The southern track feels wilder. Narrow trails, rocky ledges, blowholes, sea spray and exposed coastline demand concentration and respect for conditions.
Deepdene’s long stretch of soft sand has earned a reputation among end-to-end walkers. The experience changes with tides and sand conditions, but it is rarely forgotten.
The calcified water wheel signals that the finish is close. Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse then appears above the headland—a powerful final landmark after a week of southward walking.
That is the question.
There is no wrong direction, but there are meaningful differences.
North-to-south is the traditional and most popular choice.
Advantages:
Considerations:
South-to-north can be an excellent alternative.
Advantages:
Considerations:
For most first-time end-to-end walkers, north to south offers the most natural progression. It begins gently, builds in challenge and ends with a memorable lighthouse finish.
Direction should still be chosen around season, wind, logistics, group experience and current track conditions—not tradition alone.
Spring is a favourite for wildflowers, active wildlife, flowing waterways and whale migration. Conditions can still include rain, strong wind and high creek levels.
Autumn often offers mild walking temperatures and more settled weather. Water sources may be lower after summer, so water planning remains essential.
Winter brings green landscapes, waterfalls and dramatic skies, but also rain, strong winds, slippery limestone and potentially unsafe river-mouth crossings. Diversions may be necessary.
Summer presents heat, exposed sections, limited natural water and bushfire risk. Long beach stretches and coastal heath offer little shade. Check fire danger ratings, closures and forecasts carefully and reconsider walking during hot or severe conditions.
Always use the Bureau of Meteorology, DBCA Park Alerts and Emergency WA when making a decision. Conditions on an exposed coast can change quickly.
The track is achievable for many prepared hikers, but it should not be underestimated. Its challenge comes from:
A 20km day on firm forest track does not feel like 20km of beach, rock, dunes and coastal undulation.
Training should include back-to-back walking days, hills, stairs, sand and the pack weight you intend to carry. Foot care, fuelling and recovery matter just as much as fitness.
The Cape to Cape is waymarked, but markers can be missed—particularly when leaving beaches or moving through complex coastal terrain.
Carry:
Do not rely on mobile reception. Water tanks are available at some designated campsites, but availability and quality can vary. Treat tank and natural water before drinking and never assume a creek will be flowing.
Before departure, check:
One of the Cape to Cape’s strengths is the variety of ways it can be completed.
Carry your tent, sleep system, cooking equipment, food and other equipment between designated campsites and holiday parks.
The basic hike-in camps have limited facilities. Expect tent sites, a toilet, picnic facilities and rainwater tanks rather than shelters or serviced camp kitchens.
Camping is permitted only in designated areas. Some sites are free while others require fees or bookings.
Stay in one base or move between accommodation and use transfers to access each day’s section. This reduces pack weight and improves recovery, but requires careful logistics.
The many access points make it possible to enjoy the Cape to Cape one section at a time. This is ideal for people who cannot commit to a full week or want to build confidence progressively.
Off The Beaten Track WA offers three very different ways to experience the trail.
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Best for: hikers who want the complete achievement without carrying a heavy overnight pack.
Across seven guided walking days, OTBT covers the full route from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin. Guests carry a light day pack, return to coastal resort accommodation and have transfers, meals and logistics managed.
This option combines the physical and emotional reward of an end-to-end journey with showers, proper beds, regional dining and space to recover each evening.
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Best for: hikers who want immersion, challenge and the satisfaction of carrying their world on their back.
This guided pack-and-camp journey travels end to end over seven walking days. Guests camp at a combination of track campsites and holiday parks, with the option to hire OTBT’s multi-day hiking equipment and add track meals.
It is the most adventurous way to experience the complete trail and a powerful introduction to supported expedition-style hiking.
Best for: people who want a beautiful taste of the track without walking the entire distance.
The three-day experience combines approximately 24km of carefully selected trail sections with beachside resort accommodation, transport from Perth and local food.
Current highlights include the granite landscapes between Smiths Beach and Wyadup, the culturally and historically rich Ellensbrook-to-Prevelly section and the dramatic route from Moses Rock to the Wilyabrup Sea Cliffs.
Groups, families and hikers with specific accessibility or support requirements can contact OTBT to discuss private or adapted Cape to Cape experiences. The right option depends on the trail section, current conditions and individual needs.
Choose Resort End to End if:
Choose Hike and Camp if:
Choose Highlights Weekender if:
The Cape to Cape’s beauty depends on walkers treating it gently.
The Friends of the Cape to Cape Track provide practical ways to support the trail through membership, volunteering and section adoption.
No permit is generally required simply to walk the track. Fees or bookings may apply at certain campgrounds and visitor attractions.
Most end-to-end walkers take six or seven days, while itineraries commonly range from five to eight days. Choose a schedule based on terrain and recovery, not only average kilometres.
Prepared beginners can enjoy selected day walks or supported experiences. A full self-supported end-to-end journey requires training, appropriate equipment and sound judgement.
Many short sections can suit capable young walkers, but an end-to-end itinerary is a major undertaking. Choose sections, distances and conditions around the individual child.
Many short sections can suit capable young walkers, but an end-to-end itinerary is a major undertaking. Choose sections, distances and conditions around the individual child.
No. The track passes through national park where pets are not permitted.
No. The Cape to Cape is a walking track and is not designed for bikes.
The constructed northern section near Cape Naturaliste offers the track’s most accessible experience. Conditions, gradients and exact accessible distance should be checked with the park manager before visiting.
Waterways and river mouths can become unsafe after rain or when sandbars open. The Margaret River mouth is particularly variable. Use signed diversions and never attempt a crossing you cannot assess confidently.
Whales migrate along the coast seasonally, but sightings are never guaranteed. High clifftops provide wonderful opportunities to scan the ocean.
Not at all. The Cape to Cape is equally rewarding as a day walk, weekender or collection of sections completed over time.
The Cape to Cape Track is often described through numbers: kilometres, days, pack weights and lighthouse steps.
But that is not how most people remember it.
They remember the first glimpse of Sugarloaf Rock. The sound of the ocean below Wilyabrup Cliffs. The cool shade of Boranup after days of coastal exposure. The collective groan at another stretch of soft sand. The laughter, the wildflowers, the weather and the moment Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse finally appears.
They remember discovering what their body can do. They remember feeling very small beside a very large ocean. And they remember the people who walked beside them.
Walk it north to south or south to north. Carry your camp or return to a comfortable bed. Complete every kilometre or begin with one beautiful section.
There is no single correct way to experience the Cape to Cape.
There is only the way that helps you connect more deeply—with Country, with nature, with your trail companions and with yourself.
When you are ready, the two lighthouses will be waiting.
