Perth to Kalgoorlie Weekend Road Trip + FREE Map

Kalgoorlie is a seriously underrated weekend escape from Perth. The Super Pit, history museums, and outback vibes are reason enough to visit.

But the drive from Perth is just as epic, too! The Goldfields have a unique beauty, especially in wildflower season.

So, this is the itinerary we’d do if we only had a weekend in Kalgoorlie. Plus a bonus Monday in Coolgardie if you can swing the extra day off!

Road trip snapshot

• Distance: ~1,190km return from Perth
• Drive time: ~13 hrs return over the weekend
• Areas covered: Kalgoorlie, Coolgardie, Merredin.
• Best time: Spring, best for wildflowers and mild days. Winter is good too.
• Vehicle: 2WD is fine, but there are a few 4WD-only detours (completely optional)
• Pet-friendly: Kinda! Kalgoorlie is very pet-friendly. But this itinerary includes National Parks that aren’t.
• Good for: History buffs, wildflower chasers, and anyone keen for a taste of the outback without going properly remote

Day 1: Perth > Merredin (Friday)

• Distance: ~260km
• Drive time: ~3 hrs

We recommend pushing straight through to Merredin and sleeping there, so you can wake up early the next day and head to Kalgoorlie.

If there’s still daylight left when you roll into Merredin, swing by the Public Silo Trail.

Local artist Kyle Hughes-Odgers painted 4 of the 8 grain silos in 2017, and it’s turned into a really cool photostop.

The mural’s on Great Eastern Highway, so it’s an easy pull-in on your way through town!

Where to stay in Merredin?

We’d stay at Merredin Tourist Park. It’s perfect for a one-night stopover, with cabins and camping sites to choose from.

Other than that, it’s mostly Airbnbs and holiday rentals around town. Here are some good accommodations in Merredin if you’re keen.

If your budget is really tight and don’t mind driving an extra hour, there’s a free RV camp in Southern Cross too.

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Day 2: Merredin > Kalgoorlie (Saturday)

• Distance: ~333km
• Drive time: ~3.5 hrs

Wake up early and head to Kalgoorlie!

Here are some good spots to stretch your legs along the way:

• Southern Cross: The halfway point between Merredin and Kalgoorlie, with a wide old-school main street, a historic pub, and the Yilgarn History Museum.
• Karalee Rocks: A huge granite outcrop with a couple of walks nearby, it usually fills up after rain. The road in is unsealed but good for 2WD if it’s been dry. It’s also a free camping spot!
• Coolgardie: Just 40 mins from Kalgoorlie, it’s an old gold rush town with museums and a couple of good restaurants if you want to grab a bite.

Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie’s rough around the edges, but it’s got so much character! It’s a proper working town with history, pubs, and that classic red dirt vibe.

The main thing to do there is visiting the Super Pit Lookout, One of the largest open-cut gold mines in Australia.

It stretches about 3.5km long and 1.5km wide!

The lookout is open 7am to 7pm daily and it’s free, though if you can time it with a scheduled blast, even better. Check out our full guide to the Super Pit here

Here are other cool things to do there:

• Hannan Street: Kalgoorlie’s historic main strip, lined with old gold rush-era pubs and buildings, great for a wander.
• Mount Charlotte Lookout: A short walk up for views over the whole town.
• Museum of the Goldfields: Good rainy day option if you want the full mining history rundown.

There’s also the world’s tallest bin… A remarkable feat of Australian engineering 😂

Kidding aside, there are also a few great pubs worth your time – Paddy’s has great food, and The Irish Pub and Beaten Track Brewery are both excellent too.

And for coffee, head to Proper Gander Espresso!

Where to stay in Kalgoorlie?

There are a couple of good holiday parks in town. Discovery Parks – Boulder is closer to the Super Pit but sits a bit further out from the main town centre. Discovery Parks – Kalgoorlie Goldfields is another solid option if you’d rather stay closer to Hannan Street.

