West MacDonnell Ranges Weekend Road Trip + FREE Map

Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges was one of our favourite parts of Central Australia. It’s full of epic gorges, iconic hikes, the best outback feel, and some REALLY cold waterholes.

It’s also excellent for a weekend road trip. There are heaps of things to do but they’re all a short drive apart, so you won’t stay behind the wheel for long.

Plus, places like Ormiston Gorge, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek Big Hole and Glen Helen Gorge are all easy to reach in a 2WD, so you don’t need a 4WD!

Now, if we only had a weekend, this is the itinerary we’d do, plus a bonus Monday if you can take the extra day off.

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Road trip snapshot

• Distance: ~340km return from Alice Springs
• Drive time: ~5 hours total across the weekend
• Areas covered: Simpsons Gap, Ormiston Gorge, Glen Helen, Ochre Pits, Serpentine Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Standley Chasm. Optional: Trephina Gorge Nature Park
• Best time: April to October, daytime temps are great but know that the swimming holes are extremely cold year-round
• Vehicle: 2WD, every road on this route is sealed
• Pet-friendly: No, it’s a National Park so pets aren’t allowed
• Good for: First-time campers, road-tripping newbies, and anyone wanting an easy nature fix without needing a 4WD.

Day 1: Simpsons Gap > Ormiston Gorge (Friday)

• Distance: ~150km
• Drive time: ~2hrs

Your first stop is Simpsons Gap, just a 20-minute drive from Alice Springs!

It’ll give you a taste of what’s to come, with these massive red cliffs and the waterhole. You can’t swim there, but there’s a good chance of spotting black-footed rock wallabies.

Do the Cassia Hill Walk if you’re up to it. It’s a short loop (1.8km return, ~1 hr) up a small hill, with excellent views of the West Macs and the Simpson Gap.

Ormiston Gorge and campground

Drive: 125km (1.5hr) from Simpsons Gap

This is our favourite base for the whole weekend.

The area is absolutely beautiful, with great hikes nearby. There’s also a big waterhole surrounded by the massive red gorge walls, with VERY cold water (even in warm weather), so be prepared!

The campground is one of the best in the region too, with hot showers, toilets, BBQs, and epic views. It’s one of the most comfortable campgrounds in the West Macs, there’s even a kiosk nearby.

Where to stay in the West Macs?

We recommend staying at Ormiston Gorge for the weekend if you can. It’s 2WD-friendly, has excellent amenities, and the location is unbeatable – all the main spots are a short drive away.

But if there aren’t any spots available there, we’d check the availability at Ellery Creek Big Hole’s campsite, or at Standley Chasm. Both are 2WD-friendly!

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Day 2: Glen Helen > Ochre Pits > Ormiston Gorge (Saturday)

• Distance: ~60km
• Drive time: ~50 min

Start your day with a short 10-min drive to the iconic Glen Helen Gorge, one of the few permanent waterholes in the West Macs!

The water is very cold year-round, so come prepared. And bring food – there used to be a Discovery Resort there with a restaurant, but it’s closed at the time of writing.

Ochre Pits & Serpentine Gorge

Drive: 22km (20 min) east from Glen Helen

These two stops sit close together and give the day a bit of cultural depth between all the swimming.

The Ochre Pits are a cliff outcrop with beautiful layers of red, yellow, white and orange running through them.

The ochre there has been used by Arrernte people for thousands of years in ceremonies, body painting, and artwork. There’s a short walk to the area with signage with all the details.

Just don’t take any ochre with you. It’s a sacred site, so please leave it exactly as you found it!

Next, if you’re keen on an easy walk with heaps of birdwatching opportunities, head to Serpentine Gorge, a 10-min drive from the Ochre Pits.

The walk is ~1.5km (30-45mins) and takes you into the gorge, where there are some seasonal waterholes where birds gather! You can’t swim there, but it’s a beautiful place worth checking out.

Want to see more of the region’s best walking tracks? You’ll love this roundup of the best hikes in the Northern Territory

Tyler’s Pass Lookout for sunset

Drive: 80km (50 min) west from Ochre Pits

This epic lookout offers huuuge views over Tnorala / Gosse Bluff and the surrounding West Macs.

