Coalseam Conservation Park; wildflower central
Every year, not long after winter, the wildflower season in WA kicks off and in a big way. There are a huge number of amazing places to check out, and Coalseam Conservation Park is up there with the best.
Whether you are chasing individual orchids, or the blooms of everlastings, Coalseam is a fantastic place that we’ll always look forward to going back to.
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there last year for the first time, and I still feel the urge to go back again in the next WA Wildflower Season! Words do not do this place justice, but hopefully some of the photos below might.
Where is Coalseam Conservation Park?
You’ll find Coalseam Conservation Park roughly 4 and a half hours drive north of Perth. Its 26 minutes from Mingenew, 34 minutes south of Mullewa, and an 78 minutes drive from Geraldton, directly East.
It’s quite centrally located on the Midlands Wildflower Route, and just off the Wildflower way. You can comfortably do a loop from Perth to Moora, Coorow, Three Springs, Mingenew, Coalseam Conservation Park, Mullewa, and back down through Canna, Morowa, Perenjori, Dalwallnu and back to Perth in 4 – 5 days, or longer if you want it to be more relaxed, or to see more places.
Getting there
Most people get to Coalseam Conservation Park from Mingenew, but you can enter from all sides. If you want the least amount of gravel driving, come from Mingenew. We came in from the south, went out via the north for a day, and came back in from the East.
About Coalseam Conservation Park
Asides from being hugely popular for seeing the annual wildflowers in WA, Coalseam has a long history and fascinating geology.
There’s a variety of fossils, and seams of Coal that run through the exposed rock (hence the name!). There’s a couple of old mining holes and information boards around the place that you can check out.
Coalseam National Park Camping
There are two locations that you can camp at inside Coalseam National Park. Miners is the official, and main camp site. Breakaway is the overflow camp site, which is far less formal, on the other side of the park, but its probably only 5 minutes drive between the two camp sites.
If you can get into Miners, do so, as its spectacular, but Breakaway is also decent, and certainly not somewhere to be scoffed at. Breakaway also has no toilets, so you must provide your own.
Both Miners and Breakaway camp sites have a restriction of 3 consecutive nights during peak season, which is August to October. Neither sites can be booked, so arrive early and cross your fingers and toes!
Keen for more amazing camping in Western Australia? We’ve got you covered!
Entry fees and camping costs
Entry to Coalseam Conservation Park is free (woohoo!), and camping is $11 per adult per night, $7 concession and $3 for children between 5 and 16. Miners is $8, $6 and $3.
A lot of people visit for the day, and stay in nearby towns, and if you can’t get into the camp site this is a perfectly good solution. The benefit of camping is that you really get to soak it up, and its amazing to see things change from sunrise to sunset.
Coalseam walks
There’s a heap of walks to do at Coalseam. Several are well signed and noted, and then you can wander around as you please (just avoid standing on the flowers!).
The three most well known start from the Miners Picnic area, the bottom of the cliffs and the lookout walk. All three are spectacular, with our favourite being around Miners Camp.
What’s nearby that is worth a look?
Most of the towns nearby will have a variety of wildflowers worth checking out. We really enjoyed the Mullewa Waterfalls, Pindar Wreath Flowers, Depot Hill and Canna Railway.
If you want to know exactly what we did on our trip, check out our post on Amazing WA Wildflowers under 5 hours from Perth.
What flowers are at Coalseam?
Coalseam is probably most well known for the huge carpets of yellow, white and pink everlastings. Ironically, these seem to flower at different times, and being able to see all three at once is not super common.
These carpets are by far and away the most impressive wildflowers, but if you have a keen eye, and a bit of patience, you’ll find a variety of other rarer flowers at Coalseam Conservation Park too, like the giant range of Orchids.
Where can you see wreath flowers in WA?
The Wreath Flowers are super popular in season, and for good reason; they are absolutely stunning. If you want to see them, head to Perenjori or Pindar.
Be sure that you park well away and keep them in pristine condition for everyone else to enjoy
Should you visit Coalseam?
Absolutely. It’s such a stunning part of the world, and its beautiful even outside of wildflower season. Head up there, stay a few nights and soak up the incredible atmosphere. I can’t say the idea of wildflowers was hugely appealing originally, but they are nothing short of magnificent.
