Whadjuk Trails - Yange Kep Bidi
- Out and About
- Aug 16
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 25
The Yange Kep Bidi, (translation Wetland Trail) lies on Whadjuk Noongar land and meanders around various wetlands located between Claremont and Galup - Lake Monger. At 21km it covers a considerable distance and is a full days walk end to end however you can easily break it into shorter sections and complete loops back to your starting point.
Yange Kep Bidi links with the heritage of intersecting or overlapping trails including the Claremont Meanders - Cobblers and Convicts Trail, the City of Nedlands Mount Claremont Walk and the Town of Cambridge's Heritage Trail. It also intersects other Whadjuk Trails as mentioned in the write up. The trail passes through various suburbs with parks, playgrounds, cafes and toilets along the way. Triangular trail markers featuring a long neck turtle are located in footpaths or on bollards along the way. It is best to follow the trail in the same direction as the trail markers starting from Claremont and finishing at Galup.
Yange Kep Bidi starts at Claremont Jetty on Freshwater Bay and while there is a very small carpark here alternative parking is recommended. If you park closer to the town site then it is easier to get public transport back to your starting point.
From Claremont Jetty follow Bay View Terrace to Princess Road where you turn right, passing Freshwater Bay Primary School and onto a pedestrian access way between the school and the Tennis Club. There is a house opposite with a bright yellow door and some cute artwork.
The path enters beautiful Claremont Park with it's lovely mature trees and wide open spaces. There is a playground here before you continue along Bernard Street passing the site of the Convict Depot. Alternatively you can wander across the park to view the public artworks at the City of Claremont building. The Good Luck Bulldog was installed in 2025, Meeting Place, a metalwork mural, was installed in 2024 and the Pergola sculpture in 2018. A public toilet is located in the park and you can safely cross Stirling Highway at either Bay View Terrace or at Leura Avenue.
There are a few options here as you can walk along Leura Avenue but I highly recommend detouring to see the murals along Maude Jackson Lane and Walt Drabble Lane.
Cross Gugeri Street at the pedestrian railway crossing or head a little further west and cross over the overpass at Claremont Station to see the heritage listed signal box and some more murals.
Pass by FORM Gallery with it's stunning sculpture Clare - What Moves Through Place before following Davies Road, skirting the Aquatic Centre into the Golf Course car park. There are toilets here and another stunning sculpture - Tree of Life. Follow the path past the small nature playground and then turn left to follow the path around Lake Claremont - Galbamaanup. Stop to look at the Together sculpture before continuing around the lake.
On the southern side of Lake Claremont - Galbamaanup you will pass another nature playground and enjoy views looking up the lake. The path then skirts the Scotch College playing fields with many nesting sites on the lake to your right. Take the side trip to view the lake from the birdwatching gazebo.
Continue to follow the trail around the lake. You will pass Brenton See's magnificent mural Flora and Fauna of Lake Claremont on the Friends of Lake Claremont (FOLC) Shed before traversing the dog agility area. We lost the trailmarkers here but ended up skirting the dog agility area then rejoined the paved path that runs past the FOLC shed so it doesn't really matter which path you take as long as you head north. If you are doing a short loop continue south along the eastern edge of Lake Claremont - Galbamaanup and retrace your steps or find an alternative route back to your start point.
The trail crosses busy Alfred Road at the traffic lights at Montgomery Avenue. Here you will find the Mt Claremont Farmers Markets on a Saturday at Mt Claremont Primary School. Yange Kep Bidi however backtracks west along Alfred Road and then climbs a hill into bush above Mt Claremont Oval (toilets here) before traversing Cleland Street then heading back down to Montgomery Street via a staircase. If you want to shorten the walk you could skip this and continue north on Montgomery Avenue after crossing Alfred Road, turning right at Pine Tree Lane which skirts Pine Tree Park before heading uphill along Heritage Lane.
This was a lovely surprise as you come out at Montgomery Hall, a beautiful heritage building with expansive city views. Montgomery Hall is now a private residence but was once the Claremont Hospital for the the Insane. You can look across the grounds of John XXIII College to the city skyline. We wanted to see the back of Montgomery Hall so walked around it and discovered cute little Anne Dorrington Park home to a lovely nature playground and a magnificent sculpture - Windows into the Past.
