Desert View Walk Trail

How to get there

1. Same approach as the Pinnacles Drive: Indian Ocean Drive → Pinnacles Road → Discovery Centre. Pay or display entry. Long vehicles stay in the main car park.
2. Start from the signed Desert View Walk trailhead at the Discovery Centre — there isn’t a back-gate start from Hangover Bay.
3. No practical public transport. Tours often include a lookout stop with limited walk time — ask before you assume the sandy Class 3 continuation (~1.2 km) is included.

How to do it (step by step)

1. Do the Class 1 path to the platform first. That is a complete visit for mixed-ability groups, heat days and anyone who only wanted the view.
2. If you continue, expect sand, little shade and frequent photo stops. Stay on the marked trail (emu-footprint markers if present). Do not shortcut between pinnacles.
3. Turn around when anyone is hot, tired or leaving the markers. You are not “failing” the walk by using the lookout as the end.
4. Pair with the one-way drive or skip the drive’s extra bays if you already walked among the formations.

What to expect

Trails WA lists about 1.5 km: a 300 m Class 1 accessible path to a viewing platform, then a 1.2 km Class 3 sandy trail winding among the pinnacles. Ocean views appear from high points. That is the walk — not a canyon, not a beach ramble.

Most people should treat the platform as success and the sandy continuation as a bonus when heat, footwear and group energy agree.

Turning around

You start and finish at the Discovery Centre car park. There is no shuttle and no second trailhead you must hit. Turning around is walking back on the marked trail or finishing the signed circuit.

If you only have 90 minutes for the whole Pinnacles visit, do this lookout and two drive pull-overs — don’t also squeeze in Lake Thetis.

Desert View Walk vs Emu Walk — probably the same area

The current official named trail on Explore Parks / Trails WA is Desert View Walk Trail. Older visitor-guide wording also describes an Emu Walk from the Discovery Centre with a wheelchair-accessible first section to Pinnacles View Lookout.

Until official pages clearly list two separate full walks, treat them as the same area with possible naming overlap — [VERIFY].

Hazards

Same family as the drive: unstable formations, heat, sand, dieback off-track, possible thin mobile coverage. Carry water. Do not climb. Emergency+ on the phone before you leave Cervantes or Perth.

Who this walk is for

Choose Desert View when you want to stand among the pillars, not only photograph them from a car bay. The Class 1 path suits mixed-ability groups and prams to the platform. The sandy Class 3 continuation is for people who still have water, closed-toe shoes and a cool-enough hour.

If the group only wanted the postcard, stop at the platform. That is a complete Pinnacles walk. Pride is not a grade.

Map (orientation)

Pin may be approximate. Confirm trailheads, parking and track status on Explore Parks WA / DBCA before you drive.