When winter hits, many in Perth feel the need to sink into the couch rather than get outside. And let’s be honest, it’s not like we’re in London. Perth’s winter, while we do have the occasional day of heavy rainfall, scatters its weeks with blue skies, and that is the perfect time to get out and spend a day at Whiteman Park.
Few places in Perth offer the range of activities and adventure that Whiteman Park has: hiking trails, playgrounds, wildlife spotting, pedal karts, heritage rides, and several museums that make learning fun.
So if you’re looking for a reason to get out into the fresh air, or simply to get the kids out of the house before they go stir crazy, add Whiteman Park to your Google Maps. Entry is free, parking is free, and the gates are open every day from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm.
Hiking Whiteman Park
As the winter rain continues to fall, Whiteman Park gets its green back, making it the perfect time to experience one of its three bush trails. Werillyiup and Wunanga are each signposted, come with interpretive notes, and open a different side of the park’s bushland. Pick up a trail map from the Visitor Information Centre and then hit the trails.
Start with Werillyiup if you’ve got kids in tow. The 2.5-kilometre loop circles Horse Swamp, and winter is when its name starts to make sense. The word Werillyiup means swampy place in Noongar, and for most of the year, the swamp sits dry. The trail starts near the dog park at Mussel Pool East, off car park 23, and follows blue-tipped markers. Flat the whole way and easy underfoot, it’s the gentlest of the three and often a great chance for some kangaroo spotting. You may also see nesting black swans, too.
Wunanga is the longest trail at 4.3 kilometres and begins near the Village Junction Railway Station, by car park 2, and winds through jarrah, marri, and banksia woodland. This is the trail for wildflower chasers as the weather warms towards spring.
Children’s Forest — Hike for the family
If a full trail is more than the kids have in them, the Children’s Forest is the gentler option. It opens the same hours as the park, and it’s built around discovery rather than distance.
Pick up an activity sheet from the Visitor Information Centre and let them lead as they discover sculptures and fairy houses hidden along the trail. Make sure to try and spot them all.
Bike trails and pedal karts
Whiteman Park has roughly 17 kilometres of sealed, shared-use paths threading through the park, and winter is the best season to ride them.
The pathways give you full access to the whole park, stay mostly flat throughout, and are safe enough for kids still finding their confidence on two wheels. You’ll need to bring your own bikes, as the park itself does not currently hire them out.
If you would rather pedal something with four wheels, Pedal Play hires out go-karts. The single junior karts suit ages four and up, the two-seaters work for older kids and adults, and there is a four-seater for the whole family in one go.
Vintage Trains and Heritage Trams
Two volunteer-run heritage services are a must when visiting Whiteman Park.
The Bennett Brook Railway is the one the kids will remember: jump on board a heritage train working out of the restored Whiteman Village Junction Station, looping through the park. It only runs on select days, so check the railway’s website or call the park before you set out, and make sure to watch for all the silly signs along your ride.
The heritage electric trams cover key Whiteman Park locations, with five stops linking the Village, Mussel Pool, Pia’s Place, and Village Junction Station. Buy your ticket from the conductor on board, and children under four ride free. It’s the perfect way to see the park without the foot or pedal power.
Museums for when the weather wins
Some days, when the rain settles in and becomes too much, the best move is to find shelter, and Whiteman Park offers several options.
The Motor Museum of WA is our main pick. Spread across two halls and 4,000 square metres, it holds more than 200 vehicles, from the late 1800s through to today, and the prize is Daniel Ricciardo’s 2014 Red Bull RB10, on long-term loan from the driver himself. It’s the only winning Formula One car on permanent public display in Australia. Car enthusiasts will also appreciate the Bathurst collection of Australian motorsport legends, a Japanese Domestic Market line-up of rare JDM performance cars, an early-70s Holden Torana, a 1966 Mini Cooper S, and the hand-built vehicles of the late WA craftsman Cliff Byfield. Free volunteer-led tours run at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, and there’s a café next door if the kids need refuelling.
The Tractor Museum of WA is one that tends to surprise people. It holds close to 40 tractors alongside stationary engines, vintage trucks, country-life artefacts, and old photographs, and the volunteers who run it will happily talk your ear off about a restoration if you let them. The exterior features a large mural by PJ Hannagan, the Mural Nomad, that mixes the park’s native fauna with farming life.
Playgrounds
For most parents, finding a great playground is worth any amount of time to get there. So if your kids have energy to burn, Whiteman Park is your saviour, with three playgrounds on offer.
Pia’s Place is the standout: an all-abilities playground designed so children of all mobility levels can use it, with barbecue shelters right alongside for the adults. The fully fenced Village West playground is shaded, making it the easy choice on a bright winter day, and the Village East playground sits on grass near the water playground. The mini water playground itself is a summer attraction, so it is not the draw in July, but it’s worth keeping in mind once summer returns.
Bring the dog
Whiteman Park is not only for stretching the kids’ legs. The cooler weather is exactly when your dog wants to run, and the park’s 2.5-hectare fenced Dog Park at Mussel Pool East is what your pup will have dreams about.
It is completely enclosed, with an obstacle course designed in colours dogs can see, plenty of shade, trees to sniff, and water stations throughout. There is a separate enclosure for small dogs under ten kilograms, so the little ones are not overshadowed by the larger dogs.
The Whiteman Park dog park is free, although donations toward maintenance and RSPCA WA are welcome.
What’s on this winter
There are three events worth planning a visit around at Whiteman Park in July and August.
The monthly Tractor Parade is the easiest is perfect for families with small kids. Vintage tractors chug from the Tractor Museum around Village Circle to Revolutions and back, and it’s free. Catch it on Sunday, July 12th and again on Sunday, August 9th, both running from 1:15 pm to 2:00 pm.
On Sunday, July 26th, the park hosts its National Tree Day community planting at Horse Swamp, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. Volunteers help establish a bushland buffer between Dulwich Street and the conservation wetland, building habitat for quenda, possums, frogs, and birds. It’s free, although registration is recommended, and the park provides all the tools and water.
Then on Sunday, August 23rd, MiLi’s Made-It Markets takes over Mussel Pool East from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Expect handmade Western Australian wares, food trucks, and a dog-friendly day out, provided they stay on a lead. It’s free entry, with the best parking in car parks 20 to 24.
