(Updated) Top 17 Pink Lakes In Australia You Won’t Believe Exist
Australia is certainly a lucky country when it comes to Pink Lakes.
There are not one or two but more than 10 pink lakes that can be found here in Australia.
While, some of these lakes are very well known, others are not so much.
So in this article, we are revealing our Top 11 Pink Lakes in Australia.
Why is the Pink Lakes Pink?
Some of you might wonder why these lakes are pink in colour?
A genuine question.
To explain it simply, this natural phenomenon occurs due to the type of algae (Dunaliella salina) and the type of bacteria (Salinibacter ruber) living in the saltwater.
When these three things (saltwater, algae and bacteria) combine, it gives a various shades of pink (from pastel to bubblegum).
If you want to have the best experience for your pink lake visit, then plan to visit it on clear sky day during 10 am to 3 pm while the sun is high in the sky.
Also, it is a very important to check the local conditions and other restrictions in place before visiting any pink lake. We suggest you check the local Parks website in the area you are planning to visit for more information.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we also suggest you check the local travel restrictions in each state and territory before deciding to travel to visit these pink lakes.
Pink lakes in Western Australia
1. Lake Hillier
Lake Hillier is without a doubt the most popular and world-famous Pink lake. It stays pink throughout the year, so you can visit this lake throughout the year.
Unfortunately, it is also one of the most difficult pink lakes to access as well as it is located off the Western Australian coast, around 150 kms from the nearest town, Esperance.
🚗 How to get here: You can visit this lake by catching cruise boat (take around 2 hours) or scenic flight (take 1 hour 30 mins) altogether. Costs for boats starts from $300 and $425 for scenic flight.
📌 Nearest capital city: Perth
🕛 Best time to visit: Anytime during the year
🚦 Access to the lake: Very difficult
2.Hutt Lagoon
The next most popular lake is also in Western Australia. It is located on Australia’s coral coast in Port Gregory and known as Hutt Lagoon.
🚗 How to get here: You can get here by driving around 5 to 6 hours from Perth. You can also take a scenic flight from Geraldton.
📌 Nearest capital city: Perth
🕛 Best time to visit: Anytime during the year but on a clear day (During middle of the day)
🚦 Access to the lake: Medium
3. Lake Warden
Lake Warden is another lake around Esperance area in Western Australia. It is located five mins away from other Pink Lake (Lake Spencer), which is no longer a Pink lake.
🚗 How to get here: Around 10 mins drive from the town centre of Esperance in Western Australia. To reach Esperance, it takes around 7 to 8 hours drive from Perth or 40 minutes flight from Perth Airport.
📌 Nearest capital city: Perth
🕛 Best time to visit: All year round
🚦 Access to the lake: Medium
4. Rottnest Island Salt Lake
Rottnest Island Pink Lake is located just off the coast of Perth and in the middle of the island itself. It’s not as glamorous as other lakes in Western Australia, but it certainly has its own vibe for sure.
🚗 How to get here: Once you are in Rottnest Island, you can cycle right close to the lake in Oliver Hill Battery.
📌 Nearest capital city: Perth
🕛 Best time to visit: Summer months
🚦 Access to the lake: Easy
5. Pink Lake in Quairading
Well, one more pink lake in Western Australia. But this one is not all pink throughout the year. The road divides this lake in the middle and, to the surprise of many, one side of the lake turns light pink while the other remain dark.
🚗 How to get here: It is around 2 hours drive from Perth.
📌 Nearest capital city: Perth
🕛 Best time to visit: Summer
🚦 Access to the lake: Medium
Pink lakes in Victoria
6. Westgate Park, Port Melbourne
The easiest Pink Lake to access in Australia is only 15 mins from Melbourne CBD. Westgate Park lake in Port Melbourne has been turning pink since 2012-13 during the warmer months.
Please note during the colder months, this lake is not pink in colour.
🚗 How to get here: 15 to 20 mins drive from the downtown Melbourne. You can also catch a bus 235 or 606 to get to the Entrance of the park.
