Snapshot
| Where | Great Southern, Western Australia — about 415km / 4.5 hours south-east of Perth via Albany Highway · Roughly 10km / 20 minutes south of Albany along Frenchman Bay Road · About 24km from Albany Airport |
|---|---|
| Getting there | Sealed road the whole way — Frenchman Bay Road runs south from Albany around the western edge of Princess Royal Harbour · Every road in the park is sealed and suitable for 2WD vehicles, with no unsealed sections and no 4WD required anywhere |
| Best time | May–October — humpback and southern right whales pass the cliffs, with the peak window from late May to early October, and the South West wildflower season runs July–November with granite banksias flowering at Stony Hill |
| Worst time | December–February — the hottest and driest stretch, with mean daily maxima around 22°C at Albany and only 25mm of rain in December; the rock platforms and ridge tracks are unshaded, and extreme fire danger days rule out the long walks |
| Time needed | 1–2 days — half a day covers The Gap, Natural Bridge, the Blowholes and Stony Hill; Peak Head needs most of a day and the Bald Head Walk Trail a full one |
| Cost | $17 per vehicle standard entry ($10 concession) · $8 per person in vehicles carrying more than 12 occupants ($3.50 concession) · $10 per motorcycle · Walkers and cyclists enter free · No camping in the park |
| Facilities | Toilets at The Gap and an accessible toilet at the Bald Head car park, with picnic facilities and interpretation at Bald Head, Misery Beach and Stony Hill · No drinking water on the walking tracks and no campground in the park · Fuel and supplies at Little Grove (Shell, about 10km from The Gap) and in Albany · Mobile coverage is not documented in park sources, so assume gaps on the peninsula |
| Best for | Day trippers from Albany who want world-class lookouts without a hike · Coast walkers after the Bald Head ridge · Whale watchers between May and October |
| Difficulty |
3 of 5 — Challenging
The Gap and Natural Bridge walk is Class 1 and wheelchair accessible, but Peak Head and the Bald Head Walk Trail are Class 4 with scrambling, rough surfaces and limited signage — and the coastline itself has killed people, so wave and rock-platform danger is the real hazard here. |
Driving there? Car hire and what to check →
Torndirrup National Park covers 3,936 hectares of the Vancouver Peninsula, a granite and gneiss headland that once lay against Antarctica as part of Gondwana. Its rocks formed under heat and pressure between 1,300 and 1,600 million years ago, and the joints that cracked as they cooled have been opened by the Southern Ocean ever since: The Gap is a channel left where a stack of granite blocks was swept away, Natural Bridge is an arch left standing while the rock around it eroded, and at the Blowholes seawater is driven up a vertical joint in the platform. This is Menang country — the Menang people are the Traditional Owners of the park — and visitors are asked to leave rocks and plants undisturbed. People have died on this coast after slipping or being washed off the rocks by large waves and gusting winds, so you stay behind the barriers and off the rock platforms.
People come for the platforms at The Gap and Natural Bridge, at the edge of granite cliffs about 40 metres high on a 500m walk — and for the 12.5km Bald Head Walk Trail out the Flinders Peninsula.
Go if…
- You want dramatic sea-cliff scenery with almost no walking — The Gap and Natural Bridge are a 500m flat, wheelchair-accessible return
- You are based in Albany and want half a day or a full day outside town, since the park starts 10km south of the centre
- You are a confident day walker after the Bald Head ridge (12.5km return, Grade 4) or the shorter Peak Head Track (4.8km return)
- You are travelling the south coast between May and October and want to watch whales pass close under the cliffs
Skip it if…
- You want to camp in the park — there are no campgrounds and camping is not permitted anywhere inside the boundary
- You have children who will not stay behind barriers — this coast has killed people who went onto the rocks, and the platforms are unforgiving
- You want sheltered ocean swimming as your main activity — Cable Beach and Salmon Holes are treacherous, and only Misery Beach is genuinely sheltered
- You are planning ridge walks in heavy winter rain or on extreme fire danger days — the granite is slippery when wet and the Bald Head and Peak Head tracks are fully exposed
What to expect
Reviewed
You reach the park on sealed road, 10km south of Albany along Frenchman Bay Road, which runs around the western edge of Princess Royal Harbour with the Albany Wind Farm just outside the park boundary. Every road in the park is sealed and suitable for a 2WD, and recent car park and road work added 76 parking bays, nine long-vehicle bays and five accessible bays across The Gap, Bald Head, Misery Beach and Stony Hill, so arrival is straightforward even in a campervan. You pay the $17 vehicle entry fee on arrival — by card at an automated pay station, cash or card where an entry station operates, or cash by self-registration envelope where none does. From The Gap car park the walk to the lookouts is 500m return on a flat hardened surface with no steps, rated Class 1 and suitable for unassisted wheelchair users and prams; DBCA asks you to allow 45 minutes. The viewing platform projects about 10 metres past the cliff edge and stands roughly 40 metres above the swell, with the Natural Bridge arch a few steps further along. Both are fenced, and the fences are the only thing between you and a coast that has killed people who slipped or were swept off by large waves, gusting winds and extra-large swells.
