A kangaroo lazes on the beach at Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay

The summit of Frenchman Peak

Hellfire Bay

Rossiter Bay

Cape Le Grand National Park is the closest National Park to the Western Australian town of Esperance, and is a must-see for visitors to the Eastern Goldfields region of WA and travellers across the Nullarbor Plain. The park is popular for fishing, off-roading and hiking. Features of the park include incredible coastal scenery - a largely granite shoreline with crystal-clear turquoise water and white sandy beaches - surrounded by majestic granite peaks within expanses of heath.

Thistle Cove

Beaches within the Park include those at Lucky Bay, Rossiter Bay, Hellfire Bay, Le Grand Beach, and Thistle Cove. Lucky Bay is one of the most stunning and unique bays in Australia. The bay stretches for over five kilometres, offering a magnificent stretch of beach and sparkling clear blue water. The area is home to pygmy possums, bandicoots and grey kangaroos that like to laze on the pristine beach.
The islands and waters to the south of the park are known as the Recherche Archipelago Nature Reserve, another protected area of the Archipelago of the Recherche and nearby coastal regions. The equally picturesque Cape Arid National Park is located to the east.
The south-west section of the Park is dominated by rock outcrops of gneiss and granite. These form a distinctive chain of peaks including Mt. Le Grand (345 m), Frenchman Peak (262 m) and Mississippi Hill (180 m). Further inland, the park comprises mostly heath-covered sandplain, interspersed with swamps and pools of fresh water. The sandplains support dense stands of banksias.
The park has some excellent walk trails:
• The Coastal Trail is 15 kilometres one way but can be broken into four shorter sections.
• Frenchman Peak is three kilometres return and is not recommended in wet or windy weather.
• The Le Grand Heritage Trail is a one kilometre circuit and starts from Thistle Cove car park.

Cape le Grand was named on 16 December 1792 by French explorer Bruni D'Entrecasteaux. He named the cape after after Ensign Jacques-Bertrand le Grand (1763-1798) (and later Lieutenant and Captain) of the 1791-1793 expedition vessel, L'Esperance, who bravely scaled the mast during a severe storm, guiding the two vessels Esperance and Recherche through the reefs safely into Esperance Bay.
The names of Lucky Bay and Rossiter Bay recall a memorable incident in Australia's exploration by its European settlers. It was at Lucky Bay that, during his exploratory expedition from east to west in 1841, explorer Edward John Eyre and his Aboriginal assistant Wylie were saved from starvation when they accidentally came across English Captain Rossiter and crew of the French whaler Mississippi at Lucky Bay. Lieut. Matthew Flinders sheltered from a storm at Lucky Bay on 9 December 1801 and gave it its name for that reason, but doubtless Eyre would have deemed it lucky too.

How to get there: Cape Le Grand National Park is located 30 kilometres south east of Esperance. Esperance is located 740 kilometres south east of Perth, or 390 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie. Follow the road to Cape Le Grand National Park from Esperance via Fisheries Road.

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