West Coast Drive Coastal Walk

One of my family’s weekend rituals is to hit the West Coast Drive Coastal Walk footpath in the northern beaches. We grab a take away coffee, Little Chef rides his scooter, and even our dog joins in the fun! It’s a cheap and easy activity for the family, wherever you are in Perth – the coastal walking path stretches all the way up the west coast from Munster (south of Fremantle) to Burns Beach in the north.

Our starting point is usually the beach car park at Watermans Bay, near to the Watermans Bay Playground (opposite Ada St). From here we walk north to the Marmion Angling Club before turning back, an easy 2.5km round trip. Depending on the speed you walk at, it should take about 40 minutes. If you prefer to walk or cycle further, a round trip north to Hillarys Boat Harbour (6kms) or south to Trigg (6kms) will challenge you further. On fine mornings, the northern beaches coastal path is bustling with activity from walkers, joggers and cyclists. So be sure to keep left.

This section or the pathway takes you along the road, then deviates off through the dunes and along the rocky cliffs of Watermans Bay. I prefer walking away from the traffic. Along the pathway there are covered lookout points, with benches to stop and enjoy the ocean view.

There are a couple of cafes along the way, if you’d like to pop in for breakfast, morning tea or even a takeaway coffee. We usually go to the handy take away window at The Little Bay.

The pathway is also a popular spot to take dogs for a walk, being close to the North Beach dog beach (between Castle and Margaret streets). There’s bags and bins available along the pathway to pick up after your pooch.

There are public toilets found at Watermans Beach, as well as Marmion Beach. At the Watermans Bay Playground there are shaded picnic tables, BBQs, a fenced and gated children’s playground and also a fab little beach down some steps if you’d like to cool off after a walk. Read more about the Watermans Bay Beach and Playground here.

For wildlife enthusiasts, there are birds and other native wildlife to be found living in the bushes. We often see blue-tonged lizards.

Alternatively, head south from the Watermans Bay Carpark towards North Beach. On this route, we stop at North Beach Deli for a coffee (or ice chocolate for Little Chef).

There is also a memorial to the Centaur shipwreck found off the coast.

The path is mainly flat, with a few small slopes, which are easy enough for little legs. We like to walk in the morning, before the sea breeze comes in and before the heat hits in summer. An evening walk is also lovely if you enjoy a sunset. The beauty of this walk is you can park anywhere and make any spot your starting point. There’s plenty of street parking available.

Get your walking shoes on and get your 30 minutes of exercise done with a beautiful ocean view.

Find more family friendly walks and picnic spots in Perth here.

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About Amanda Carlin

Amanda Carlin has her own food and travel blog. Established in 2013, "The Chef, His Wife and Their Perth-fect Life" has enjoyed an exciting name change in 2021, as "The Chef's Ex-wife" embarks on new adventures with Simply PERTHfect. Amanda loves getting out and about in Perth and WA, as well as brunching, tapas or something a little fancy in equal measures. With her son "Little Chef" in tow, Amanda always has plenty of family friendly eating options to recommend too! Be sure to check out Simply PERTHfect.

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