The Blowholes Trail runs 1.6km return to a rock platform where seawater is forced up a vertical joint in the granite and sprayed well above sea level when the swell is running; the park counts 78 steps on the track and warns that the walk back is all uphill. The effect depends entirely on the ocean — on a small swell you hear water moving under the rock and see wet stone, on a big one the spray goes up in a burst. Nearby, Cable Beach has a long timber staircase down to the sand and a reputation for rough, treacherous waves, and the Jimmy Newells lookout is a 100m walk from its car park to a sheltered cove that looks nothing like the open coast on the other side of the peninsula.
Behind the coastal strip the park rises to Stony Hill, its highest point, where a 500m loop takes about 15 minutes over granite and gives 360-degree views across the park to Peak Head and the Southern Ocean; Trails WA grades it Class 3 and DBCA has added a 72m all-access concrete walkway to the upgraded loop. The Sharp Point Walk Trail is a 250m loop with views back to The Gap and out to the Albany Wind Farm. Two harder walks start from the southern side of the park. The Peak Head Track is 4.8km return, two to three hours, Class 4, climbing through sandy coastal scrub and over granite walls to rounded cliffs at the peninsula's southernmost peak. The Bald Head Walk Trail is the big one: 12.5km return along the spine of the Flinders Peninsula, six to eight hours, Grade 4, over Isthmus Hill and Limestone Head to Bald Head, where the Southern Ocean meets King George Sound. The surface is rough, there is rock hopping and limited signage, and DBCA is blunt about the return — do not go back via the beaches, where unseen hazards wait in and under the surf, and finish the walk in daylight.
Between May and early October, humpback and southern right whales pass close enough to the cliffs to watch from the lookouts with binoculars, and the park's recorded wildlife runs from flesh-footed shearwaters and great-winged petrels offshore to honeyeaters, fairy-wrens and quendas in the heath, with western grey kangaroos in the scrub. Spring brings the granite heath into flower, including rare granite banksias at Stony Hill and cut-leaf banksia around Salmon Holes. The Menang people are the Traditional Owners of this country, and the peninsula's more recent history is whaling — Albany's Historic Whaling Station at Discovery Bay, on the Frenchman Bay side of the park, is where a shore-based whaling fleet worked into the twentieth century, and the museum there tells that story. Leave rocks and plants where they are, take your rubbish out, and read the hazard signs as instructions rather than commentary.
Where to stay
People base in Albany, 10km north, which carries the region's full range of motels, holiday parks and caravan parks; the closest beds to the park are the caravan parks at Big Grove, minutes from the boundary.
When bookings open: There is no camping in Torndirrup National Park, so nothing inside the park is bookable — the park brochure points campers to the limited sites at Shelley Beach in West Cape Howe National Park, and most WA campgrounds are not bookable online. Albany's holiday parks are small and fill during the June–October whale season and school holidays, so book ahead. Official booking page. Checked 10 November 2026. Booking dates for every state.
