Woodlake Park, situated in the centre of Ellenbrook, is a lovely park curving around the lake in a horseshoe shape. Although the park does not completely encircle the lake, access through the Woodlake Peninsula estate on the eastern border allows you to walk/cycle or scoot all the way around.
We parked at the Woodlake Village Community Centre on Highpoint Boulevard and followed a path from the carpark down to the lakeside, emerging at the western gazebo. This large gazebo offers lovely views across the lake: from the waterfall to the north to the amphitheatre to the south.
We followed the boardwalk south (anti clockwise) towards the large amphitheatre which looks out over the War Memorial. The flag posts nicely frame the waterfall on the northern shore of the lake. Continuing on from the amphitheatre we came across a small old metal playground next to the tennis courts. There is a barbecue here but it isn't much of a play area... luckily curiosity made us take the path diverting to the south and we discovered a wonderful small nature playground tucked away behind. This was much more exciting for the kids to play on so make sure you hunt around for it.
Continuing anti clockwise the path finishes at a cul de sac but you can walk down a short laneway, cross the entrance to the residential estate then rejoin the shaded path as it loops back around the lake. The path is flat and mostly shaded providing ample glimpses across the lake.
The path diverts to cross a bridge onto a small island with a gazebo affording more great lake views. There are natural pathways here through a small pine grove and the kids will enjoy running through here, their footsteps muted by the pine needles. When you come to the second smaller lake turn left and follow the path to the bridge across the waterfall area. You might like to venture a little further onto the rocks for a closer look at the waterfall.
After crossing the bridge over the waterfall you can walk around the small northern lake which has a small sandy beach with a nearby gazebo. I'm not sure of the water quality for swimming but this would be great for a bit of sand play.
From here you can continue down another steep incline (or walk around closer to the road) to another boardwalk taking you back to the start point. The walk around Woodlake is about 2.5km long and will take about 40 minutes plus extra for play time.
We of course went exploring further heading north east from the top lake crossing the road and veering slightly left to go to Bowerbird Vista Park with it's grassy slope leading down to a pond full of water lilies and some pretty trees.
We wound our way up through the streets to find Lookout Park. There were some views across the hills as we made our way to the park but the park, disappointingly, had neither views nor a lookout! From here we found our way back to Pinaster Park , a large green space with a path sloping down to the tunnel under Pinaster Parade.
The tunnel features decorative tiles made by local children and I was so busy checking out the tilework I got the scare of my life when I turned around at the end and encountered the toy dinosaur propped on the post! Emerging from the tunnel into Brook Park is a pleasant surprise with a waterfall and accompanying brook babbling it's way through the park.
Brook Park follows the brook as you cross from side to side over several quaint little bridges. When you get to the lower lake you are best on the eastern side as the path on the western side ends up following the road not the water. Is it just me or does the bulrush look like a platypus?
The small lake at the very bottom has another small waterfall and more lilies. This section of the park is directly opposite Bowerbird Vista Park on the other side of Highpoint Boulevard.
This was a lovely peaceful walk, best be completed as a loop rather than end to end. It was only a ten minute walk from North to South so a loop walk through Brook Park would only take around 20 minutes. The loop is suitable for kids on bikes or scooters but there is an incline and water crossings to be aware of.
There is no parking closer to Brook Park but the walk from the Community Centre car park only adds on another 5-10 minutes. Additional parking and toilets are available at nearby Woodlake Shopping Centre on Woodlake Boulevard.
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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 and present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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