The views are out of this world, and it’s one of the best sunset spots in the area. We recommend packing a picnic and sitting up there while the colours change over the ranges.

The turn-off is on a low-visibility section of the road though, so drive carefully!

Day 3: Ellery Creek > Standley Chasm > Alice Springs (Sunday)

• Distance: ~150km
• Drive time: ~2hr

Wake up early and make the 40-minute drive to the iconic Ellery Creek Big Hole, another permanent waterhole surrounded by gorgeous red cliffs.

The water is freezing pretty much all year, so bring swimmers, but prepare yourself for a very refreshing dip LOL.

It’s a beautiful area, although when we went the water levels were really low, so it wasn’t too tempting for a swim. That’s not usually the case, though.

But even without swimming, it was still worth the visit. We ended up using it more as a picnic stop, which worked well because there are BBQs and facilities nearby.

There’s also the Dolomite Walk if you want to stretch your legs. It’s a 3km loop (1.5hrs) where you can see more of the gorge and the geology around it.

Keen on more epic swimming spots? Check out our list of the best swimming spots in the Northern Territory.

Standley Chasm (Angkerle Atwatye)

Drive: 50km (40 min) from Ellery Creek

This is a narrow, 80-metre-high chasm, famous for its tall orange walls that light up when the sun hits them from above.

It’s the only place in the Red Centre where we’d actually tell you to go around midday. The overhead sun makes the chasm practically glow, it’s beautiful and 100% worth the heat!

We went in high season and the chasm was pretty full of people, but still worth it. You can manage to get some cool photos even if the place is packed.

The walk in is easy and short, through a surprisingly green trail before you reach the narrow chasm.

The place is privately run by the local Arrernte community, so there’s a separate entry fee which you can purchase here.

The chasm closes at 2pm on Sundays, last time we checked, so don’t linger too long at Ellery Creek.

S&C Travel Tip

Bonus: Trephina Gorge Nature Park

• Distance: ~170km return
• Drive time: ~2 hrs return

If you’ve got a Monday up your sleeve, swap sides and head into the East MacDonnell Ranges instead, they see a fraction of the crowds and the scenery holds up just as well!

Things to do there include:

• Yeperenye / Emily and Jessie’s Gap: a quick stop just out of town at two culturally significant gaps in the range, with Aboriginal rock art visible at Emily Gap.
• Trephina Gorge Lookout Walk (4WD recommended): a short climb to a lookout over the quartzite cliffs and river red gum-lined creek bed below.
• Trephina Gorge Creek Bed Walk (4WD recommended): an easy, shaded walk along the sandy creek bed through the heart of the gorge, a relaxed final outing before heading home.

If Central Australia has hooked you by this point, our guide to things to do in Central Australia covers plenty more for your next visit!

Planning your weekend road trip

Best time to go

April to October is the best time to visit the West MacDonnell Ranges trip, with cool mornings and warm days. The swimming holes will always be cold though, so be prepared.

Summer is brutally hot out here, similar to what you’ll find further south around Uluru during the warmer months, so we’d steer clear of December to February.

What to pack

• NT Park Pass if you’re not an NT resident, purchase it online here.
• Food, coffee, and PLENTY of drinking water.
• Bathers and a quick-dry towel, you’ll be in and out of waterholes all weekend.
• Reef shoes or old sandals for the rocky entries at Ellery Creek and Ormiston
• Fuel topped up before you leave town, and extra just in case (we recommend metal jerry cans, they’re more durable than plastic)
• A warm layer for camp, desert nights get cold even when the days are hot

Top tips

Book your Ormiston Gorge campsite ahead of time in peak season, it fills up fast on weekends.

Do the Ormiston Pound Walk before 9am on Saturday if you can, the shadeless middle section gets uncomfortable fast once the sun’s up.

Mobile reception drops out almost entirely once you leave Alice Springs, so download offline maps before you go.

Keen on exploring more of the Red Centre? You’ll love this Alice Springs to Uluru road trip guide

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