Little River Walk Trail
Denmark
Directions - Located near the centre of Denmark, from South Coast Highway take Ocean Beach Road south for 4.7 kilometres, turning left onto Minsterly Road. After 650 metres, turn left onto Rainbow Close, where the trail head will be located at the end.
The Hike - Visiting Denmark as part of a family holiday to celebrate getting another year older, I had one trail marked down as one that I'd like to finally write up for the website. With the list of trails in the South West not on the website growing quite thin, it was a fun thought to get to walk one, even if it was only a short jaunt along the edge of the Wilson Inlet.
My first interaction with the Little River Walk Trail was way back in 2019 when I was completing my sectional end to end of the Bibbulmun Track. Saving the end of the track heading into Albany for my final section, I had to add on the Parry Beach to Denmark part, after the Parry Inlet was not safe to cross when I had previously tried to hike the Walpole to Denmark section of the track. Heading into Denmark after a lovely couple of days on the track, the hike up and over Mount Hallowell with a full pack was done, and I could enjoy the gentler gradients into town. Straight after Mount Hallowell you come across the Little River Walk Trail, and I always said that I'd return one day and write up the trail. That day would be on this trip, and having already enjoyed a climb up Mount Hallowell earlier in the week with my sister, and a family trip to Bluff Knoll, I was running out of time to get this one in. With my sister and her family having departed early to get ready for the start of the school term, I decided to visit on our last afternoon in Denmark.
The accommodation that I had booked was at the top of the hill from the end of the Little River Walk Trail, along the edge of Inlet Drive, so I would have to walk to the start, and then capture the trail on my return journey. Having walked and cycled this part of Denmark a fair bit over the week, it was a nice goodbye to finish off with a longer walk. Over the course of the week, I was impressed at how walk and cycle friendly Denmark is, and I can imagine that life would be pretty idyllic if you lived here. Reaching the finishing point of the Little River Walk Trail, I entered the Karri Forest and headed toward the start, taking a few photos in the afternoon light, but the bulk of the images you see are from the return journey. Arriving at the start, this was a place I enjoyed immensely whilst walking through on the Bibbulmun. The old wooden sign, the little bench overlooking the inlet, it just has a peaceful feeling to it, a place where all your troubles might disappear for a while, as you stared out over the water.
Spending a bit of time here, I photographed the birds on both the jetty, and the water, before turning my attention to the old wooden sign. Erected many moons ago, my interest peaked when I saw a logo for Trails West, which I assume predates TrailsWA, but I cannot find anything on the interwebs about it. The familiar red of the Bibbulmun Track signage was also present, and that's always a privilige to see. The first part of the trail sees you disappear into a tunnel of vegetation, with tall grasses, Melalueca trees a plenty, and at the time of visiting for me, the tail end of the Tall Kangaroo Paws in flower (they dod have a long flowering period from about September through to January). You'll also come across patches of Bracken Fern that create green tunnels, along with passing several passages leading from the various homes along the inlet down to the water. Coming across a small foot bridge, this is the teaser for the much larger bridge that takes you over the namesake for the trail, Little River.
The name is appropriate in this case, with the source of the river located not very far west of Denmark, and where you cross it on the walk trail, is where it drains into the Wilson Inlet. The wooden and metal bridge is a great spot to stop and admire the views overlooking the water, and I did just that as I watched some Black Swans float past the tree at the entry point to the inlet. On the other side of the bridge you have a decision to make, depending on the time of year you visit. There is a summer route and a winter route (or rather a normal route, and a winter diversion), and it being summer, I decided to take the right turn and follow that path. The reason for this, is due to the track flooding that occurs in winter and spring, which forced me to take the left turn on my previous visit in 2019. Because of that, this would be a whole new section of trail to me, and although my memory is a little sketchy, I think the summer route is the better experience.
Taking you onto a couple of rocky platforms, you get fantastic views overlooking the inlet, and I'm guessing that the holiday homes behind this section have furnished the area with old wooden seats, and a full table and chairs. I enjoyed the seats, as they look natural enough to not be offensive (if they were plastic chairs then it wouldn't be as nice), and it did seem like a great place to watch the sunset with a glass of wine in hand. Moving on, you re-join the main track, passing through a section of thin Marri trees, where I spotted a Christmas Spider that obviously hadn't seen Santa come and go. Beyond this you walk though a standing of old Karri trees, pass a small farm, and then come across what I believe is an abandoned skate park, with just the concrete ramps and an old railing still in place. Beyond this you pop out of the Peppermint trees to cross a grassy patch of land, that always feels weird to me, as there is a house on your left, pretty close to the trail, and it feels as if you're trespassing.
The solution for me is to look right, at the excellent views over the inlet, and towards the large boulders in the forest, and on the edge of the water. Heading back into the Peppermint trees, this is where the trail is at its best. A mix of Karri, Marri and Jarrah, you walk past several impressive boulders, explore plenty of little side trails down to the inlet, and then the Karri trees start to dominate. Surrounded by the golden trunks of the Karri is always a nice feeling, and I slowed up to take many photographs. As I was doing that, a local couple walking their dog alerted me to an Osprey nest perched over the water in a distant Karri tree, with an Osprey currently residing in it. Although I have a 300mm lens now, it was still too far away to get with a good shot, so I included a below average one instead. The last part of the walk continues through the Karri, along a wide path, that is a great way to finish. There is a small car park at the end if you've done a car shuffle, or you can walk back to the start.
Final Thoughts - While not the longest or most natural of trails in the Denmark area, the Little River Walk Trail is still an enjoyable way to spend an hour of your holiday time on.
Getting a good interaction with the Wilson Inlet, there's plenty of cool moments along the short trail, including the views over the water, the massive boulders, and the wonderful Karri Forest.
Another fun trail near Denmark ticked off, this is certainly worth a visit if you're in the area.
Get out there and experience it!
If you've found this page or the website helpful and you want to show your support then consider making a small donation by visiting our Ko-fi page. You can give as little as a dollar with no sign-up required and everything will be put towards the website, creating new content and promoting the trail community.