This trail guide showcases the diverse trails in Kalamunda – mainly coming off the Rocky Pool trail and Jorgenson Park. In spring, it’s incredibly beautiful. The creeks flow, the layers of green burst from every direction and dashes of purple bloom give this place a heavenly feel. In winter, Rocky pool becomes almost rapid like. The creeks fill up and sometimes overflow onto the trails. Yep, blocking the way! Stormy weather out there is divine. The moody darkness and mossy green invokes a mystical, enchanted walk. Keep your eyes peeled as you will discover many hidden jewels here.
Rocky Pool Trail
LOCATION: Spring Road, Kalamunda
Distance: About 7-9km
Trail Type: Most of the trail is easy to moderate. The incline – moderate to hard.
Other Useful Information: Flat trail with a few hilly sections and challenging incline. No toilets on site.
Park at the end of Spring Road, Kalamunda. Starting at the end of the street (dead end), you want to head in land towards Schnipp road. The trail follows along side the creek until you hit Schnipp Road (dirt road). You can turn left or right – and we’ll do both in this piece.
Turn left for Rocky Pool
Turning left, about a five minute walk, you’ll arrive at Rocky Pool. In spring it’s full of water but when we returned for a group hike it was dry as a piece of toast without butter! Dam! When the waters flowing you can swim in the natural pool. If you wonder down the bottom and walk along, there’s some cool places to sit and put your legs in. It’s shallow, cool and relaxing.
Rocky Pool
Let’s go back
Heading back the way you came, the wide path passes by multiple little creeks. I love looking out into the valleys. You’re not quite up high yet but you can see the first part of trail below. Now, I’m not too sure of the official end of this loop. I found this incline that leads back to the start. I went this way once and it became a ritual. I love how challenging it is – sometimes while I’m doing I feel like I’m dying but it’s always the best feeling afterwards. There’s no official sign so you have to keep an eye out for it. It’s a left turn – a wide opening, quite steep and rocky.
Top of the incline
My favourite spot at the top of the incline makes the challenge that much more worth it. A barren tree over hangs a rocky path. It’s bare branches, casting a beautiful shape against the blue sky. Surrounding us, vegetation of all sorts bursting with life. We now know the rocky path as a bike trail due to a bike rider flying over the hills and coming to fast a halt. He warned us that we are standing on a bike trail! He also let us know there were high up views if we followed the trail upwards. And he was right – open views of the hillside where we got this funny group shot a few weeks later.
Group hikes with We Hike Wa
Final Thoughts
There are many trails in this area and I’ve wondered off, always finding my way back. If you keep a sense of direction, the trails should lead back to known territory. It’s also quite popular for riders and locals. The different seasons reveal new things to look at and admire. It’s symbolic of the journey of life – the up’s and downs create the entire picture. And there is joy to be found in all that we experience.