When imagining the outback of Western Australia, you probably think of a dark red color. And that is exactly the color that comes to mind when we think back at our time in Karijini national park, one of our favorite spots in Western Australia. This unique landscape offered us a real Western Australian outback experience and there are different parking lots where several hikes let you discover this beautiful area. For us, it was a perfect stop during our road trip through Western-Australia.
Karijini national park is Western Australia’s second largest national park. The park is famous for its many gorges, slot canyons, waterfalls, waterholes and red cliffs.
In this post, we describe the four best hikes we did in Karijini National Park. Below, you can find a map where we pinned the most important locations in Karijini.
How to use this map / Click on the top left of the map to display the list of locations. You can also click on the locations to display further information. Click on the top right corner of the map to open a larger version of the map in a new tab. Click the star (favorites) next to the name of the map to save to your Google Maps.
Table of Contents
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Practical information for your visit
How much time do you need for Karijini National Park?
We recommend spending at least three days in Karijini. The various walks are spread across the park, and you’ll need plenty of time to get from point A to point B. Some of the roads are ‘washboard’ gravel tracks, so it’s best not to drive over them at too high a speed. By spending enough time in the park, you can tackle the various walks at your own pace and really take in the surroundings.
What is the best time to visit Karijini National Park?
The best time to visit the park is from May to September. During this period, daytime temperatures are pleasant and there is the least chance of rain or extreme heat. We visited the park twice, in March and in August. So we can compare the two, and the temperatures in March were indeed extreme! Please also bear in mind that the visitor centre is closed from early December to early February. During this period, there can be a great deal of rainfall, which also makes part of the park inaccessible.
How to get in Karijini National Park?
The park is situated about 1.400 kilometres north of Perth. The nearest major town is Tom Price. The park itself is also vast, so you’ll need your own transport to drive from one place to another. If you drive carefully, a standard car (2WD) like the one we had is certainly sufficient.
Whenever we need a hire car, we always contact discovercars.com. They offer competitive prices after comparing various hire companies. We’ve had a very positive experience with their service, customer support and insurance provider. You can check prices and availability for cars from any location in Australia straight away below.
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Where to stay in Karijini National Park
There are two camping grounds in Karijini: Dales campground and at Karijini Eco Retreat. Facilities include benches, gas barbecues and toilets. If you’re more in the mood for glamping, Karijini Eco Retreat offers deluxe eco tent with ensuite and eco cabins.
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The visitor center of Karijini National Park
The park has a beautiful visitor center, where you can learn more about the park and get more information and maps of the different hikes. At the visitor center, you have hot showers and toilets. It is located just off Banjima Drive (eastern section) and is open from 9am to 4pm from early February to early December. Drinking water can be bought in the visitor center. There are also tanks with untreated water on the site, but remember this water needs to be treated before it is drinkable.
More information about the hikes in Karijini
At the visitor center of Karijini national park, you can get maps of the area and the hikes. Here you can check the weather conditions as well. They have a small shop where you can buy fresh and cold water, a necessity during your hike.
Every walking trail has a classification number:
- Class 2: Suitable for families. You don’t need any bushwalk experience
- Class 3: Suitable for different ages and fitness levels. Only little bushwalk experience is needed
- Class 4: For this walk, you need a good level of fitness. Experience in bushwalking is recommended
- Class 5: A high level of fitness is recommended. Only if you are an experienced bushwalker. Sometimes you have to swim or climb to continue your walk.
Signage of the hikes in Karijini
All hikes in Karijini national park start at a specific parking lot. So you can easily reach the start of the hike with your car. Large information panels indicate where the trail starts. During the hike, buttons on rocks or clrealy visible panels show you the way. We were really impressed by the quality of the signage and trails.
Dales gorge and Circular Pool (Class 4)
We think this walk is the perfect introduction to the park. It’s a relatively easy walk, and we really liked the fact that you can go for a swim at both Fern Pool and Circular Pool. With a picnic, this makes for a perfect day out that is suitable for everyone.
- Start hike: The hike starts from Fortescue Falls park, close to Dales campground.