| Stay | Guest rating | Best for | Distance | Style | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panorama Caravan Park | Not rated | The closest beds to the park — 3km from the boundary, so the drive to The Gap takes minutes, not half an hour | 71 Panorama Road, Big Grove — 3km from Torndirrup National Park | Nature-based powered and unpowered caravan and camping sites with full hook-ups, Wi-Fi, kitchen facilities and pets allowed | Check rates |
| BIG4 Middleton Beach Holiday Park | 4.7 / 5 (685 reviews, Tripadvisor) | Families who want the beach at the door and Albany's restaurants a short drive away | 28 Flinders Parade, Albany — 10.9km from The Gap and Natural Bridge | Beachfront holiday park with cabins and powered sites, outdoor pools, a playground, barbecue area and games room | Check rates |
| BIG4 Emu Beach Holiday Park | 4.6 / 5 (926 reviews, Tripadvisor) | A quieter beach base at Emu Point with room for caravans and campervans | 8 Medcalf Parade, Albany — 13.8km from The Gap and Natural Bridge, at Emu Point | Caravan and holiday park with cabins and sites, about 12km from Albany's town centre | Check rates |
| Tasman Holiday Parks – Albany | Not rated | A central Albany base with a pool and tennis court for wet-weather days | 22 Wellington Street, Albany — in town, north of the park | Caravan park with warmly furnished cabins, an outdoor pool, tennis court and barbecue area, with kitchens in all rooms | Check rates |
| Dolphin Lodge Albany | 4.1 / 5 (219 reviews, Tripadvisor) | Self-contained apartments with kitchens, for walkers who want to cook and start early | 32 Adelaide Crescent, Albany — central Albany | Colourful apartments, houses and villas with a fitness room, barbecue area and playground | Check rates |
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What to do here
7 walks & sights
The Gap and Natural Bridge lookouts
A flat, hardened path from The Gap car park to the park's two signature landforms — a granite channel where waves surge through cliffs about 40 metres high, and a rock arch left standing while the rock around it eroded. The viewing platform projects about 10 metres past the cliff edge. The walk needs no fitness at all, but the barriers are the point: large waves, gusting winds and extra-large swells have killed people on this coast, so stay behind the railings and off the rock.
Blowholes Trail
The Blowholes Trail runs 1.6km return to a rock platform where seawater is forced up a vertical joint in the granite and sprayed well above sea level when the swell is running. The park counts 78 steps on the track and is upfront that the walk back is all uphill, so allow more time for the return than the outward leg suggests. What you get depends on the ocean: on a small swell you hear water moving under the platform and see wet rock, and on a big swell the spray goes up in a burst that carries a long way. This is not a place to climb onto the platform for a closer look — the same swells that make the Blowholes work have swept people from rocks like these all along the Torndirrup coast, so watch from the designated area, keep children close and treat every wave as if a bigger one is behind it.
Misery Beach
A small, secluded beach on the sheltered side of the peninsula, with granite slopes behind it and surf gentler than the open coast. DBCA has added a viewing deck with seating and a staircase down to the sand via a link path from the car park. Swimming, snorkelling, surfing and beach fishing are all on the list here, which is more than can be said for most of this coastline.
Stony Hill (Kadadjini) and the Sharp Point Walk Trail
Stony Hill is the highest point in the park, and its 500m loop gives 360-degree views over Torndirrup to Peak Head and the Southern Ocean. Trails WA grades it Class 3, and DBCA has upgraded the loop with a 72m all-access concrete walkway alongside new picnic facilities and interpretation. The Sharp Point Walk Trail is a 250m loop with views back to The Gap and out to the Albany Wind Farm, and rare granite banksias flower through the heath here.
Salmon Holes and the Jimmy Newells lookout
Salmon Holes gives one of the most photographed views on the peninsula, looking down on a beautiful beach that is also one of the most treacherous. DBCA calls rock fishing here extremely dangerous and not recommended, advises beach fishing instead, and says any rock fisher should wear a personal flotation device and consider carrying a PLB. Jimmy Newells is the counterpoint: a sheltered cove seen from a lookout 100m from the car park. Both are places to look from the top, not to climb down.
