Hutt Lagoon, Kalbarri: Complete Guide to Visiting the Pink Lake
Hutt Lagoon in Western Australia is one of the best pink lakes in the country. With its natural pink hues, it’s a popular spot for both the scenery and capturing incredible imagery. It’s located along Australia’s Coral Coast near Kalbarri attracting tourists from all over the world.
Read on for all you need to know about visiting WA’s pink lake: Hutt Lagoon.
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Best time to Visit Hutt Lagoon
In order to see the lake at its pinkest, you need to visit Hutt Lagoon when the sun is out and at its highest. This is generally between 10am-2pm.
The water looks even more stunning on a day where there is little to no wind, creating strawberry milk looking water. So if you’re staying in the area, make sure to check the wind forecast before you schedule your visit.
It’s important to note that during the summer months the water can dry up, making it harder to capture imagery from the shoreline. However, if you happen to be in the area during this time of year still come visit as it’s incredible to see regardless!
How to get to Hutt Lagoon, WA
The easiest way to get to Hutt Lagoon is via car.
As all roads leading towards Hutt Lagoon are sealed, a 2WD will suffice for visiting the pink lake.
If you’re travelling Western Australia from overseas or interstate and need to hire a car for your trip, I’d recommend hiring a car in Perth to get out to Hutt Lagoon.
You could also consider flying out to Geraldton and hiring a car from there. However, as flights to Geraldton are quite expensive I wouldn’t recommend this route, especially as you’d need to hire a car anyways (and Geraldton is only a 4 hour drive from Perth),
Perth to Hutt Lagoon
Hutt Lagoon is located approximately 5 hours north of Perth Western Australia, via the Indian Ocean Drive coastal highway. As it is quite a distance, I wouldn’t recommend visiting on a day trip.
However, if you’re road tripping along Australia’s Coral Coast both Hutt Lagoon and the Kalbarri National Park are definitely worth a little detour.
Geraldton to Hutt Lagoon
If you have chosen to fly into Geraldton or are just looking to visit Hutt Lagoon from Geraldton, your drive will take you just over 1 hour, one-way.
Kalbarri to Hutt Lagoon
Kalbarri is the most common place for people visiting Hutt Lagoon to stay. Hutt Lagoon is only a 30 minute drive from the town of Kalbarri, making it the ideal location to find accommodation on your visit to the pink lake.
There are also plenty of things to do in and around the town of Kalbarri, making it a great place to spend your family holiday.
Tours of Hutt Lagoon
Another way to get to Hutt Lagoon is to jump on a tour that includes the pink lake in the schedule!
Departing from Perth, this 2-day tour includes a stop over at the pink lake, sand boarding in Lancelin, the Pinnacles, the Kalbarri Skywalk and fresh lobster.
Also departing from Perth, the 3-day tour has a similar itinerary to the 2-day tour with the inclusion of the elevated experience of a scenic flight over the pink lake!
Another popular Pink Lake Tour is this 3 day, 2-night tour that includes a Chinese speaking guide. On this trip you’ll get to feast on delicious lobster and stop at the Pinnacles, Nature’s Window, go sand boarding in Lancelin and more! It also includes a visit to see the Pink Lake as well as a scenic flight over the lake.
Check booking availability here.
If you’re looking to explore even more of Australia’s Coral Coast, then you may want to consider this 4 day tour coastal experience that heads as far north as Monkey Mia. The tour will take you through many highlights of the coastline including the infamous pink lake, Kalbarri National Park and Numbung National Park (the Pinnacles).
Check booking availability here.
Accommodation near Hutt Lagoon
The closest places to stay near Hutt Lagoon are either Geraldton (1hr away) or Kalbarri (30 min away).
Geraldton has the most options for accommodation as it is a city, rather than a small coastal town like Kalbarri. Therefore it has a plenty of options including hotels, caravan parks, motels and appartments to accommodate a range of budgets.
On the other hand, Kalbarri is a small town but has plenty of attractions for tourists due to its close proximity to the renowned Kalbarri National Park, home to the incredible Kalbarri Skywalk! If you choose to stay in Kalbarri, you may want to book well in advance as there are fewer accommodation options available.
Personally, I’d recommend staying in Kalbarri for both its closer proximity to the pink lake as well as the other incredible attractions the area has to offer!
Kalbarri Accommodation
- Kalbarri Palm Resort ($): Located just a 10 minute walk from the beach, Kalbarri Palm Resort has 2 pools, a hot tub and a tennis court.
