Lakeside Sanctuary Zone

Meet the site

Lakeside is the quieter alternative to Turquoise Bay: a sanctuary-zone snorkel close to the Milyering Discovery Centre, with the reef beginning just 20–30 m from shore and marked with yellow boundary signs and buoys. Because it lacks Turquoise Bay's drift current, it is generally calmer and more suitable for less confident snorkellers.

The sanctuary protection produces good fish and animal life. Snorkellers report abundant rays, turtles, octopus, potato cod and reef sharks, with dugong occasionally seen. Hard coral bommies and patches provide the structure, and the area immediately inside the reef is shallow enough to see everything from the surface.

The buoys mark the recommended area; currents can be stronger outside it, so stay within the markers. Early mornings on light-wind days give the best visibility and calmest water. As a shore site it can be combined easily with Turquoise Bay and Oyster Stacks in a day in Cape Range.

Lakeside also attracts shallow shore divers and is the jumping-off point for kayaks heading to the offshore Ranger's Bommies. Lagoon coral in the area was affected by the 2025 marine heatwave.

Planning a Cape Range day: the national park's lagoon sites stretch about 50 km along Yardie Creek Road from Tantabiddi to Osprey and Sandy Bay, all within the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast. The reef crest sits a few hundred metres to a couple of kilometres offshore, enclosing a lagoon of sand, seagrass and coral bommies, and a series of sanctuary zones (look but don't take) protect the best-known snorkel areas. There are no shops, fuel or air fills in the park, so bring water, food, sun protection and reef shoes from Exmouth. The Milyering Discovery Centre has current information on conditions and zones. Mornings are usually calmer, clearer and cooler than afternoons, and checking the tide chart is essential for the shallower sites.

What you might see

Stingrays, green turtles, octopus, potato cod, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, dugong (occasional), reef fish, hard corals

Location

Buoyed snorkel area over lagoon reef in the Lakeside Sanctuary Zone, a short walk south of the Milyering Discovery Centre in Cape Range National Park.

Facilities nearby

Cape Range National Park entry fee applies (pay station on Yardie Creek Road). Toilets and car parks at most beach sites; Milyering Discovery Centre (drinking water, information). No fuel, shops or air in the park – air fills, hire and supplies in Exmouth.