Zamia Trail

The Zamia Trail is the long way round Bold Park, a 437 hectare bushland reserve wedged between City Beach and the Perth skyline. It is the park's most popular walk, a limestone loop of roughly 5 km that climbs to Reabold Hill and pays you back with the city on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. The leash rule here is not a suggestion, and that is the first thing to plan around.

Leash status

Bold Park is an A class reserve managed by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, and dogs are welcome on lead only. Under the Botanic Gardens and Parks Regulations 1999 the lead must be two metres or less, and the authority enforces it strictly because the bushland protects ground-dwelling wildlife such as quendas. There is no off-lead area anywhere in the park, and the authority asks visitors to report off-lead dogs by phone while still on site.

The walk

The authority describes Zamia as a 5 km circuit starting at Reabold Hill; AllTrails logs the full loop at 5.3 km, moderate, around an hour and a half. The surface is uneven limestone with short steep hills and some steps, which is why the authority recommends shoes with grip. Bold Park holds about 15 km of trails in total, so the circuit can be shortened or extended. Spring adds wildflowers and the birdlife is constant.

Water and terrain

There is none in the park. The authority is blunt about it: no water and no toilets anywhere in Bold Park, with the nearest public toilets at Perry Lakes Reserve. Bring everything your dog will drink, and more than you think in summer.

Hazards and worth knowing

Heat and exposure are the main risks: the limestone holds warmth and shade is patchy on the climbs, so go early in the warmer months. Cycling is not permitted on the trails, portable barbecues are banned on fire-risk grounds, and drones are out. Trail bikes stay on the roads too.

Getting there and parking

The main access points are the Reabold Hill carpark off Scenic Drive, plus the Camel Lake, Tuart and Banksia carparks. City Beach is about 15 minutes from the CBD by car.

While you're out there

If the dog needs an off-lead run afterwards, Perry Lakes Dog Exercise Area is minutes away and has the toilets Bold Park lacks. City Beach Floreat Dog Beach covers a swim, and Reabold Hill Summit Boardwalk is the short accessible option for the view if the full loop is too much.

More options are on the WA dog friendly trails guide and the City Beach destination page.

Max: two-metre lead, enforced, because quendas live in this bushland. Do the climb early, carry the water, and let Perry Lakes or the dog beach handle the off-lead half of the day.