Halls Creek is located in the eastern Kimberley region in far northern Western Australia, between the towns of Warmun (Turkey Creek) and Fitzroy Crossing on the Great Northern Highway. Halls Creek is the administrative centre for Halls Creek Shire Council, and also a regional support centre for the cattle industry, the only sizeable town for 600 km for tourists on the Great Northern Highway, and a major service centre for local indigenous groups. Over 60% of the town's population is indigenous, comprising mainly the Jaru and Kija peoples as well as some Tjurabalan and Kukatja peoples from the deserts to the south.
The Halls Creek area is home to several attractions including:
Halls Creek began as a remote outback gold mining town following the discovery of alluvial gold in the area by Charles Hall in 1885. This discovery led to the Kimberley gold rush, Western Australia's first gold rush. Some gold mining is still carried on today by local prospectors, but large-scale mining activity ceased with the closure of the White Elvire River Mine.
In 1949, Halls Creek was moved 12 km to the west of its original location following the construction of the Great Northern Highway. As the new highway did not follow the route of the old Duncan Road, the town would have been doomed if it had not moved to its current location on the highway.