There are currently only six officially recognized public access points to the Pilbara coast, outside of the urbanized town areas. The most recent addition was the Public Access Route to the Ashburton River Mouth in 2013.
Analysis of aerial images of the coast had identified about a thousand informal coastal access points, most of which are services by multiple bush tracks. Many of these unofficial routes pass through private property, leaseholds, and crown land or government reserves. This uncontrolled vehicular movement has led to the degradation and erosion of the land.