Top 5 Reasons to Visit the West Coast National Park
Is a visit to the West Coast National Park worth your while? ABSOLUTELY! As one of the Cape West Coast’s most glorious natural wonders, not to mention one of Cape Town’s most sought-after attractions and destinations to visit among locals and tourists alike, the breathtaking West Coast National Park will undoubtedly exceed all your expectations.
Beyond its wild unapologetic natural beauty, this West Coast gem is renowned for is sensational, sweep-you-off-your-feet wildflowers (which come to life every year during Cape Town’s captivating flower season), vast, varied, and vibrant fauna, beautiful landscapes, and wonderful wildlife. That’s certainly not all! Not by a long shot! The West Coast National Park is also home to several stunning secret beaches, hidden gems, thrilling hiking trails and nature walks, and tons of exhilarating adventure experiences for everyone to enjoy. It’s for all these reasons (plus so much more) why a visit to Cape Town’s West Coast National Park deserves to be on your Cape Town bucket list!
While the reasons to visit this Cape West Coast wonder are truly endless, here are our top 5 reasons to visit the West Coast National Park.
- Distance from Cape Town City Center: +/- 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Website: sanparks.org/parks/west_coast
#1 The Cape West Coast Wildflowers
WILDFLOWERS, WILDFLOWERS & MORE WILDFLOWERS! Every spring, from about mid-August – October, the West Coast National Park bursts into the most beautiful and glorious celebration of color as vibrant wildflowers cover the vast landscapes of the park in an endless display of bold, breathtaking wildflowers and stunning budding and blossoming beauties that stretch far beyond what the eye can see.
Getting to see the magnificent Cape wildflowers in full bloom, and in their wonderfully wild and untamed state, completely unapologetic and relentless in their spectacular pursuit to set the West Coats ablaze, bring color, and breathe new life into this nature-loving paradise is by far one of the top reasons to visit the West Coast National Park. Known to draw flora lovers from all corners of the globe, there is absolutely NO reason why you shouldn’t get to witness it too – Trust us, this seasonal phenomenon truly is a sight to behold & one you won’t regret, perhaps not ever!
You can choose to enjoy a self-drive West Coast National Park wildflower adventure, or explore the incredible beauty of the park by going on an exciting hike or walk on one of their many trails along the coastline (permits required).
Postberg is an almost completely undisturbed floral landscape in the West Coast National Park. The Postberg Flower Reserve section of the West Coast National Park exhibits the wonders of the flower season splendidly. Postberg is without a doubt one of the most popular and highly sought-after wildflower-viewing destinations in the Western Cape. The Postberg section of the park is open to the public from 1 August to 30 September from 9am – 5pm daily (slightly different to the West Coast National Park’s normal opening hours). In addition to admiring the sheer floral beauty that surrounds you at every twist and turn, it’s a great idea to take a picnic basket along and make use of the amazing array of picnic spots uniquely located / spread around the park. Or, if picnicking isn’t quite your style, feel free to pop into their incredible restaurant.
West Coast National Park Rates & Tariffs / Daily Conservation Fee:
Daily Conservation Fees for 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023 | |
Outside Flower Season | |
South African Citizens and Residents (with ID) | R70 per adult, per day R35 per child, per day |
SADC Nationals (with passport) | R110 per adult, per day R55 per child, per day |
Standard Conservation Fee (International Visitors) | R110 per adult, per day R55 per child, per day |
In Flower Season (August & September) | |
South African Citizens and Residents (with ID) | R104 per adult, per day R52 per child, per day |
SADC Nationals (with passport) | R160 per adult, per day R80 per child, per day |
Standard Conservation Fee | R234 per adult, per day R117 per child, per day |
#2 Secret Beaches – Kraalbaai Beach / ‘The Preekstoel’
- Location: West Coast National Park | between Yzerfontein and Langebaan.
- Best time to visit: 7am – 7pm (September – March); 7am – 6pm (April – August) | In spring, this region comes alive with colourful wild flowers.
Cape Town’s West Coast is known for its irresistible beauty, flourishing fynbos reserves, charming fishing villages, charismatic coastal towns, pristine beaches, superb seafood, incredible nature reserves, and so much more. Cape Town’s west coast is also home to the sandy shores of Kraalbaai, located in the renowned West Coast National Park on the Langebaan Lagoon. This part of the beach is named after the preekstoel (preacher’s pulpit in Afrikaans), which is a rock formation that juts out of the shallows near the water’s edge. This iconic rock formation creates a bit of shelter while you relax in the shallows next to it.
The famous Kraalbaai beach is also known for its long 25km stretch of beach, pressed up against rugged rock formations, along with its calm lagoon waters sparkling in every shade of blue imaginable.
Cape Town’s west coast offers beach lovers a completely different experience compared to the Mother City’s more “commercial” beaches such as Camps Bay and Clifton Beach. Its calm and warmer lagoon waters make it the perfect spot for snorkeling, fishing, kayaking, and swimming, with the length of the beach being ideal for long beach walks and sunset strolls.
While you are not permitted to braai on the beach itself, there are plenty of designated braai and picnic spots you can make use of. As it gets pretty busy pretty early, its best to get there bright and early if you’d like to claim your spot. The sought-after Kraalbaai is also where you will find the famed west coast houseboats.
**Insider Extra: To add a bit more adventure to your west coast Kraalbaai beach day, on the ocean side at nearby Tsaarsbank, there’s a 1.8km trail leading to a rusty old shipwreck.
**Where it’s hidden: Off the R27 between Yzerfontein and Langebaan; it’s 21.3km from the park entrance gate to Kraalbaai.
To find out everything you need to know about West Coast National Park’s Kraalbaai Beach check out our ‘Kraalbaai Beach’ blog!
The focal point of the West Coast National Park is the Langebaan Lagoon. It offers soft sandy beaches, turquoise waters, giant boulders, and asphalt-colored cliffs. The lagoon also serves as the perfect spot for kitesurfing, kayaking, waterskiing, SUPing, boating, fishing, snorkeling, and swimming. It truly is the ultimate watersports hotspot!
#3 It is a true Natural Haven & Birding Paradise
Calling all birding enthusiasts and avid bird watchers! We can almost guarantee that head-over-heels bird lovers will undoubtedly find their hearts aflutter in the West Coast National Park. The incredible West Coast National Park is home to over 250 bird species, which is over a quarter of South Africa’s total – How remarkable is that? This makes the West Coast National Park one of the most important and highly sought-after birding areas in South Africa.
Beyond its top-tier birding status, as well as its varied habitats (attracting a multitude of magnificent bird species), what makes going birdwatching in the West Coast National Park even more special is the fact that some of its bird species, such as the Curlow Sandpiper, Sanderling, and Knot, journey 15 000km from Russia every year to reach their breeding grounds inside this beautiful National Park on the West Coast of South Africa.