Bald Head Walk Trail
The park's big day walk follows the spine of the Flinders Peninsula, out over Isthmus Hill and Limestone Head to Bald Head, where King George Sound meets the Southern Ocean. It is 12.5km return and the park allows six to eight hours, which tells you how slow the ground is: rough surfaces, steep sections, rock hopping and limited signage, graded Grade 4 for people with bushwalking experience. The ridge is exposed in every direction, so wind matters as much as distance and the heath offers no shade. DBCA is blunt about the return — do not attempt to come back via the beaches, where unseen hazards sit in and under the surf — and the walk should be finished in daylight.
Peak Head Track
A sandy track through coastal scrub to Peak Head, the southernmost peak of the Torndirrup Peninsula, ending on rounded cliffs above the Southern Ocean. Trails WA grades it Class 4 and notes scrambling and small granite walls along the way; the trailhead is on Stony Hill Track Road, a 15-minute drive from Albany. It is the shorter of the park's two hard walks and the better choice when the Bald Head ridge looks too long.
Torndirrup National Park itineraries: 1, 2 or 3 days
3 plans
One day: the lookouts and the Blowholes
- Morning. Drive the 10km south from Albany on Frenchman Bay Road and start at The Gap: a 500m return walk on a flat hardened surface, about 45 minutes, to the viewing platform at the cliff edge and the Natural Bridge arch next to it. Stay behind the barriers — this coast has a record of deaths from people swept off the rocks by large waves.
- Midday. The Blowholes Trail, 1.6km return with 78 steps, where seawater is driven up a vertical joint in the rock platform when the swell is running. The walk back is all uphill, so take it slowly.
- Afternoon. Stony Hill for the 500m loop — about 15 minutes, Class 3, with 360-degree views over the park to Peak Head and the Southern Ocean — then Misery Beach by the new staircase and viewing deck before driving back to Albany.
No nights — camping is not permitted in the park and Albany is 10km north. Walking is the 500m Gap return, the 1.6km Blowholes return and the 500m Stony Hill loop. Vehicle entry is $17 per day ($10 concession), paid on arrival; there is no drinking water on the tracks, so carry your own, and fuel at Little Grove or Albany before you start. Keep behind barriers and off the rock platforms everywhere in the park.
Two days: Peak Head and a night in Albany
- Day 1, morning. The Gap and Natural Bridge (500m return, about 45 minutes, Class 1), then the Blowholes Trail — 1.6km return with 78 steps and an uphill walk back.
- Day 1, afternoon. The 500m Stony Hill loop and the 250m Sharp Point Walk Trail for views back to The Gap and out to the Albany Wind Farm, then Misery Beach, and a night in Albany.
- Day 2. The Peak Head Track from the car park off Stony Hill Track Road — 4.8km return, 2–3 hours, Class 4, with scrambling over granite and small granite walls to the rounded cliffs at the peninsula's southernmost peak.
One night in Albany, 10km north of the park. Day 1 covers the 500m Gap return, the 1.6km Blowholes return and the 500m Stony Hill loop; day 2 is the 4.8km Peak Head return, 2–3 hours. Entry is $17 per vehicle per day ($10 concession) and walkers enter free; carry drinking water for every walk and treat extreme fire danger days as a reason to skip the ridge walks and stay with the lookouts.
Three days: Bald Head and the whale coast
- Day 1. The Gap and Natural Bridge (500m return, about 45 minutes), the Blowholes Trail (1.6km return), the 500m Stony Hill loop and Misery Beach — the same easy first day as the one-day plan.
- Day 2. The 250m Sharp Point loop in the morning, then the Peak Head Track — 4.8km return, 2–3 hours, Class 4 — with the afternoon free for Salmon Holes and the Jimmy Newells lookout, a 100m walk from its car park.
- Day 3. The Bald Head Walk Trail at first light — 12.5km return, six to eight hours, Grade 4, over Isthmus Hill and Limestone Head along the Flinders Peninsula ridge. Carry water, food and a warm layer, finish in daylight, and do not attempt to return via the beaches.
Two nights in Albany. Day 1 is the 500m Gap return and the 1.6km Blowholes return, day 2 the 4.8km Peak Head return, and day 3 the 12.5km Bald Head return. Entry is $17 per vehicle per day ($10 concession), there is no camping in the park and no drinking water on the tracks, so book your beds in Albany before you leave home and carry 1 litre of water per person per hour on the ridge walks. Check the DBCA alerts page the morning you walk Bald Head.
