The 5 Best Day Hikes in the Blackwood Valley & Balingup

Just outside Balingup, Golden Valley Tree Park is Western Australia's largest arboretum — 60 hectares of trees from every corner of the world, laid out along the Blackwood River. The main loop is a gentle 3–4 km walk on soft gravel paths, easy for kids and grandparents, and it's stunning in autumn when the deciduous trees turn.

Allow 1.5 to 2 hours if you like to wander. Bring a picnic — the shaded lawns near the river are made for it. Free entry, open dawn to dusk.

The northern edge of the Balingup townsite is a Bibbulmun trailhead. Walk south into rolling farmland and jarrah forest for as long as you like, then turn around. Two hours out and back gives you a real taste of the track without any logistics.

For a longer day, we can drop you at Balingup and pick you up at Southampton Bridge (about 12 km, 4–5 hours) — a beautiful, quiet stretch along the Blackwood River.

This is our favourite short section on the whole southern Bibbulmun. Start at the historic Donnelly River Village — feed the friendly emus and kangaroos, grab a coffee — then walk south into towering karri forest. Six kilometres in, Tom Road makes a natural turnaround (or a shuttle pickup point).

12 km return, around 4 hours. Best walked April–November when the karri canopy is at its greenest. This one shows people why they fell in love with the South West.

The Old Timberline Trail follows a decommissioned timber railway through jarrah forest between Nannup and the Blackwood River. The section from Nannup townsite to Barrabup Pool is 9 km one-way — a gentle gradient, plenty of shade, and a swimming hole at the end that locals have loved for generations.

We can shuttle you from Barrabup back to Nannup so you only have to walk one way. Pair it with lunch at one of Nannup's cafés for a very civilised day out.

Bridgetown Jarrah Park, 20 minutes south of Bridgetown, has four short loop walks (1–4 km) through some of the finest old-growth jarrah in the region — huge trees, quiet undergrowth, easy well-marked tracks. Perfect for a half-day.

Back in town, the Geegelup Heritage Trail is a 5 km loop along the Blackwood River that ties together Bridgetown's old timber and orchard heritage. Flat, family-friendly, and a lovely warm-down after Jarrah Park.

Most of these walks can be done as an out-and-back, but the best of them — the Bibbulmun sections and the Old Timberline — really open up when you walk them one-way. That's where we come in.

We shuttle hikers to trailheads across Balingup, Bridgetown, Nannup, Donnelly River and beyond, then meet you at the finish. It means you can walk further, carry less, and never worry about circling back to the car. Get in touch with your date and party size and we'll build the day around you.