- Kalbarri Sea Front Villas ($$): Kalbarri Seafront Villas offers holiday accommodation in various forms. Some villas even have views over the river and ocean! Guests can enjoy the outdoor swimming pool and BBQ areas.
- Murchison View Appartments ($$): Murchison View Apartments feature an outdoor pool and a barbecue area for guests to use. all appartments include a full kitchen, bathroom and spacious lounge area.
- Kalbarri Edge Resort ($$): Kalbarri Edge Resort is just 5 minutes’ walk from the Murchison River with a solar-heated pool and BBQ facilities.
Hutt Lagoon Camping
There is no camping available at Hutt Lagoon. If you’d like to camp, the closest campgrounds to the pink lake are:
- Lucky Bay Shacks
- Lynton Station
- Port Gregory Caravan Park
Each of these camping options are located within a 15 minute drive to the pink lake. The facilities they offer and price range will vary.
Why is Hutt Lagoon Pink?
Hutt Lagoon is so pink due to algae that live in the water, dunaliella salina. When this particular algae is exposed to sunlight it produces beta-carotene, the same red pigment that is found in carrots and other veggies.
Depending on the season, time of day and amount of cloud coverage, Hutt Lagoon can change from appearing red to pink and even to purple.
What to Bring to Hutt Lagoon
I’d highly recommend taking along your camera, as well as a drone if you have one. You can also take your bathers and a floatie or anything else you’d need to capture the stunning pink lake.
You should also have plenty of water and some food as Hutt Lagoon is quite a distance from the nearest store.
If you plan on walking through the water, I’d recommend taking along some water shoes as the salt levels in the water can make the ground extremely sharp.
Just note, there are no facilities at Hutt Lagoon so make sure to take any of your rubbish home with you!
Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake Entry
Hutt Lagoon is completely free to see and enter!
The Pink Lake Lookout is located along Port Gregory Drive with areas to park up and see the link from a great vantage point. If you head to the left of the lookout, you’ll be able to escape any crowds.
You can also get to the pink lake from along Gregory Grey drive. However, this can be a bit of a longer walk and depending on the time of year you may encounter mud patches.
What to do at Hutt Lagoon
Whether you’d like to stop past and just spend a few minutes admiring the views or head out on a walk, Hutt Lagoon in itself is an incredible attractions worth seeing.
If you’re making a trip out to see Hutt Lagoon specifically, you may want to consider packing a picnic lunch to enjoy while you take in the scenery.
You can also book a fun buggy tour that explores Hutt Lagoon and Port Gregory. The tour is just over 1 hour long and will provide you with access to areas that cars can’t get to.
Check Buggy Tour availability here.
Another incredible thing to do at Hutt Lagoon is enjoy a scenic flight over the pink lake:
Photography at Hutt Lagoon Pink Lake
One of the best things to do at Hutt Lagoon is to take out your camera and capture the incredible pink lake. As the lake is at its pinkest in the middle of the day, you’ll need to embrace shooting in the bright sunlight. I have a whole blog post with tips on taking incredible photos bright sunlight.
To get an interesting perspective on the lake, use a drone to take your photo from above! Unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity to fly our drone here yet, but if you’re looking to see examples of what you could capture then look no further than Hutt Lagoon on instagram for plenty of inspiration.
Can you swim at Hutt Lagoon?
While technically you can swim at Hutt Lagoon, considering the high levels of algae in the water I would advise against it. Also, as the water is very salty, I can’t imagine it would be a very nice experience.
If you choose to swim, wether that’s for a photo or the experience, I’d recommend using a floatie to help keep your head out of the water.
If you’re looking for somewhere else to swim, there is a beach at Port Gregory (near the caravan park) to swim at.
Overall
A popular tourist attraction, definitely worth visiting, Hutt Lagoon is well worth visiting for its incredible pink water. You’ll find it’s just as pink in person as it is in the photos (if not even more vividly pink, depending on when you visit!)
FAQ
Hutt Lagoon is about a 5 hour drive away from Perth, making it unsuitable for a day trip.
Hutt Lagoon is about a 1hr drive away from Geraldton.
Hutt Lagoon is about a 30min drive away from the town of Kalbarri.
Technically yes, however I would advise against it due to the high levels of algae and salt in the water.
Either Kalbarri or Geraldton.
No, the closest campground to Hutt Lagoon is Port Gregory Caravan Park.
When the sun is at its highest and brightest, from around 10am-2pm. You can visit year round, although there may be less water during the summer months.