Experiences worth booking
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Suggested gear for Torndirrup National Park
18 items
- Water bottles or a hydration bladder Carry at least 2 litres per person on the walks.
- Water treatment tablets or a filter Treat creek and camping-area water before drinking.
- Sun hat, sunscreen (SPF 50+) and sunglasses
- Sturdy, broken-in walking shoes or boots
- Day pack (20–30 L)
- First aid kit, including blister care
- Insect repellent
- Head torch with spare batteries
- Lightweight rain jacket
- Personal locator beacon Mobile coverage is unreliable in remote parks.
- A warm, windproof layer you can put on one-handed The headlands and the Bald Head ridge are exposed to gusting winds, and wind chill on the ridge can sit well below the temperature in the car park.
- Water capacity for at least 1 litre per person per hour of walking There is no drinking water on the walking tracks, and the Bald Head Walk Trail runs six to eight hours with no shade and nowhere to refill.
- Shoes with soft, grippy rubber soles The granite on the Peak Head and Bald Head tracks becomes genuinely slippery when wet, and rock hopping is part of both walks.
- Binoculars for whales and seabirds Humpback and southern right whales pass close under the cliffs from late May to early October, and shearwaters and petrels work the offshore waters much of the year.
- A personal flotation device if you intend to fish DBCA calls rock fishing on this coast extremely dangerous, recommends beach fishing instead, and says fishers should wear a PFD and consider carrying a PLB.
- Gaiters or long socks for the sandy sections The Peak Head Track climbs through sandy coastal scrub and the Bald Head ridge is heath-fringed, both of which fill your socks with grit and seeds.
- A camera or phone tether or wrist strap Gusting winds on the viewing platforms and the ridge have taken phones and hats off people at exactly the wrong moment on this coast.
- Offline maps and the park notes saved before you leave Albany Mobile coverage is not documented in any park source for the peninsula, so assume gaps and plan the Bald Head and Peak Head navigation in advance.
How this compares
Torndirrup National Park vs Porongurup National Park
Porongurup, 40 minutes north of Albany, is the inland version of the same granite story — domes, a steel skywalk bolted to Castle Rock and an outlier of karri forest instead of open ocean. The walks there are shorter and steeper, and every one of them ends on rock rather than a railing. Choose Porongurup for granite summit scrambles and forest; choose Torndirrup for sea cliffs, whales and lookouts you can reach without a climb.
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — Challenging
- Access
- Sealed roads from Albany, about 40 minutes north; all park roads 2WD-suitable; no camping inside the park
- Best for
- Granite summit scrambles · karri forest · spring orchids
Torndirrup National Park vs Stirling Range National Park
Stirling Range, roughly an hour and a half north, trades the coast for real mountains — Bluff Knoll at 1,098m, alpine weather that turns without warning and mountain wildflowers on the summits. The walking there is longer, steeper and colder, and the park has a campground inside the boundary. Choose Stirling Range for peak-bagging and mountain bells; choose Torndirrup for dramatic coastline and a bed 10km away in Albany.
