Jorgensen Park
Kalamunda
Directions - The Jorgensen Park car park is a very short drive down Mundaring Weir Rd from Kalamunda and is on the left hand side of the road. The trail start can be found near the playground and down one of the old fairways.
The Hike - Jorgensen Park is a very familiar place for me with the wide open expanses being visible as you trek the first section of the Bibbulmun Track in Kalamunda. This was however my first visit to specifically do the full Jorgensen Park experience and no visit here would be complete without a four legged friend. One request I often get is about which trails in Perth are dog friendly so I organised a Tour de Wuff of the Perth Hills to add some hikes that can be enjoyed by all. Joining me today was the apple of my eye and Life of Py Assistant Experience Tester (Sadie) and good friends Tom, Mel and Gus (also a Life of Py Experience Tester).
On a perfect winters day we ventured out to the Jorgensen Park car park on Mundaring Weir Rd (just down the road from the Bibbulmun Track Northern Terminus) and quickly found out that a lot of people had the same idea. With a parking spot located we hopped out and found the starting point for the loop at the children’s play equipment. With Sadie and Gus raring to go we set them free from their leads and let them dictate the pace. This is not your usual trail as the majority of it is in wide open spaces lined with bushland and there is a good reason for this. Prior to 1972 this was the site of the Kalamunda Golf Course so the trail follows what used to be the old fairways. The result is a very different walk than most dog parks in Perth and allows the dogs to run around like idiots and still encapsulate the feeling of the Australian bush. I can understand why they moved the course as the fairways are just compacted pea gravel inherent to this area and the soils of Forrestfield would have provided a much better fairway.
We were choosing to do the trail in a clockwise direction so pretty soon we hit a large red Bibbulmun Track information board and some more intimate walking as the open spaces closed in. With the winter rains doing their job in the last month there was a small trickle in the creek and the dogs had great fun investigating. The trail follows the Bibbulmun up a small hill and back out onto one of the many old fairways. Here we made our way to the middle and up ahead we were confronted by a small army of Shelties (Lassie dogs) out on a group walk. Both Gus and Sadie were hesitant given they were outnumbered but we came away unscathed as we admired the beautiful variation of this wonderful breed of dog. To continue the walk keep heading north along the Bibbulmun until you reach the boot cleaning station. From here you want to head east and on to some fantastic views across the valley below before heading back towards the open fairways. Once on the fairways you follow them back all the way back to the car park. Admire along the way the bird life, bright yellow wattle trees and if you get a day like we had, the beautiful Australian sunshine.
Final Thoughts - While this is a short hike at 2.3km, being a loop you can enjoy it as many times as you want. This is a very popular spot for Kalamunda locals for good reason with an abundance of open space mixed in with some great views and classic Australian bush.
Being very close to the centre of Kalamunda means there are plenty of options when you finish for a coffee/puppuccino. Grab your wuffs, a few friends and make a morning or afternoon of it. Everyone will have a great time and you will be out in nature so can't go wrong.
All in all it was a pleasurable hike with the dogs giving it a two paws up rating.
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