📌 Nearest capital city: Melbourne
🕛 Best time to visit: Summer Months (between December to March)
🚦 Access to the lake: Very Easy
7. Pink Lake, Dimboola
Victoria’s another popular lake is around 340 km north west of Melbourne. It is in Dimboola and the lake is known as Pink Lake. Interesting fact about this lake is that salt is still harvested by the company names Mount Zero Olive.
🚗 How to get here: It takes around 4 hours to get there from Melbourne by car.
📌 Nearest capital city: Melbourne
🕛 Best time to visit: Summer Months (During the day time)
🚦 Access to the lake: Medium
8. Lake Tyrell
Lake Tyrell is the largest Salt Lake in Victoria. It covers more than 20,800 hectares and has history of more than 120,000 years old. Impressive! This light pink lake provides an amazing views of the sky reflections during sunsrise and sunset.
🚗 How to get here: The lake is in the Mallee region and takes 5 hours to get there from Melbourne.
📌 Nearest capital city: Melbourne
🕛 Best time to visit: Sunrise and Sunset (preferable during summer months)
🚦 Access to the lake: Difficult
9 to 12. Murray-Sunset National Park Lakes
50 kms from Mildura, Murray-Sunset National Park have got not 1 but 4 pink lakes. These are:
- Lake Crosbie
- Lake Kenyon
- Lake Becking
- Lake Hardy
You can also camp at Lake Crosbie or Lake Becking. Although Murray-Sunset National Park is located in Victoria, it is actually closer to South Australian capital, Adelaide than Melbourne.
You can get further information and updates about these lakes on Parks Victoria’s website.
🚗 How to get here: You can get here driving from Adelaide for 4 hours or 5 and half hours from Melbourne.
📌 Nearest capital city: Adelaide
🕛 Best time to visit: Autumn and Winter Months (between April to August)
🚦 Access to the lakes: Medium
Pink lakes in South Australia
13. Lake Macdonnell
Lake Macdonnell is a very unique lake as one side of the causeway is pink in colour and the other side is green. It is close to the Nullarbor Plain and around 15 km south of Penong on the Eyre Peninsula.
🚗 How to get here: The lake is located around 850 kms from Adelaide and takes around good 9 to 10 hours drive. You can also fly into
📌 Nearest capital city: Adelaide
🕛 Best time to visit: May to September
🚦 Access to the lake: Medium
14. Lake Bumbunga
Located 130 kms from Adelaide city, Lake Bumbunga is one of the easiest pink lakes to get to (can’t beat Westgate Park Lake though). Lake Bumbunga is famous for its changing colour throughout the year from pink to white to blue depending on the time of the year.
🚗 How to get here: It is only around couple of hours drive from Adelaide
📌 Nearest capital city: Adelaide
🕛 Best time to visit: Summer Months
🚦 Access to the lake: Easy
15. Lake Hart
Lake Hart is perfect lake to see during the day and night with pastel pink reflections. It might be further out with more than 500km drive from Adelaide but it is certainly worth the effort.
You can also see the glimpse of this pink beauty from The Ghan (Luxury train travel between Adelaide to Darwin).
🚗 How to get here: To reach here by car from Adelaide, it will take around 5 to 6 hours.
📌 Nearest capital city: Adelaide
🕛 Best time to visit: All year round
🚦 Access to the lake: Medium
16. Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre is the Australia’s largest salt lake. It is located 650 kms north of Adelaide. It is interesting to know that the lakes gets filled with 1.5 metre flood every 3 years and 4 metres floods every 10 years.
It costs around $11 for your vehicle entry fee in the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park.
It is also important to note that there is no mobile phone coverage in the park.
🚗 How to get here: It is around 8 hour drive from the nearest capital city, Adelaide. You can also take a plan ride from Adelaide to outback town Coober Pedy and then take another tour over the lake with local flight tour operators.
📌 Nearest capital city: Adelaide
🕛 Best time to visit: April to October
🚦 Access to the lake: Very difficult
17. Lake Albert
Lake Albert is a freshwater lake near Murray river in South Australia. The area serves as the gateway to the Coorong National Park.
🚗 How to get here: It is around 2 hours drive south east from Adelaide.
📌 Nearest capital city: Adelaide
🕛 Best time to visit: Varies based on rainfall during the year
🚦 Access to the lake: Easy
Let us know which pink lake would you like to visit in the comment section below.