- Difficulty
- 4 of 5 — Demanding
- Access
- Sealed roads from Albany via Mount Barker; Stirling Range Drive is mostly unsealed graded road; a campground inside the park
- Best for
- Peak-bagging · Bluff Knoll · mountain wildflowers
Torndirrup National Park vs Fitzgerald River National Park
Fitzgerald River, about two hours east toward Esperance, is the quieter, more botanical coast — one of Australia's most species-rich parks, with Point Ann, sheltered bays and low-key coastal walking. It is wildflower country at sea level, and its inland roads are unsealed and can close after rain. Choose Fitzgerald River for coastal botany and empty beaches; choose Torndirrup for granite sea cliffs, accessible platforms and a 20-minute drive from town.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5 — Moderate
- Access
- Sealed roads from Albany toward Esperance; unsealed park roads inland that can close after rain
- Best for
- Coastal wildflowers · Point Ann · a quieter coast
Before you go
- Vehicle entry is $17 per day ($10 concession), $8 per person in vehicles carrying more than 12 occupants ($3.50 concession) and $10 for a motorcycle — paid on arrival by card at an automated pay station, cash or card at an entry station, or cash by self-registration envelope where no staff are on duty
- Walkers and cyclists enter free and a valid park pass covers entry; a day receipt can be upgraded to an annual or holiday pass at a Parks and Wildlife office within 7 days
- There is no camping in the park. The park brochure points campers to the limited sites at Shelley Beach in West Cape Howe National Park, or book a bed in Albany, 10km north
- Carry drinking water for every walk — there is none on the tracks. Allow 1 litre per person per hour on the Bald Head and Peak Head routes
- Stay behind barriers and off the rock platforms at The Gap, Natural Bridge, the Blowholes, Cable Beach and Salmon Holes. Large waves, gusting winds and extra-large swells have killed people on this coast — never turn your back on the sea
- Rock fishing is extremely dangerous and not recommended. Fish from the beach instead, wear a personal flotation device if you fish at all, and consider carrying a PLB
- Dogs and other pets are not permitted in the park, and rocks and plants are to be left where they are
- Fuel and groceries at Little Grove (Shell, about 10km from The Gap) and in Albany. Check the DBCA alerts page and Emergency WA the morning you go, and on the Bald Head Walk Trail do not return via the beaches and finish in daylight
When to go
seasons & the hard months
The window that matters here is May to October. Humpback and southern right whales pass the cliffs through that stretch — the park's own journal puts the peak from late May to early October — and the winter swell makes the Blowholes and the chasm at The Gap work at full power. The South West wildflower season runs July to November, and the granite heath at Stony Hill and around Salmon Holes puts out rare granite banksias and cut-leaf banksia through spring. Autumn, March to May, is the comfortable middle: mean daily maxima at Albany sit between about 19°C and 22°C, the summer crowds are gone and the ridge walking is at its most pleasant. Sightings of whales are never guaranteed, so treat them as a bonus on top of the geology.
December to February is the hard stretch. It is the driest quarter — December averages about 25mm of rain — and the hottest, with mean daily maxima around 22°C at Albany and no shade anywhere on the rock platforms, the Blowholes trail or the ridges. Extreme fire danger days are common enough to plan around, and walking long exposed tracks on them is a poor idea. Winter, June to August, brings about 147mm of rain in July, cold wind across the Bald Head ridge and granite that is slippery for days after rain; the days are short, and the Class 4 walks become genuinely harder. Whatever the month, the swell decides the day: a big swell makes the Blowholes and makes every rock platform in the park dangerous at the same time.
Questions
6 answers
Half a day covers the main sites — the 500m return to The Gap and Natural Bridge (about 45 minutes), the 1.6km Blowholes return, the 500m Stony Hill loop and Misery Beach. Add most of a day for the Peak Head Track (4.8km return, 2–3 hours) and a full day for the Bald Head Walk Trail (12.5km return, 6–8 hours).
Vehicle entry is $17 standard or $10 concession per day, $8 per person ($3.50 concession) in vehicles carrying more than 12 occupants, and $10 for a motorcycle. Walkers and cyclists enter free, a valid park pass covers entry, and one entry fee covers vehicle entry to one or more parks on the same day.
From the cliffs between May and October, with the peak window from late May to early October. Humpback and southern right whales both pass this coast, sometimes close under the lookouts, but sightings are never guaranteed — bring binoculars and give it time.
Misery Beach is the sheltered option — a small north-facing beach with a new staircase and viewing deck, used for swimming, snorkelling and surfing. Treat the rest of the coast as look-only: Cable Beach and Salmon Holes have rough, treacherous waves and a record of people being washed from the rocks.
The Gap and Natural Bridge walk is a 500m return on a flat hardened surface with no steps, rated Class 1 and suitable for unassisted wheelchair users and prams. DBCA has also added an accessible toilet at the Bald Head car park and a 72m all-access concrete walkway at Stony Hill, though the Stony Hill loop itself has short steep sections and steps.
No to both. Camping is not permitted anywhere in Torndirrup National Park, so stay in Albany or at the caravan park at Big Grove; the park brochure points campers to the limited sites at Shelley Beach in West Cape Howe National Park. Dogs and other pets are not permitted in the park at all.
Nearby & next
Official information
Always check current alerts before you travel.