Wildflowers on the way to the Pinnacles

When is wildflower season at the Pinnacles?

Roughly July to early October on the Coral Coast, and August to October inside Nambung National Park. This year the first blooms came early.

Australia's Coral Coast gives the main season as July to early October. The colour starts around Exmouth in early July and works south through the Mid West, reaching Nambung and the Pinnacles in spring. DBCA's Nambung park page says August to October. Both bodies say the same thing about timing: it moves with winter rain.

In 2026 the rain came early. The Grey Nomads reported in July that unexpected rainfall had brought the season forward on the Coral Coast, and by mid September Time Out called it well underway. An early start usually means an early finish. For a trip in the next few weeks, expect scattered colour, not carpets.

What is still flowering near the Pinnacles in late October 2026?

Lesueur National Park is the best bet. Its 2 October report listed pom pom honey myrtle, sickle-leaved coneflower, blue lechenaultia, conestick, fringe lily and rice flowers.

Those come from the Coral Coast's Wildflower Watch updates, where locals post what they find. The last Nambung report dates from 16 July: parrot bush (Banksia sessilis) near the muster sign and along the loop drive, and snake bush (Hemiandra pungens) towards the south end of the loop. DBCA also lists wattles and blue tinsel lilies for the park. Look past the pillars, at the scrub beside the track.

The late-season star is a tree. The WA Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda) flowers from October to January, says the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council, with vivid yellow-orange crowns on sandy soils from Kalbarri to Esperance. It is a root parasite, the largest in the world, tapping host plants up to 110 metres away. In November it is the brightest thing on the road north.

Where are the best wildflowers near the Pinnacles?

Lesueur National Park, 20 km from Jurien Bay, with more than 900 plant species. Badgingarra National Park on the Brand Highway is free to enter and known for kangaroo paws.

DBCA's Lesueur feature counts more than 900 species, 111 of them found nowhere else, which is about a tenth of all WA's known plants. An 18.5 km one-way sealed loop starts from Cockleshell Gully Road, with pull-over bays beside the flowers and the 4 km return Lesueur Walk Trail. Use the boot-cleaning stations: dieback is a real threat here.

Badgingarra National Park sits on the Brand Highway, the inland road back to Perth. DBCA lists yellow and black kangaroo paws, grass trees, banksias, smokebush and the mottlecah, which has the largest flower of any eucalypt. The 6.6 km Iain Wilson Nature Trail flowers from June to October. Take great care crossing the highway on foot.

Rules everywhere: picking is illegal, with fines up to A$2,000, stay on tracks, and keep out of farm paddocks, canola included.

Which Pinnacles tours pass the wildflowers?

The sunset tour. Its listing stops at Nilgen Lookout in seasonal wildflower country on Indian Ocean Drive. None of the Perth day tours goes into Lesueur.

The sunset and stargazing tour runs up the coast: Lancelin, Nilgen Lookout, Hangover Bay, then the pillars for the last light. It is the one day tour whose listing names wildflower country (Nilgen Nature Reserve) as a stop. The lobster tour is the budget pick: Yanchep, Lake Thetis and the Pinnacles, with the Lobster Shack lunch at your own cost.

For a real flower day, drive yourself. Go up Indian Ocean Drive, walk the Pinnacles, carry on to Lesueur, and come home down the Brand Highway past Badgingarra. It is a long day and one park fee covers both paid parks. Our day trip guide has the driving times.

What can you do if you miss the wildflower season?

Look for WA Christmas trees from now to January, walk Kings Park in Perth, or head south, where spring runs into November. Then plan July to early October next year.

Tourism WA puts more than 3,000 wildflower species in Kings Park, with free volunteer-guided walks twice a day. Time Out's routes to Esperance and the South West, through Fitzgerald River and the Porongurup, list September to November as their best months.

At the Pinnacles themselves, the flowers were only ever a side dish. Outside spring, the reason to go is the light: long shadows at sunset, then the stars, weather permitting. Our sunset and stars guide covers that, and summer has its own post. For 2027, bookmark the Coral Coast's Wildflower Watch from July.

Reach the pillars for the last light, with a picnic dinner and a telescope after dark. The listing's route runs up Indian Ocean Drive.

★ 4.7 · 9 hours · from $139

Explore the sunset and stargazing tour → Tour details

Frequently asked questions