Lucky Bay

Located on the southern coast of Cape Le Grand National Park in Western Australia, Lucky Bay is a five-kilometer-long crescent-shaped white sand beach with many rocky portions.  In May 2023, a survey based on the votes of over 750 travel professionals declared this beach the best beach in the world and was also acknowledged as the whitest sand beach in Australia by the National Scientific Committee.  It is also a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.  The beach is positioned in a sheltered inlet and has a beautiful backdrop of dunes, coastal vegetation, rocky headlands, and unique granite boulders strewn around the bay, shaped into intriguing shapes by wind and water, which together provide incredible views of Recherche Archipelago Nature Reserve and the Pacific Ocean.  The beach is part of Cape Le Grand National Park, which preserves the fragile ecosystem, including coastal landscapes, woodlands, heathlands, and native biodiversity of the region.

Lucky Bay does not have lifeguards but offers many other amenities, including a restroom, a shower, picnic tables, benches, a barbecue grill facility, an observation deck, and campsites.

Lucky Bay offers many fun activities, including swimming, sunbathing, diving, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, picnicking, bushwalking, surfing, watching wildlife, driving, and fishing.  If you are planning to go into the water, it is a naturally sheltered bay, making it a perfect spot for swimming.  The water near the beach is shallow, which is ideal for canoes, kayaks, and small boats.  Anglers may catch a wide variety of fish here, including Australian Salmon, Blue Groper, Giant Herring, Mulloway, Leatherjacket, Pink Snapper, Queen Snapper, and Samson fish.  The beach offers amazing opportunities for snorkelers and divers to explore the underwater world.  Depending on the time of the year, visitors may spot migrating whales.  If you enjoy camping, there is a campground with 56 tent campsites near the eastern end of the beach that offer several amenities, including flush toilets, a communal solar-powered shower, a communal kitchen, a cafe, picnic tables, benches, and a barbecue grill facility.   Visitors have to pay 15 dollars per person to reserve a campsite.  In addition, it is a perfect spot for windsurfing due to its frequently windy weather.  Hikers can enjoy the nearby hiking trails, which offer unique insights into the local biodiversity. Also, you may spot kangaroos hopping along the shore.   Furthermore, visitors can also enjoy four-wheel driving on the beach, but we recommend being cautious as vehicles can easily bog down in the sand.  Lucky Bay is ideal for visitors looking for a tranquil beach experience.  Dogs are not allowed here, and it is open from sunrise until sunset.

Lucky Bay does not offer an access path for people with disabilities.

Getting to Lucky Bay is easy - the beach has a large parking lot located near Lucky Bay Road, Cape Le Grand, 6450.  It is important to note that visitors must pay eight dollars per person as an admission fee to access Cape Le Grand National Park.

In 1802, Matthew Flinders took a perilous route through the Recherche Archipelago while exploring Australia's south coast.  After his vessel, HMS Investigator, anchored here and took refuge during a summer storm, he named the bay Lucky Bay.  Also, many believe that the great botanist Robert Brown went ashore and explored an array of unidentified plants, discovering and naming many new species.   A commemorative plaque recalls the significant events on the cliffs at the easternmost point of the bay.  Additionally, the Wudjari community were the traditional owners of the region and made a great contribution to preserving the flora and fauna of Cape Le Grand National Park.

There are many attractions near Lucky Bay.   Cape Le Grand National Park covers an area of 31,000 hectares and is home to a wide variety of landscapes, including white sand beaches, bays, inlets, granite headlands, offshore reefs, swamps, and heathland, which together offer a unique insight into the local biodiversity of the region.  Visitors can enjoy many fun activities, including swimming, fishing, boating, bushwalking, camping, watching wildlife, and four-wheel driving.  Frenchman Peak is a 262-meter-high granite peak that can be accessed via a two-kilometer-long moderately challenging hiking trail and offers Instagram-worthy views of Lucky Bay to the east, Thistle Cove to the west, and Wilson Inlet to the north.  Lake Hillier is a unique pink-colored saline lake positioned on the edge of the Middle Island.  The vibrant pink color of the lake is due to the presence of a microorganism called Dunaliella salina and a pink-colored bacteria called Halobacteriaceae.  Visitors can enjoy guided tours from the mainland to explore this natural wonder.   Esperance Museum is a small museum that focuses on preserving and showcasing the maritime history, art, and culture of the region through interesting exhibits, artifacts, photographs, and related memorabilia.  In addition, it hosts many interesting educational programs throughout the year that attract visitors of all age groups.  If you are looking for another nearby attraction, Tanker Jetty is a 415-meter-long jetty where visitors can enjoy many fun activities, including walking, fishing, diving, and photography.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants within a 40-minute drive of Lucky Bay.  Loose Goose Bar & Restaurant is an upscale grillhouse that serves scallops, salads, seafood, steaks, meat, and poultry dishes.  Emperor's Garden Chinese Restaurant serves amazing soups, noodles, fried rice, Chinese curries, scallops, meat, seafood, and poultry dishes.  Fish Face Takeaway and Restaurant serves delicious seafood.  Taylor St. Quarters is a waterfront restaurant that serves amazing salads, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, steaks, seafood, meat, and poultry dishes.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, Eljays Restaurant serves burgers, salads, soups, mussels, oysters, steaks, seafood, pork, meat, and poultry dishes.

If you are looking for a hotel near Lucky Bay, there are many great options nearby.  If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 4-Star RAC Esperance Holiday Park is 48 minutes away by car and offers many amenities including an outdoor pool, a garden, a restaurant, and a barbecue grill facility.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star The Jetty Resort, which has many amenities, including an outdoor pool, a kid’s playground, a barbecue grill facility, and a whirlpool tub.  Another moderately priced option is the 3-Star Archipelago Apartments Esperance, which has a few amenities including an outdoor pool and a restaurant.  A more reasonably priced option is the 3-Star Hospitality Esperance, which offers several amenities including an outdoor pool,a barbecue grill facility, a lounge, and a restaurant.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Comfort Inn Bay of Isles offers several amenities including an outdoor pool, a terrace with sun loungers, and a restaurant.