HikeWest plans to publish a handy guide book and/or online resource for walks of the Southwest Region; mainly circuit day walks and multi-day bushwalks, and mostly of minimum 15km length. These will mostly not duplicate bushwalks that are already online elsewhere, but will include some loops off the Bibbulmun Track and Cape to Cape Track. They will give experienced walkers opportunities and motivation to reach many excellent locations in the southwest that are bypassed by the Bibbulmun Track.
Many of the walks will intentionally be reasonably adventurous to give walkers opportunities to challenge themselves beyond the more developed trails. The book will help restore some excellent, long-overlooked SW walk areas to the schedules of today’s bushwalkers.
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Since starting the project in April 2018, we have initial walk summaries including maps and GPS files for around thirty excellent walk possibilities in the SW Region (see map and list). These walks visit at least 18 national parks ranging from Wellington National Park in the north (near Collie) to the various NPs along the SW and southern coast. More good walks are to be added to the list following a successful HikeWest workshop with experienced bushwalkers that was held in Albany in mid-September 2018.
All the walks need re-testing as the suggested routes are mostly substantially changed from previous ones in the areas, such as those in the 1985 “Forests on Foot” book. If you are keen to contribute to testing the walks or to providing information about these or other walks from your own past experience in some of the areas, do contact us now!
| Walk area | Duration (days) | Walk Distance (km) | Park/State Forest |
| Wellington NP | 1-2 | 20.5-28.5 | Wellington NP |
| Gibraltar Rock | 1-2 | 23.5 | State forest |
| Noggerup | <1-2 | 16 | State forest, incl Preston Virgin Jarrah Forest |
| Crooked Brook Forest | <1-2 | 17 | Forest Reserve? |
| Leschenault Peninsula | <1 | 14-20.5 | Leschenault Peninsula CP |
| Beedelup | <1 | 13.5 | Greater Beedelup NP |
| Boranup | 2-3 | 40 | Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP |
| Gardner River | 2 | 24 | part D'Entrecasteaux NP, part State forest |
| Gladstone Falls-Woolbales-Mt Chance | 3-4 | 39.5-57 | Shannon & Mt Frankland South NPs |
| Greenbushes Loop | <1 | 15.5 | mainly State forest |
| Lake Maringup | 4 | 44.5 | D’Entrecasteaux NP |
| Coast-Blackwood River-Margaret River | 6-7 | 130 | Leeuwin-Naturaliste NP, Forest Grove NP, etc |
| Meelup | 1 | 15 | Meelup Regional Park |
| Moons Crossing-Warren River Campsite | 1-2 | 18-23 | State Forest |
| Upper Shannon (Bull Rd – Dog Rd) | 2-3 | 24.5-46 | part Shannon NP, part State forest |
| St Johns Brook, Nannup | 2-3 | 39.5 | St Johns Brook Reserve? & State forest |
| Tone River | 2 | 22.5 | State forest |
| Yeagarup | 2 | 28 | D’Entrecasteaux NP |
| Warren River – Yeagarup Dunes | 3 | 48 | D’Entrecasteaux NP |
| Sabina River | <1 | 11.5-16 | Whicher Range NP |
| Black Point | <1 | 13.5-19 | D’Entrecasteaux NP |
| Broke Inlet | 3-7 | 51-115 | D’Entrecasteaux NP & Shannon NP |
| Mt Roe-Frankland River | 3 | 27-30 | Mt Frankland North NP/Mt Roe NP |
| Mt Lindesay | 1-2 | 10-22 | Mount Lindesay NP |
| Lower Frankland | 2 | 30 | Walpole-Nornalup NP |
| Nuyts Wilderness-Mandalay Beach | 3-5 | 25-47.5 | Walpole-Nornalup NP |
| Lowlands Beach-The Deep-West Cape Howe Campsite | 1-2 | 21 | West Cape Howe NP |
| West Cape Howe | 3-4 | 33.5-46 | West Cape Howe NP |
| Bald Head | <1 | 12.5 | Torndirrup NP |
| Mount Martin Botanical Park | <1 | 12.5 | Gull Rock NP |
| Mount Richard-Bonito Beach | <1 | 14 | Gull Rock NP |
| Stirling Ridge | 2-3 | 19.5 | Stirling Range NP |
| Porongurup West | 1-2 | 12.5-19.5 | Porongurup NP |
| Cape Le Grand | 1-2 | 20 | Cape Le Grand NP |
| Mount Le Grand-summit and beaches | 1-2 | 13-25 | Cape Le Grand NP |
| Fitzgerald River NP Coast | 5-7 | 50-110 | Fitzgerald River NP |
| Peak Charles & Peak Eleanora | <1 | ~6 | Peak Charles NP |
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