- Description of the hike: The hike starts with an easy walk where you take the metal stairs down into the gorge. When you head to the right, you can go and see Fern Pool. This is a large pool with a waterfall that is very suitable for swimming. And good news! There are no crocodiles in Karijini! If you head to the left, you start hiking through the gorge. The hike is not very difficult, but sometimes you have to cross water via rocks to go from one side of the gorge to the other side. You can return the same way, or continue via the Circular Pool track and return to Fortescue Falls car park along the Gorge Rim track. The Circular Pool track ends at Circular Pool, a perfect place to have a picnic and a swim.
- Length of the trail: The Dales gorge trail is about 2 kilometers. You need to walk an additional 800 meters for the Circular Pool. The Gorge rim track is 2 kilometers as well. This means the entire loop is about 5 kms long.
Mount Bruce Summit (Class 5)
This walk is completely different from the other walks we describe in this post. The other walks are often set amongst gorges and rocky terrain. On this walk, you’ll climb the highest mountain in the area, giving you a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside.
- Start hike: The hike starts from Mount Bruce car park
- Description of the hike: With its 1234 meters high, Mount Bruce is the second large summit in Western Australia. During the hike up, you will have spectacular views over the area and the Marandoo mine. Along the way, there are different information boards about the area and the mine. The trail starts easy, but gets more difficult once past the Marandoo mine site. Especially the last climb becomes a bit more technical. Because there is not a lot of shelter during your hike, it’s best to start the hike during the morning hours.
- Length of the trail: From the car park to the summit and back is 9 kilometers. Dependent on your fitness level, the hike takes 4-6 hours.
Joffre waterfall (Class 4-5)
This walk was a complete surprise for us, as we hadn’t expected to suddenly come across an amphitheatre of rocks with a waterfall. Highly recommended!
- Start hike: The hike starts from the car park near the Joffre falls lookout.
- Description of the hike: Most of the trail is class 4, but the last 150 meters is class 5. It is the perfect way to witness how the water has changed the landscape. The trail ends at a curved wall which forms a natural amphitheater with an amazing natural waterfall. This hike can be technical as you need to climb up and down rocks that can be slippery from the water.
- Length of the trail: The hike is 3 kilometers and it will take you about 2 hours.
Hancock gorge (Class 5)
At the visitor centre, we were given clear instructions for this walk: as soon as it starts to rain, stop walking and turn back immediately. We soon realised why. During this walk, you end up walking and swimming through a gorge filled with water. The water level here can therefore rise rapidly when it rains. This wasn’t an easy walk, but if you love adventure, it is absolutely worth it!
- Start hike: The hike starts from the Weano Gorge car park
- Description of the hike: This is probably the most adventurous hike of all. Be sure to take an action camera with you and leave other stuff that isn’t waterproof in your car. During this walk you sometimes need to swim or walk through water to continue, so you don’t want to take an expensive camera with you. The hike is technical as you have to defeat several natural obstacles. During the spider walk, you climb through a small gorge while water is streaming beneath you. Definitely not for the fainthearted, but we loved this hike!
- Length of the trail: The hike is 1.5 kilometers and it will take you about 2 hours.
Advice regarding hiking in Karijini National Park
A lot of these hikes demand to have bushwalk experience and a good level of fitness. Don’t start with these hikes if you don’t have a lot of walking experience. Visit the visitor center beforehand to obtain additional information and a map of the area (for free). Also check the weather conditions and leave the gorges immediately when it starts to rain (flooding occurs).
Karijini National Park’s climate can be best described as tropical semi-desert, and hence temperatures in summer can be extreme. Take plenty of drinking water and sun protection.
Don’t start hiking without…
- Minimum 2 liters of water per person per day. A CamelBak is an eco-friendly and convenient way to take fresh water with you.
- Sturdy shoes and other hiking material like trekking poles
- A daypack suited for hiking
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses, sunscreen (30+) and insect repellant
- Map of the area
- Snacks and/or lunch and a reusable ziplock bag to take your waste back with you
- Clothes for every type of weather condition. There are different pools in Karijini National Park, so take a swimsuit with you as well to have a refreshing dip during your hike.
We hope this post provides you with enough information to help you plan your visit to the beautiful Karijini National Park. If you do have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send us a message!
Happy travels
M&M
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