Bird Hide
The four bird hides inside the Park give avid bird watchers, including everyone else, the amazing opportunity of viewing some of the many bird species found in this area, such as the beautiful Flamingo, the well-known Ostrich, majestic raptors soaring through the skies, several sweet-sounding songbirds perched on branches, an incredible variety of waterbirds wading through the shallows, as well as the acclaimed Black Harriers – to mention merely a few.
These Bird Hides can be found at:
- Geelbek (here you will find two separate bird hides)
- The Abrahamskraal Waterhole
- Below the Seeberg Lookout Point
There is absolutely no denying that the West Coast National Park is a true haven for avian diversity, offering exceptional opportunities to spot a vast, varied, and wonderful assortment of winged beauties. What are you waiting for? Go grab your binoculars and prepare for an enchanting bird-watching extravaganza!
In addition to being one of the top not-to-be-missed birding destinations in both Cape Town and South Africa, the West Coast National Park also boasts an incredible diversity of wildlife. Make sure you are on the lookout for wildlife species such as caracals, African wild cats, hyraxes, mountain zebras, Cape grysboks, Cape gray mongooses, steenboks, gemsboks, bat-eared foxes, eland, and red hartebeest on your visit to this Cape West Coast nature’s paradise.
While driving through the park, look out for tortoises and snakes crossing the road, plus zebra and buck lazily grazing. You can explore the area by car, on foot, or with a mountain bike.
**BONUS: During the months of August and September, visitors to the park are treated to magnificent displays of Southern Right whales passing along the shores – these beautiful creatures can be viewed as they swim along the coastline in the Tsaarsbank section of the park.
#4 Exhilarating Hiking Trails & Scenic Nature Walks
It’s time to go exploring!

Photo credit: South African National Parks (SANParks)
Lace up your hiking boots, walking shoes, or even your trail-running wilderness blazers, if that’s more your speed, and embark on an epic journey of discovering and exploring the unapologetic natural beauty, diverse landscapes, and stunning wilderness surroundings of the West Coast National Park by going on one of their incredible hiking trails or scenic walking routes that wind their way throughout the park.

Photo credit: South African National Parks (SANParks)
To make things even more exciting, the West Coast National Park boasts a wide range of both thrilling and stunning (all depending on what’s best suited to you) hiking trails and nature walks. Its variety of options means that there is a hiking trail or nature route that is suitable for all fitness and experience levels – ensuring that absolutely everyone gets to join in on the hiking fun!

