Larapinta Trail Section

While not coastal, this iconic Red Centre trail traverses ridgelines of the West MacDonnell Ranges with vast desert panoramas.

Walk this between April and September — outside those months it regularly passes 40°C and long walks become dangerous. Surface water is unreliable, so carry your own and plan around the ranger-maintained tanks, which are refilled seasonally according to how many walkers are out. Sign the logbook at every trailhead so rangers can track your movements. Don't walk alone: go in a party of three or more and carry a satellite phone or personal locator beacon. Sections run from 8.9km to 28.9km, each separately graded.