Western Australia · Attraction
Greenough Leaning Trees
Wind-sculpted river gums
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Along the Brand Highway south of Geraldton, a grove of river gums grows not upward but sideways, their trunks bent almost horizontal by the relentless southerly winds that roll off the Indian Ocean across the flat Greenough plains. Known to the local Yamatji people as Kurlayhi, these wind-sculpted eucalypts are an iconic and genuinely unusual natural spectacle that rewards even a brief roadside stop.
The trees are river gums, the same species that grows upright across most of southern Australia. At Greenough the persistent salt-laden southerly winds exert enough force on young saplings to permanently redirect their growth, producing the sweeping horizontal forms that have amazed travellers since European settlement began in the 1850s. Some trunks run parallel to the ground for several metres before turning upward at the tip.
A purpose-built roadside car park sits approximately 20 minutes south of Geraldton on the Brand Highway and gives visitors a safe place to stop, photograph, and read the interpretive signs. The trees are scattered across the broader Greenough district, so they are visible from the road as you drive through.
There is no entry fee and no set opening hours. The nearby Central Greenough Historic Settlement and the Greenough Museum and Gardens are worth combining into the same half-day trip.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Greenough Leaning Trees.
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