For hotels, here are a few we’d consider:

• Quality Inn Railway Motel: An Easy walk to the town centre, with a licensed restaurant and outdoor pool on site.
• Hospitality Kalgoorlie: On the historic Hannan Street, it’s comfortable and affordable, with a pool and BBQ area.
• Rydges Kalgoorlie: The luxury pick, it’s a resort-style stay if you want to make the trip extra special.

Day 3: Kalgoorlie > Perth (Sunday)

• Distance: ~600km
• Drive time: ~6.5 hrs

It’s a long one back, so we like to break it up by exploring some of the stops we skipped on the way to Kalgoorlie!

Here’s what to look out for along the way:

• Coolgardie: Start your day exploring this old gold rush town, which was once WA’s 3rd largest! Wander the main street, visit the Goldfields Exhibition Museum, and check out Ben Prior’s Park, a free open-air museum with old mining gear.
• Goldfields Woodlands National Park: Runs along the highway and is one of the largest intact temperate woodlands left on earth! There are campsites too.
• Boorabbin National Park: Great rest stop with eucalypt woodlands and, in season, some seriously good wildflower displays right along the highway.
• Mt Palmer Salt Lakes (4WD): A big ephemeral inland salt lake system located near the historic gold mining ghost town of Mount Palmer. High-clearance 4WD required.
• Meckering Earthquake Faultline: One of the most destructive earthquakes in Aus hit this tiny town in 1968. You can still see a stretch of the original fault line, and a chunk of the old twisted water pipeline.
• Northam: Stretch your legs on the Suspension Bridge over the Avon River, one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the country. Keep an eye out for the local white swans, Northam’s the only natural breeding ground for them in the country.

From Northam, it’s a 1.5 hour drive to Perth!

Bonus Monday: Coolgardie

• Distance: ~560km (Coolgardie to Perth)
• Drive time: ~6 hrs

Got an extra day up your sleeve? Coolgardie deserves more than a quick drive-through, especially if you’re into history.

This place was once home to over 16,000 people! There’s a lot more to it than you’d think from the main street today.

So if you stay the extra night, here’s what we’d add to the list:

• Goldfields Exhibition Museum: Housed in the old Warden’s Court building, with the Waghorn Bottle Collection, one of the largest bottle collections in the country.
• Lion’s Lookout: The same view the first prospectors had when they discovered gold here, with panoramic views out over the town.
• Rowles Lagoon: A freshwater wetland just out of town, good for a swim, a paddle, or a picnic if you need a break from all the history.
• Coolgardie Cemetery: A sobering but fascinating read, typhoid tore through town in the early gold rush days and a lot of the headstones tell that story.

Then it’s the drive back to Perth, with the stops suggested in Day 3.

Planning your weekend road trip

Best time to go

Spring is the best time to go. Temperatures are great (under 25°C usually) and it’s wildflower season through the Goldfields!

Karlkurla Park in Kalgoorlie is a good spot for it, and there are hotspots all along the Great Eastern Highway.

Autumn and winter are good too. But definitely avoid it in summer, the average is 35°C without a heatwave, and there’s little shade out there.

What to pack

• More water than you think you need. It’s dry country and you’ll feel it faster than you would on the coast
• Sun protection: Hat, sunnies, sunscreen. The lookouts have no shade at all
• A fly net if you’re going in spring or summer.
• Snacks for the drive. Stops between Perth and Kalgoorlie are spread out, so don’t count on finding food when you’re hungry
• Comfy walking shoes for the heritage streets and the bushland tracks
• Binoculars if you have them, it’s really cool to see the trucks at the Super Pit through those
• Offline maps or a guide downloaded for offline access. Phone reception drops out in patches along the Great Eastern Highway

Top tips

Check the Super Pit blast times before you head to the lookout, they close it during blasts and it’d be a shame to drive up for nothing.

Avoid driving the Great Eastern Highway at dawn, dusk or after dark. Roos are everywhere and there are road trains on that stretch.

If you’re going around the start of October, book your stay early. Race Round is the town’s big racing carnival and accommodation sells out weeks ahead.

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