Police have described as tragic, the death of a teenage tourist who had been hiking in Western Australia's north west.

The 14-year-old Scottish boy was hiking with his father along the Badjirrajirra creek in the Cape Range National Park, south of Exmouth on Friday, when he collapsed from heat exhaustion.

Police say the father and son were not carrying a great deal of water.

The boy's father called emergency services, and police located the pair around 700 metres down a gully and not far from a carpark.

The boy was treated on the track before being transferred to Exmouth Hospital, where he later died.

Police say temperatures in the region were well above 40 degrees at the time and they are urging tourists to carry plenty of water when hiking in such conditions.

The boy's father is a 49-year-old man from Geraldton, in WA's mid-west.

Police are preparing a report for the Coroner.