Paddling in Yalgorup National Park

The lakes of Yalgorup sit along a narrow coastal strip about 30 minutes south of Mandurah, strung in a chain through tuart woodland and paperbark swamp between the Darling Range and the Indian Ocean coast.

Ten lakes make up the system, which carries international recognition as a Ramsar wetland. The name Yalgorup comes from Nyoongar words meaning "place of swamp or lake," and the water here lives up to that — quiet, shallow, and ecologically loaded.

Paddlers need to know this clearly before loading a boat: there is no access to the lakes inside Yalgorup National Park for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, boating, or fishing. That rule applies across the system.

The lakeshore environment is fragile, and contact with the water carries health hazards. The park's own safety information is unambiguous on this point. Lake Clifton and Lake Preston are the two main waters in the chain.

Lake Clifton is the site of living thrombolites — ancient microbial structures visible at the lake's edge, best seen from the boardwalk.

These formations are among the few surviving communities of their kind in Western Australia, and the no-access rule exists in part to protect them. The shoreline environment around all ten lakes is treated as sensitive ground.

The paddling in this part of coastal Western Australia happens outside the park boundary. The region around Mandurah has its own waterways, and the broader Peel–Harvey estuary system is worth researching separately.

Yalgorup itself is a place to walk the boardwalk, watch the birds, and leave the boat on the trailer.