What to Do in Jurien Bay Western Australia | Top Activities & Attractions

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Are you looking for the best things to do in Jurian Bay for families? Get ready to explore what Jurien Bay, Western Australia has to offer for your next family getaway with this ultimate travel guide.

Discover the top attractions and what to do in Jurien Bay for families with children of all ages in this small coastal gem along the Australian west coast. Turquoise water, pristine beaches and white sandy beaches are just the beginning.

Need accommodation? We enjoyed our stay at Jurien Bay Tourist Park

While Jurien Bay is a small town on the Westen Australia coast, it is a popular stop when heading north from Perth on a Western Australia road trip. We visited on our way home from our Perth to Kalbarri road trip.

But what is there to do in Jurien Bay with the family? Plenty! But first, let’s plan your visit:

Where Is Jurien Bay?

Jurien Bay is located around 2.5 hours drive north of Perth on Indian Ocean Drive. It is only around 20 minutes north of Cervantes and 2 hours south of Geraldton.

Jurien Bay is part of the Shire of Dandaragan on the Turquoise Coast.

Best Time To Visit Jurien Bay

When it comes to visiting Jurien Bay, there isn’t really a bad time to go. Jurien Bay weather is typically mild all year round, with a few exceptions.

The summer months (December-February) are the warmest and average between 28 and 31 degrees Celsius.

The winter temperatures (June-August) usually range from 19 to 21 degrees Celsius making it too cold for a lot of water sports but still fine for many of the other activities on offer. During winter is when the many species of wildflowers bloom.

As for seasonal events you might want to experience, there is the Turquoise Coast triathlon in February, Easter Fair in Autumn and the Indian Ocean Festival in November.

Top Attractions & Fun Things To Do In Jurien Bay With Kids

Jurien Bay is a relaxed coastal town with something for everyone to enjoy, from water activities to nature trails and adrenaline-pumping experiences too.

Here are some of the top Jurien Bay attractions and what you can do in Jurien Bay with kids!

Sea Lion Experience

The thing Jurien Bay is most famous for is the chance to swim alongside Australian sea lions in Jurien Bay Marine Park. This unique experience is one you can’t get many other places and it sure is a great reason to visit.

While you might get lucky enough to spot the sea lions without a tour, there is no guarantee.

There are 3 different Jurien Bay adventure tours that operate daily sea lion encounters from Jurien Bay: Turquoise Safaris, Jurian Bay Oceanic and Sea Lion Charters.

And at certain times of the year, you might even be lucky enough to spot migrating whales as well!

Find out about the different Jurien Bay tours and availability by visiting the Turquoise Coast Visitor Centre.

Jurien Bay Marine Park

The Jurien Bay Marine Park is a great place to go snorkelling, diving, windsurfing and fishing.

It consists of a shallow lagoon and reef system, with incredibly clear water that makes it the perfect home for many of Australia’s marine wildlife – including sea lions, dolphins, western rock lobsters and fish!

The Marine Park extends approximately 100km from Wedge Island to Green Head in the south, with beautiful white sand beaches all the way along.

There are also many islands throughout the park for fishing in Jurien Bay or to snorkel around.

Note: We spotted blue bottle jellyfish when we visited in December along the main beach area so if you are going snorkelling or spending a lot of time in the water, a wetsuit might be a good idea!

Snorkelling

Snorkelling is such a magical experience and the best part is that no prior experience is needed to do it, unlike diving. For this reason, snorkelling is a great activity to try with your kids if they are old enough to swim.

For snorkelling in Jurien Bay, you can try the Jurien Bay Underwater Interpretive Trail that starts around 25 metres off the old fishermen’s jetty.

If you look for the old wooden piles on the beach off Heaton Street, you can swim to the artificial reef habitat, made of reef balls placed on the ocean floor.

There is also Boullanger Island with waters 1-6m deep, located around 1km offshore from the southern end of Jurien Bay. This is a great place to go snorkelling with kids also with the extensive seagrass meadows where fish like to hide.

Turquoise Way Trail

Enjoy the view from the land by taking a stroll or bike ride along the Turquoise Way trail.

The 14km trail runs between Jurien Bay Harbour and Hill River Mouth, with picnic and BBQ areas scattered along the way and taking you past the new jetty.

Dobbyn Park Foreshore

The highlight along Turquoise Way Trail, aside from the view of Jurien Bay Marine Park is definitely Dobbyn Park Foreshore area.

