The 3 Parks Walk - Gooseberry Hill NP, Beelu NP, Kalamunda NP (15km)

Join us and take the road less travelled. We will walk some amazing tracks in the Gooseberry Hill National Park, the western section of Beelu NP and end out in Kalamunda NP. You will see some beautiful views over the planes of Perth along the ZigZag and then a lovely section of the Helena Valley into Jorgensen Park through the eucalyptus forest.
We park in the car park opposite Kalamunda History Village and head north along the Kalamunda Heritage Trail, a very stunning track and the start to the ZigZag railway track with its panoramic views of the metropolitan area. We then walk through the picturesque Stratham Quarry and its ruins to the extreme north western corner of the Beelu NP along the Helena River, past the Pipehead Dam and up Piesse Brook valley until we reach Rocky Pool. Entering Jorgensen Park we meet up with the Bibbulmun Track and walk to it's terminus. Finally we return to Kalamunda Village and have a coffee, bite to eat and a chat at the Elevated Grounds Café.
Where: In the large car park on the other side of the road from the Kalamunda History Village..
Distance: 15km, 404m elevation gain and 3.5 - 4hrs walking
Difficulty: This is a walk for regular walkers with a good level of fitness it will challenge you. The Heritage Track is flat enough for an old steam locomotive to travel. The other half isn’t quite mountain goat country but it will certainly be interesting. The final part near the Bibbulmun has a few steep downhills followed by steep uphills on sharp rocky tracks.
What to bring: The forecast is for a mild, sunny day with temperatures from 18 - 24°C. 1.5L water, good hiking shoes, hat, fly repellant and sunscreen (poles if you want)
Toilets: at Jorgensen Park (14km), Kalamunda Library (15km) and the café.
Café after the walk: Elevated Grounds is a delightful restaurant that has good coffee and a nice breakfast/lunch
All trails maps: Check out our intended route on this link. Kalamuda to Gooseberry Hill NP, Beelu NP & Kalamunda NP loop (15km)

Fun Facts:

• The Kalamunda Heritage Trail is part of the old railway line that serviced the timber industry and also took the city folk up to the cooler hills for recreation and picnics during the hot Perth summers.
• The ZigZag was where the steam locomotives shuttled forward and backward up the steep gradient of the escarpment.
• The Pipehead Dam catches the water from Helena Valley and pumps it back up to Mundaring Weir.
• Jorgensen Park was a golf course in the bush. You can still see the dirt fairways with their bitumen teeing grounds.
• Stratham Quarry 1894, rocks crushed for road metal. Stratham Quarry video.

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We aim to set-off for each walk at the advertised time and as a general rule, we set off on-time for each walk.
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