Francois Peron National Park: The Perfect 3 Day 4WD Itinerary

Francois Peron National Park is one of the highlights of Western Australia’s Shark Bay World Heritage Area, famous for the incredible contrast of red sand dunes, white beaches and turquoise water packed with marine life. If you’re reading this, you’re probably exploring the region as part of a bigger road trip between Perth and Exmouth, make sure to check out our full Perth to Exmouth itinerary for all our stops along the Coral Coast.

When is the best time to visit Francois Peron National Park?

May to September is best, when temperatures are much more comfortable for camping, hiking and exploring. July is the coolest month in Shark Bay and is the month when we went, with average nighttime temperatures around 10°C and daytime around 20–25°C. Summer is extremely hot, with temperatures exceeding 40°C!

Do you need a 4WD for Francois Peron National Park?

Yes ! The Peron Heritage Precinct itself can be reached by 2WD, but everything beyond it requires a 4WD. We found the tracks quite beginner-friendly in dry conditions: mostly flat, clear paths from other vehicles that are easy to follow, with only a few sections of deeper sand. Just drop your PSI to ~18-20 and bring some recovery gear just in case. But don’t worry, there is only one real route and during high season you’ll definitely come across other people if you need help.

How long do you need in Francois Peron National Park?

We recommend two nights. You can see the main highlights with just one night, in that case we recommend to drive straight north and stay at Gregories or South Gregories. But two nights gives you enough time to enjoy the park at a more relaxed pace and try another campground (they’re all amazing). f you’ve got three nights you’ll probably spend one simply setting up camp on the beach at Bottle Bay or Herald Bight and do absolutely nothing!

Getting to Francois Peron National Park

Francois Peron sits at the end of the Shark Bay World Heritage peninsula, between Kalbarri and Carnarvon on a Perth to Exmouth road trip. There is no proper fuel or grocery stop on the 130km between the highway and Denham, but there are a few nice stops. The first is Hamelin Pool, famous for its stromatolites (a kind of microbial communities similar to some of the earliest forms of life on Earth). The stromatolite boardwalk has unfortunately remained closed since it was damaged by Cyclone Seroja in 2021, but you can still walk the Boolagoorda Trail past the old telegraph line and the historic shell-block quarry. The compacted shells here form a stone, which was once cut into building blocks and used for several of Denham’s historic buildings! Around 40 minutes further, stop at Shell Beach, an incredible shoreline made from trillions of tiny cockle shells rather than sand. The shells stretch for more than 70km and are several metres deep in places, and the clear, hypersaline water makes it a beautiful place to stretch your legs before continuing toward Denham.

Before reaching Denham, there are four beautiful 2WD-accessible coastal campsites at Goulet Bluff, Whalebone, Fowler’s Camp and Eagle Bluff Lagoon. They have no facilities and stays are limited to one night across the four sites, but the locations are incredible. We stayed at Eagle Bluff Lagoon, site 2, which was one of our favourite campsites of the entire Perth to Exmouth trip. Nearby Eagle Bluff has a 300m boardwalk high above the water, where you can often spot sharks, rays, turtles and other wildlife cruising through the shallows below.

From those campsites, Denham is only ~15 minutes away. Make sure to fill up with fuel, stock up at the IGA, and carry enough drinking water, food and supplies for your stay because there is no fresh water, fuel or shop inside Francois Peron. If you have time, Little Lagoon is an easy 2WD-accessible introduction to the scenery you’re about to find further north. Monkey Mia is another popular detour for its wild dolphin experience; we skipped it because we generally prefer wildlife encounters that don’t revolve around feeding, but if you’ve never seen dolphins up close it may still be worth doing!

Peron Heritage Precinct & Big Lagoon

From Denham, it’s only a short drive to the park entrance and Peron Heritage Precinct, the last point accessible without a 4WD. Before continuing, stop at the entry station, check the latest track conditions and lower your tyre pressure. Make sure you’ve also paid the park entry fee or have a valid WA Parks Pass. The Heritage Precinct has an easy 500m Station Life Trail through the old shearing sheds, shearers’ quarters, stockyards and windmills to see what life was like when Peron operated as a remote pastoral station. There is also an artesian hot tub, fed by the old bore that once supplied water to the station, we thought coming back here for some stargazing on a chilly winter evening would be pretty cool! From the precinct, Big Lagoon is around 20 minutes further into the park. It’s the largest and most developed campground, with 19 campsites, toilets and easy access to the lagoon for kayaking or SUPing. We spent one night at Big Lagoon and enjoyed it, but ultimately preferred the tiny campgrounds further in the park (see below)!

Cape Peron & Skipjack Point

From the Precinct, continue north for roughly an hour to get to the most spectacular part of Francois Peron National Park: Skipjack Point. Most of the track was straightforward in our 4WD, with the softer sections concentrated around some of the campground turnoffs, particularly near Gregories. Rather than driving straight to Cape Peron, we recommend parking at Skipjack Point first. Two elevated platforms look across Shark Bay Marine Park and are one of the best places in the region to spot wildlife from land. We saw rays, sharks, dugongs and hundreds of seabirds lining the coast below. From here, walk the 3.6km return Wanamalu Trail along the cliff tops to Cape Peron.

After exploring Cape Peron, spend the afternoon around Bottle Bay, where you can swim and relax beside your 4WD on the beach. For camping, we’d choose Gregories, South Gregories or Bottle Bay Campground. We stayed at Gregories, which has just six campsites, as does South Gregories, so the vibe is much more quiet than Big Lagoon. There really isn’t a bad spot here, just book any if you can! Camping in Francois Peron is the best way to fully experience it, and we love how remote and close to nature they are. As of 2026, campsites need to be booked online though, with Gregories, South Gregories, Bottle Bay and Big Lagoon currently costing $15 per adult per night, plus the national park entry fee.

Herald Bight

If you have a second or third day, head across the peninsula to Herald Bight. From Gregories, it’s around 30–40 minutes, with much of the route crossing firm ground around the dried lakes. It’s quite an easy drive, only the entry to the beach had some deeper sand track. There isn’t much (if anything) to do once you arrive, and that’s really the point! Herald Bight is even quieter than the western side, just a sheltered beach where you can set up for the day, swim and do absolutely nothing. You can also camp directly on the beach at Herald Bight Campground, which is much more basic than the other campgrounds and has no facilities. If you only have one or two nights, we wouldn’t sacrifice Gregories to fit it in, but with extra time it’s a nice final place to visit before leaving.

From Herald Bight, allow roughly an hour to work your way back toward the Heritage Precinct and Denham, reinflate your tyres before returning to the sealed road, and continue your Coral Coast roadtrip. If you’re travelling north toward Carnarvon and Ningaloo, or south toward Kalbarri check out our full Perth to Exmouth road trip itinerary.

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