We returned to the main trail walking along the Marlows and then along St Johns Wood Boulevard coming out at pretty Daran Park. You can also take the sidepath to Paiera Park before turning right at Montgomery Avenue. If you want to break this into shorter sections you could use the Mt Claremont Community Centre on Montgomery Avenue as a start/finish point. You can complete this loop by returning along part of the Bush to Beach Trail. Cross through Daran Park and head towards Rochdale Road. Follow Rochdale Road north or shortcut up very steep Teslin Road to Mcclemans Road and then follow the Bush to Beach Trail back to Haldane Street or Alfred Street to complete a shorter loop or add a loop around Lake Claremont for a longer walk.
If continuing, follow Stephenson Avenue keeping an eye out for the trailmarker directing you to the right to crisscross through the sporting fields before crossing Underwood Avenue into Perry Lakes Reserve. These lakes were historically used as a fishing hole by the Noongar people. As you enter Perry Lakes Reserve you will pass a playground and toilets before you continue through the reserve to Oceanic Drive. For alternative routes through this reserve head to our blog: https://www.outandaboutfnc.com/post/perry-lakes-reserve
At Oceanic Drive you can take Scenic Walk uphill to take in the Reabold Hill Lookout - we did this while closing the loop on the Bido Bo Djinoong. Otherwise follow Oceanic Drive and turn right onto Bold Park Drive, passing a sign acknowledging the site of the Skyline Drive In. Turn onto Kulbardi Walk which has a gradual incline through the northern section of Bold Park bushland. At Bold Park Aquatic Centre the trail meets the northern end of the Bidi Bo Djinoong. Yange Kep Bidi continues around the Aquatic Centre and on to The Boulevard. For a shorter section retrace your steps and follow some of the trails within Bold Park back to Perry Lakes.
It's a bit of a walk east along The Boulevard before the trail turns left onto Empire Avenue skirting Wembley Golf Course. Turn right at Cromarty Road and then left into Edith Cowan Reserve, a green belt which has some delightful surprises along the way paying tribute to the Edith Cowan University Campus that once sat on this site. You can also find the Nesting Fields sculpture here. If this is a start point for a shorter section there are several parking bays along Paperheath Parade.
From here follow Alumni Terrace and then Pearson Street to a safe crossing point opposite The Lane. There is an informal dirt carpark off The Lane should you wish to make this a start point for a shorter section. Yange Kep Bidi continues into Maurice Hamer Park and around the western edge of Herdsman Lake - Ngurgenboro in a southerly direction. Enjoy the birdlife on the lake and the spectacular views across the lake with the CBD in the distance. There are a couple of playgrounds along the way.
As you pass the Herdsman Lake Discovery Centre make a detour and walk through the spooky paperbark forest and out on to Olive Seymour Boardwalk for a close up experience of the birdlife. Toilets are located here subject to opening hours.
Yange Kep Bidi continues around Herdsman Lake's southern edge through Moondine Park to the Herdsman Lake East Playground where there is a smaller lake.
Follow Dodd Street passing another Brenton See mural on Lake Monger Primary School before emerging at Galup - Lake Monger. Local Noongar people used the lake for resources and as a meeting place, with up to 400 people recorded in corroborees here. Now a walk around the lake affords stunning city views. The walk around Galup is about 4km and will generally take an hour.
Yange Kep Bidi loops around Galup finishing at the Northern Lookout. And now to figure out how to get back to the car!
From the southern edge of Galup you can walk to West Leederville Station (15-20 minutes) and catch a train back to Claremont Station - 10 minutes.
Yange Kep Bidi is mostly cycle and wheelchair accessible with the exception of Kulbardi Walk, Bold Park trails and a small section approaching Herdsman Lake. Details on alternate options for these sectors are contained in the Yange Kep Bidi Wheelchair Access Guide.
To access digital and print maps: https://whadjukwalkingtrails.org.au/trails/yange-kep-bidi/
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I love wandering along trails, both marked and unmarked, and sharing my discoveries with my Out and About FNC community. If you enjoy reading my blogs please consider a small donation which will be used towards the costs of keeping the website up to date and relevant.
In the spirit of reconciliation Out and About- Family Nature Connection acknowledges the traditional owners of the Wadjak Boodjar (Perth land) and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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