Photo credit: South African National Parks (SANParks)
Take the coastal paths that meander along the shoreline, treating you to panoramic ocean views and the refreshing sea breeze. You can also opt to explore the tranquil inland trails that lead you through fynbos-covered hills, where you can immerse yourself in the unique flora and fauna of the region.
Here are some of the West Coast National Park’s top trails and walks:
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#Geelbek Short Day Walks:
- 9km: Beginning at the Geelbek Information Centre, the 9km is a circular walk to the dunes and back.
- 7km: Also beginning at the Geelbek Information Centre, the well sign-posted 7km includes part of the 16mile beach, and is a circular walk.
#Bakoor Trail:
This is a short walk from the Langebaan gate to the Seeberg View Point, which is 4,6km long. Along this route bat eared foxes, Ostriches, Eland and many other animals can be spotted, as well as the beautiful view of the Langebaan lagoon.
#Strandveld Trail Two-Day Hike:
Day 1 of this trail will take you through about 14km of Strandveld unique to the West Coast of South Africa. Learn to identify plants such as the wild asparagus, sedge-stemmed love grass and many more while walking on this trail. Day 2 of this trail is 14km long and will take you through Strandveld to the Sixteen Mile Beach before heading back to Geelbek.
#Postberg Two Day Hiking Trails (Only during August and September):
**NB! This trail must be booked in advance (bookings open in June). For booking and tariff information, contact the Geelbek Information Centre on 022 707 9902/3.
Postberg Trail in a Nutshell:
- Hikers start and finish at Tsaarsbank and overnight at Plankiesbaai(tents are required)
- Duration: 2 days one night
- Day 1: 15.5 km (6 Hours)
- Day 2: 11.8 km (3,5 Hours)
- Maximum number of people on the trail: 12
#Steenbok One Day Trail (Only during August and September):
**NB! This trail must be booked in advance (bookings open in June). For booking and tariff information, contact the Geelbek Information Centre on 022 707 9902/3.
Steenbok Trail in a Nutshell:
- Hike starts and finishes in Tsaarsbank.
- Duration: One day hike.
- Distance: 13.9 km (5 hours excluding breaks).
- Maximum number of people on trail: 20
#Eve’s Trail:
Eve’s Trail is a 2,5 day 30km guided trail, traversing the ancient steps of “Eve” – the being from whom it is thought that all human life descended.
Eve’s footprint was discovered in rock (formerly sea sand) at Kraalbaai in 1995 and are said to belong to a young woman who lived 117 000 years ago. The original prints are housed at the Iziko Museums’ South African Museum in Cape Town. The replica of the footprint can be seen at the Geelbek Visitor’s Centre.
- The trail is fully guided, catered and portered.
- For more information and booking, visit capebiospheretrails.co.za
To find out more information about all of the West Coast National Park’s amazing trails and walks – click here.
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#BONUS: The West Coast National Park also boasts a variety of amazing cycling and mountain biking trails!
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Photo credit: South African National Parks (SANParks)
Cycling routes:
- Langebaan gate – Geelbek & return 30km on tarred road.
- Langebaan gate – Kraalbaai & return 70km on tarred road.
Mountain biking routes:
- The 13km Green Trail (follow Green signs) starts at the Langebaan gate and traverses up to the Seeberg Bird Hide before heading back to the gate.
- The 17km Red Trail (follow Red signs) uses a similar route to the Green route, but heads up instead to the Seeberg Lookout and thereafter to Mooimaak before heading back to the Langebaan gate.
Code of Conduct for Cycling and Mountain Biking:
- Respect the National Park and do not damage anything.
- Beware of and do not scare the animals.
- Leave no trace except tyre spoors on the route.
- Ride on marked trails only and heed no-entry signs.
- Be alert to other riders and cars.
- Normal road rules apply on the tar.
- No helmet – no ride.
- Except for the deviations described above, no bike may use any other trail or dirt road in the Park.

Photo credit: South African National Parks (SANParks)
Click here to find out more as well as to view and / or download the West Coast National Park’s various cycling routes map.
#5 Picture-Perfect Picnic Spots & Braai Sites
The West Coast National Park is dotted with an array of picturesque picnic spots that invite you to unwind and indulge in a leisurely outdoor feast, all perfectly complemented by the most breathtaking views and stunning surroundings.
Whether you prefer a peaceful nook amidst the wildflowers or a spot near the lagoon waters or one of the Park’s beautiful beaches, with Kraalbaai being a firm fan favourite, providing the perfect setting for a memorable picnic or braai with family and friends, enjoying a picnic in the glorious West Coast National Park promises to be an unforgettable experience.
If you fancy the beach as against the banks of the lagoon, take a drive further north to the Tsaarsbank section of the park and enjoy a wonderful picnic or braai while keeping a lookout for Southern Right whales swimming along the coastline (during August and September).
**Important Note: Please do note that alcohol is not permitted at public areas such as the picnic and braai sites, beaches and the banks and shores of the Langebaan Lagoon.