Cape Nelson State Park sits on a basalt headland 12km west of Portland, jutting into the Southern Ocean with dramatic effect. The working lighthouse at its tip was built in 1884 and still guides shipping today; guided tours of the lighthouse complex run on weekends and give access to the tower and the original keeper's cottages.
The park has several well-marked walking tracks that wind through coastal scrub to clifftop lookouts. The views across the Southern Ocean are expansive, and on a clear day the scale of the swell rolling in from Antarctica is striking. In winter the cliffs make a good vantage point for spotting southern right whales as they move between Portland Bay and Cape Bridgewater.
The heathland flora is particularly rich in spring, with banksias, hakeas, and guinea flowers in bloom. Koalas are occasionally seen in the she-oaks along the approach road.