Overview - updated January 2026

This page has a full description of this section of the trail, including supporting photographs. You can read this page and/or

• Download a PDF summary of this (click on this link); and

• A JPEG version of the map only (the figure below).

Starting point

 The starting point is point the South Beach Cafe.

Getting there using public transport

The best way to get to the start using public transport is to catch the bus 532 from Fremantle train station. The bus travels down South Terrace and turns left (east) along Douro Road. Get off at the first bus stop on Douro Road. Walk back along Douro Road across South Terrace to Marine Terrace, and cross the railway line onto the dual use path and turn left (south) to the South Street Café – about 450m walk total.

Turn around point

The turn around point is the Dome Café within the Port Coogee marina area.

Getting back to the start from the turn around point – if you don’t want to do an out-and-back walk

The best way to get back to the start using public transport is catch the 548 or 512 bus, both of which stops outside the Woolworths shopping centre. From the Dome Café walk south along the path to near the end of the boat mooring area and turn left (east) along Calypso Parade passed Woolworth and turn right on Orsino Boulvard. The bus stop is about 30m south on Orsino Boulvard. Both buses end up at Fremantle Station, so then take the 532 as above back to the start.

Summary of the walk

Figure 1 below shows the route. The total one way distance is 5.1 km, making it a 9.4 km out and back walk (no need to re-do the walk along the rock groyne). If you left off the walk along the groyne (1.6km there are back), the one-way walk is 4.3km and 8.6 km out and back.

Water and toilets

Any toilet blocks are noted below in the text in italics. These are also sources of potable water. Any additional drinking water taps and showers are also noted in italics.

Walking guide

Plate 1 shows the South Beach café which is the starting point.

The South beach carpark is a favorite place for campervan overnight stops (Plate 2).

There is a toilet block just south of the café.

Just ahead is the northern edge of a relatively new housing estate with multi-storey apartments located closest to the beach (Plate 3).

The path continues to the west of the apartments, passed another Café (Plate 4).

From here, the coastal path proper begins, which is quite winding and undulating, and has views of the ocean from the high points. Most of the beach adjacent to this part of the path is a dog beach, and there are many people walking their dogs on the path as well as on the beach, not all of them on a lead (Plate 5). The path is also popular with cyclists.

It’s worth noting that in the warmer months, snakes are often seen crossing the path and there is a warning on the path to remind people of this (Plate 6).

Along the way there are a couple of elevated sites with nice views over the ocean.

The land to the east of this section of the path is old and now rehabilitated industrial land. One of the main industries here was the Robb Jetty abattoir, and the remains of the jetty can still be seen on the beach at low tide (Plate 7) as well as the remains of an unknown shipwreck (Plate 8).

Just off shore is a statue of a horse and horse rider, which celebrates the historic use of this section of the beach for horse training (Plate 9). The beach still gets regularly used by at least one horse trainer.

On the path adjacent to the above there is some art that recognizes the former abattoir (Plates 10 and 11).

As you continue, the old South Fremantle power station becomes the obvious landscape feature. Before we got there, there is a larger grassed area, carpark, toilet and drinking water tap part of C Y O’Connor Park (Plate 12).

As you approached the park, there is a sandy track off to the right, so you can take this track or continue on the bitumen path (Plate 13). The track goes to west of the park and the bitumen path goes through the park.

The path effectively ends here, as the old power station and associated substation needs to be walked around (Plate 14). There is a path and old road that is to the east of the old power station and sub-station, but it is more interesting to take the sand track at the southern end of the carpark or walk on the beach towards the marina (Plate 15). The mapped trail is the along the sand track. Beach matting is laid on this track and onto the beach each summer season.

As you walk passed the power station you will come across a pond, or water body, that seems to be an old cooling pond for the power station (Plate 16). There is also an old jetty-like structure on the beach adjacent to the pond (Plate 17).

Continue either along the path near the fence that protects the power station, or along the beach until you get to the marina rock wall (Plate 18). It easiest to climb the wall up passed the vegetation line, near where the sand track ends.

Once you climb up the wall, you should be near a car park (near the right angle bend of Caledonia Loop), and there should also be a formal path and park (Plate 19), which then turns into a crushed limestone track. Take this path heading west. Alternately, a shorter walk it to continue along Caledonia Loop.

The wall is popular for fishing (Plate 20). There are many vacant blocks in the marina, but less so in the land-backed part of the marina, and there doesn’t seem to be any vacant boat pens. (Plate 21)

Once you reach the southern tip of the seawall (Plate 22), turn around and head back and once you get to the spot where you climb the wall, find the right angle bend of Caledonia Loop, and head South.

Continue along of Caledonia Loop until it turns sharp left and intersects with Medina Parade. Turn south along Medina Parade passed and artificial beach and grassed foreshore inside the marina (Plate 23), which is popular with families.

Walk along passed the beach passed a toilet block and up to the start of the bridge visible in Plate 22. Go up the stairs and down the stairs on the other side of the road and head left (south) on a board walk around some buildings and continue until you get to the Dome Café, the end/turn around point. (Some of the photos were taken when the trail was originally walked in July 2014).

Garry Middle, January 2026