A complete guide to Lancelin, WA
Lancelin’s great appeal lies in its holiday ambience. Once a quiet, sleepy fishing village with a single hotel and a couple of caravan sites, Lancelin has slowly evolved over the years into a popular seaside resort town. Just a 90-minute drive north of Perth, it’s the perfect weekend getaway for people wanting to escape the city. To the south of Lancelin are the even smaller fishing villages of Ledge Point and Seabird that, by comparison, make Lancelin seem like a bustling metropolis.
Lancelin transforms each summer as its population of about 800 is tripled during the Christmas-New Year holiday season. In recent years Lancelin has seen a building boom, with lots of modern holiday homes replacing its old fibro weekender shacks. The town actively promotes itself as one of Australia’s premier sandboarding destinations, as well as a windsurfing and kitesurfing paradise.
In spring, Lancelin’s beautiful beaches are rivalled by the nearby magnificent wildflowers. Lesueur National Park, 90 minutes drive north of the town, is one of the best places to see the blooms, which are at their prime in September.
Nambung National Park – home of the Pinnacles – is about 50 minutes north of the town by road. This unusual series of limestone formations is rightly regarded as one of Australia’s natural wonders. This spectacular scenery looks as though it was snatched from the set of a sci-fi film, with thousands of limestone pillars bursting from the yellow sand to create an otherworldly landscape.
Things to do
1. Surf’s up
Back Beach – widely considered to be the area’s go-to surfing destination – is situated just south of the town. This surfing hotspot is ideal for both experienced and amateur surfers, as well as bodysurfers, bodyboarders, kitesurfers and swimmers. Book a private or group surfing lesson at Lancelin Surf School.
2. Sandboarding
Lancelin’s dunes are among the town’s major drawcards, attracting thousands of visitors each year. According to Tourism Western Australia, these are the state’s largest dunes, at more than 40m tall. Sandboarding is the most popular activity, but these spectacular dunes can also be explored on a quad-bike tour or by four-wheel-drive.
More details on tour operators
3. Explore the Pinnacles
Nambung National Park lies about 80km north of Lancelin, near Cervantes. Pinnacles Desert Discovery has displays, soundscapes, videos and images that explain the geology of the area and how the pinnacles were formed. Don’t miss the Pinnacles Desert Lookout and Drive Trail. Visitors can get up close to these strange and mysterious formations on the Desert View Walk Trail, an easy 1.6km loop from the Desert Discovery car park.
4. Stroll along the beach
There’s a delightful 5.4km walk along the beach at Lancelin Bay from North Point to South Point. The round trip takes about an hour and is an ideal way to experience the beauty and peacefulness of this section of the coast. The best time of year to complete this track is March–June and October–November, when winds are lighter.
5. Soak up sunsets
Like so many places along WA’s coast –particularly north of Perth – Lancelin is known for its dramatic and spectacular sunsets across the Indian Ocean. The best sunset spots in and around Lancelin include the top of the dunes, the jetty and Nilgen Lookout (a 15-minute drive north of the town).
6. Sample local seafood
Lancelin is famous for its rock-lobster (crayfish) industry, which began in the 1940s. Today, tourists can go down to the jetty at Lancelin Beach and buy fresh lobsters direct from the fleet. For those wanting to have a crack at fishing, the jetty is also a popular spot to catch herring, whiting, squid, flathead, samson fish and more.
