Stunning river views are not the only thing on offer around Deepwater Point which sits on the Canning River midway between Canning Bridge and Mt Henry Bridge. There are several walks you can do depending on the time you have available or you can choose any one of these areas and just spend some time enjoying the river or the playground. The not to be missed points of interest are Canning Bridge (explore underneath this old wooden bridge for some surprises), Mt Henry Bridge (dedicated walkways run on both sides underneath the road bridge and it is a good 10 minute walk across!) and for the kids Heathcote and it's massive pirate playground!
The walks are flat and perfect for prams or kids on scooters - except approaching Heathcote which sits atop a small hill. Although the paths are dual use the fast cyclists use The Esplanade so any bikes you encounter approach at a more leisurely pace. Dogs are permitted on lead on the pathways however they are not permitted inside Heathcote Reserve.
You can start your walk from:
Deepwater Point - paid parking unless you get lucky and find a spot on the street. (it gets really busy!) ,a DOME cafe, two play areas, small river beach, jetty, barbecues and picnic facilities.
Mt Henry Bridge Reserve - free parking, jetty, small playground, toilets, drink refill station and if you are lucky a coffee van.
Heathcote Reserve - Parking, awesome playground, cafe, gallery, museum and toilets.
Deepwater Point to Canning Bridge
This is the most popular section of this walk and closely follows the river so you have great views of the city heading towards Canning Bridge and great river views on the return. Along the way you will come across several sit spots complete with beautiful mosaics depicting life on the river. Smaller mosaics dot the pathways making this walk really interesting for the kids to explore. Along the way you can head out onto the Rookwood Street Jetty or rest on Ben's Bench. The walk is about 1.8km each way and will take about an hour there and back.
When you get to Canning Bridge walk underneath and look along the wooden piers and struts. The underside maintenance walkway has been decorated and painted and is really colourful. At the time we walked the under bridge path was closed so I'm not certain the paintings are visible from the western side - if not take the time to walk across the bridge and have a look from the other side.
Canning Bridge to Heathcote or to Applecross Jetty
At no point should you have to cross busy Canning Highway as you can walk under the bridge. On the other side you walk past the Raffles Hotel with some lovely landscaped riverside gardens before following the river all the way to the South of Perth Yacht Club. Continue to follow the path past the Yacht Club - pausing to admire all the boats! The path winds around Point Heathcote (Goolugatup) and explores the Noongar heritage of the western aspect of Heathcote down to Waylen Bay, known as Kooyagardup, which in Noongar means 'the place of the big nose frog'. Twice I have walked this path and both times I've missed seeing the Heath Ledger monument. Before you get to Kooyagardup there is a zig zag walkway up the slope - I feel this might be where the monument is and it probably also takes you up into Heathcote Reserve. Past the Point there is a staircase which will take you up into Heathcote Reserve where you can stop at the cafe and the kids can have a play.
On the return head out the front entrance of Heathcote and down the hill along Duncraig Road and you will come out at the Yacht Club ready for the return walk.
The walk from Canning Bridge, around the point and through Heathcote is about 3km return. It will take about 30 minutes to walk to Heathcote around the point and about 20 minutes on the more direct return walk.
Alternatively you can continue to walk along the river path following the bay to Applecross Jetty adding on another 1 km and 20 minutes each way to your walk.
Mt Henry Bridge to Deepwater Point
You can do this in either direction - we started at Mt Henry Bridge Reserve as parking is a little easier to find here. The path follows the river along The Esplanade (which is great as the fast bikes stick to the road making for a more relaxing walk., Again there are mosaic tiles in the pathway and at the sitting spots depicting life on the river. You can explore both the Mt Henry and Gunbower Jettys. After 20 minutes (1.6km) minutes walking you will arrive at Deepwater Point ready for a coffee and a play before the return leg.
Either way when you are at My Henry Bridge make sure you head up the pathway and walk on the bridge. It will take about 20 minutes to walk across on one side and back on the other!
The path continues south of Mt Henry Bridge so you can also explore further down to Bateman Park (1.3km and 20 minutes)- on my list for another time!
The full walk from Mt Henry Bridge to Canning Bridge is 3.2km (40 Minutes) each way.
Two Bridges Loop
This is the walk we actually did this time. Starting at My Henry Bridge we walked past Deepwater Point to Canning Bridge. We crossed over Canning Bridge and explored underneath where we discovered the artwork and colourful slogans. We then took the dual use pathway on the eastern riverbank back to Mt Henry Bridge where we really enjoyed the experience of crossing this longer than expected bridge.
The loop walk is around 7km and will take upwards of 90 minutes. We took just under 2 hours but spent a bit of time looking around.
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