The newly refurbished and developed foreshore includes one of the most epic nature playgrounds we have ever seen. Possibly the best!

The playground is huge and so incredibly well thought out, with repurposed marine artefacts, tree stumps and boats. There are pieces of old tyres attached by a chain to use for digging and pouring. This is truly a wonderful playground.

Right next to the playground is the newly developed youth precinct and skate park, and of course, the Jurien Bay Jetty and beach views.

This is a perfect place to spend a day with the family. There are BBQ facilities and picnic tables and portable toilets (although we assume they will be building a permanent toilet block in future).

There are plenty of things to do at the Jurien Bay Foreshore. Spend some time walking along the water’s edge, enjoying what it has to offer with the beautiful white sandy beach and iconic turquoise water.

Pinnacles Desert

The other famous experience that Jurien Bay is well known for is its close proximity to Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles Desert.

Jurien Bay is just 30 minutes from the Pinnacles, where you can walk and drive around this unique landscape and feel like you are in fact in the middle of a desert. Or perhaps walking on the moon…

The Pinnacles are limestone pillars that rise up to 4 metres tall. Nambung National Park comprises of 17,491 hectares of land with thousands of unusual looking rock formations. And during August and October, the national park is also blooming with wildflowers.

We loved walking around the walking loop in the national park and had a great time turning it into an adventure with young kids, who were initially not too keen on the walk.

The most fun was following emu tracks with the hope of spotting one of the enormous birds in the wild. No such luck but we did see a kangaroo when we did the driving track through the national park afterwards.

We also played a couple of rounds of hide and seek for a laugh.

Lesueur National Park

Just a short 20-minute drive from Jurien Bay is Lesueur National Park which is known for its wildflowers, wetlands and birdlife.

The park has more than 900 plant species including the rare Western Australian Christmas Tree. It’s also home to around 122 species of native bird, making it a great spot for birdwatching.

You may also be lucky enough to spot a few different reptile species, including geckos and legless lizards.

Lesueur Scenic Drive takes you along one of the most scenic parts of the national park, including Mt Lesueur and Cockleshell Gully.

There are also several walking tracks, including a 26km overnight loop for serious hikers and the option to camp within the national park if arriving on foot at Yonga Campground.

Lake Thetis

Lake Thetis is one of the 5 known sites where thrombolites can be found in Western Australia. These thrombolites are an important natural phenomenon that grows around the perimeter of the lake.

They are amongst the oldest known living organisms on earth and closely related to stromatolites. The Lake Thetis thrombolites are estimated to be around 3000 years old.

A 1.5km boardwalk allows you to walk around the saline lake and view the thrombolites. Although you can see them from the start of the boardwalk so you don’t have to go far.

You will find Lake Thetis 2 kilometres to the southeast of the Cervantes town, on Hanson Bay road. There is plenty of signage in the large parking lot when you arrive.

Lobster Shack

The Lobster Shack is located on the beachfront of Cervantes, around 30 minutes from Jurien Bay. This is the ultimate place to visit for seafood lovers!

Here you can enjoy some of the freshest seafood, with the restaurant open 7 days a week.

They also offer factory tours of the Lobster Shack and sea lion tours

At this local gem, you can try what is arguably one of Western Australia’s most popular seafood dishes – marron or native freshwater crayfish.

Marron are harvested from surrounding fields and lakes including Lake Thetis which is just down the road, so

Lancelin Sand Dunes

Have you ever been sand boarding? We hadn’t until we were on our way back from Jurien Bay to Perth and decided to give it a try!

Lancelin is located around an hour from Jurien Bay and almost every store in town offers sandboard hire. We paid $10 for an hour, with a $50 deposit that you get back on return.

The Lancelin sand dunes are pretty impressive even if you don’t want to go sandboarding or for one of the buggy rides or motorbike experiences on offer.

You will feel like you are in the middle of an isolated desert, with the exception of the view of the Indian Ocean in the distance.

The white sand is incredible and the sand dune experience is a lot of fun. We were pretty terrible at it but had a lot of laughs and got a heck of a workout going up and down the dunes with the board.

Jurien Bay Western Australia is the perfect destination to enjoy beautiful scenery, marine life and the great outdoors. There are plenty of family things to do in Jurien Bay for the whole family, and some unique experiences you won’t get many other places in Western Australia too! If you’re looking for what activities there are near Jurien Bay Western Australia, we have no doubt you will find something on this list!

We hope these Jurien Bay things to do help you plan a fun family trip!