Yanchep National Park
With walk trails, caves, wildlife and more, Yanchep National Park offers plenty for families to explore just 40 minutes from Perth.
Cultural Recognition
This is Whadjuk and Yued Noongar Country. Noongar people are the traditional owners and custodians of the south-west of Western Australia. Noongar boodjar (Country) is defined by 14 different areas with three (3) dialectal groups.
Whadjuk and Yued are the names of the dialectal groups from the Wanneroo area in which Yanchep National Park is situated.
Overview of Yanchep National Park
There’s plenty of nature to explore at Yanchep National Park, from woodlands and wetlands to limestone caves! The park is also one of the few places in WA that you can see koalas, who aren’t native to the state, in their natural habitat.
There are nine (9) trails that wind through Yanchep National Park, giving families the chance to explore the lake, lush woodlands and cave areas. The trails range from accessible, family-friendly walks, to long-distance, more difficult hikes.
The park can also be explored at other exciting levels. Visit Treetops Adventure and check out the view as you make your way through obstacles high up in the tuart trees! Or, venture underground into Crystal Cave on a guided tour to learn about its formation, ecosystem and geology.
When in need of a break, multiple picnic areas around the park make it easy for families to secure a spot to rest and refuel. Wide, open pathways flow through Yanchep National Park, allowing ease of access to most points of interest.
Learn More about Yanchep National Park
Opening Times
Yanchep National Park is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 365 days a year.
Cost of Entry*
Private vehicle with up to 12 occupants
- $17 per vehicle
- $10 per vehicle concession
Private vehicle with more than 12 occupants
- $8 per occupant 6 years or older
- $3.50 per occupant concession
Motorcycle
- $10 per motorbike
- No concession
No entry fee applies if you walk or cycle into the park.
*Prices accurate as of January 2024, refer to the Explore Parks WA website for up to date pricing.
All revenue collected from park entry fees and Parks and Wildlife managed businesses is invested in biodiversity conservation, maintenance and improvement of Yanchep National Park facilities and services, and the protection of park values.
Nature Play Resources
Nature Play WA has created fun and interactive resources for Yanchep National Park.
For more fun, interactive nature play activities for families that can be used wile exploring any location, check out our free, Every Kid in a Park resource library
Activities & Information
With its proximity to Perth, the picturesque Yanchep National Park has plenty to offer families looking for space to spend time in nature together.
There are nine (9) trails that wind through Yanchep National Park, giving families the chance to explore the lake, lush woodlands and cave areas. The trails range from accessible, family-friendly walks, to long-distance, more difficult hikes.
Visit Treetops Adventure and check out the view as you make your way through obstacles high up in the tuart trees! Or, venture underground into Crystal Cave on a guided tour to learn about its formation, ecosystem and geology.
You can also see koalas, who aren’t native to the state, in their natural habitat.
Tours available from Wangi Mia are a great way for families to learn about the traditional owners of Yanchep National Park, the Whadjuk and Yued people. See demonstrations of tools and instruments like spears and didgeridoos, and hear about the world’s oldest living culture.
Multiple picnic areas around the park make it easy for families to secure a spot to rest and refuel. There are plenty of barbecues and picnic tables, many of which sit in the shade of tall native trees.
In the 1930s, Yanchep National Park was destined to be a recreational resort, and some of the historic buildings still remain. Now known as Yanchep Inn, Chocolate Drops Tearooms and McNess House Visitor Centre, these facilities give visitors the unique opportunity to dine or stay overnight in style in a national park.
Yanchep National Park can be enjoyed in an easy day trip, but camping is also available on Henry White Oval for those who’d like an extended adventure.
Wildlife is abundant here at Yanchep National Park. It’s an important conservation area on the Swan Coastal Plain, containing seven vegetation communities, four wetlands and over 450 cave systems.
Some of these cave systems were deposited as marine sediment around 600,000 years ago! They provide an ideal environment to life-forms living underground, including amphipods, a threatened species of invertebrate.
Wetlands are a key feature of the park, with three (3) lakes (Loch McNess, Yonderup Lake and Wilgarup Lake) and two (2) swamps, one within Ridges State Forest and Pipidinny Swamp, close to the south-west boundary.
To birdwatchers’ delight, the wetlands are home to plenty of feathered friends. Waterbirds including swamphens, pelicans, little black comorants, grebes and banded stilts can be seen on the banks and waters of the lakes.
Up in the trees around the park are endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoos, magpies and galahs. Smaller birds including kingfishers, wrens and honeyeaters can also be seen here – and that’s just naming a few!
Visit Yanchep National Park early or late in the day and you’ll almost certainly see a mob of western grey kangaroos. Take a stroll down the aptly named Koala Boardwalk and try to spot a furry koala munching on some eucalyptus leaves.
The trees in the woodland areas of the park are predominantly paperbark, banksia, jarrah and sheoak. It’s also one of few remaining places where tuart trees can be found growing in significant numbers.
In late winter and spring, Yanchep National Park blossoms with spectacular wildflowers including wattles, parrot bush, yanchep rose, catspaw and kangaroo paw bloom.
Please beware of snakes during warmer summer months and ensure children are supervised around Loch McNess and other bodies of water.
Caring for Yanchep National Park during your visit:
- Please don’t feed the wildlife.
- Please place your rubbish in the recycle bins or take it home with you.
- Pets are not permitted, except guide dogs.
- Stay on the established trails, tracks and roads.
- Water is a precious resource – please use it sparingly.
Please beware of snakes during warmer summer months and ensure children are supervised around Loch McNess and other bodies of water.
Visit Explore Parks WA website for more information about Yanchep National Park.
Acknowledgements
Nature Play WA would like to thank the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions for providing valuable information about Yanchep National Park.
