Gooseberry Hill: Nature Trails, Panoramas and Railway Heritage

Gooseberry Hill offers different ways to experience the landscape: viewpoints, walks and a scenic drive. Gooseberry Hill National Park offers views of the Swan Coastal Plain far below. The one-way road known as the Zig-Zag runs downhill and offers opportunities for landscape photography as a scenic drive. The Railway Heritage Trail also starts in Gooseberry Hill, links trails suitable for walking and cycling, and leads to Pickering Brook. This gives you a choice of different options: a scenic drive, a loop walk or a route with a railway connection.

Views and the Zig-Zag

From the national park, the view takes in the Swan Coastal Plain far below. The Zig-Zag offers a different way to experience the landscape: as a downhill, one-way scenic road, it provides opportunities for landscape photography. If you’d like to capture the surroundings in photos, this drive is a specific option. This makes it easy to choose between a focus on scenic driving and photography or experiencing nature on foot.

Walking trails and bushland

Several walking trails in Gooseberry Hill National Park cross the Zig-Zag, allowing visitors to experience nature and the hills more closely. One trail provides access to the now-disused Statham's Quarry. You can choose between experiencing nature along the trails and visiting a specific destination such as the quarry.

The Hill Street Walk is an easy, 2.4-kilometre loop through a native bushland reserve in Kalamunda National Park in Gooseberry Hill. It passes through a jarrah and redgum forest with scattered balga palms. Here, the trail type and stated difficulty are paired with a specific description of the vegetation: the loop passes through bushland and forest with these tree species.

Wildflowers bloom along the Hill Street Walk during wildflower season, which typically lasts from August to October. If wildflowers matter to your travel plans, this period offers a seasonal guide. Flowering is therefore a seasonal feature of the trail, not something to expect year-round.

Railway Heritage Trail and railway history

The Railway Heritage Trail differs from the Hill Street Walk in its route and historical connection. It starts in Gooseberry Hill and leads to Pickering Brook; in places, it follows the former Upper Darling Range Railway. The railway history is therefore directly connected to the route. The trail is also suitable for walking and cycling, giving you two ways to explore it.

You can choose a trail based on different criteria: the Hill Street Walk is an easy 2.4-kilometre loop through bushland, while the Railway Heritage Trail starts in Gooseberry Hill, ends at Pickering Brook and has a connection to the former railway line. If you’re looking for a loop with a more detailed description of its landscape, the Hill Street Walk offers these features. For a route with railway history and the choice of walking or cycling, the Railway Heritage Trail is the natural option to compare.

Discover more destinations: Bentley, Cloverdale, Henley Brook, Connolly, Sorrento, Gosnells, Wooroloo, The Vines

For the wider travel overview: Perth.