Canning River Nature Walk

The Canning River Nature Walk runs through Canning River Regional Park in Wilson, on Perth's southern riverside, starting near the Kent Street Weir. The full loop covers about 8.2 kilometres of flat, easy walking, and dogs are welcome on lead the whole way, which makes this one of the better long on-lead walks in Perth's south-eastern suburbs.

The walk

The loop takes an hour and a half to two hours at a steady pace on an easy grade, with the surface shifting between paved shared paths, boardwalks and gravel as it threads wetlands, paperbark forest and riverside country. Shorter loops branch off, including the Butterflies, Birds and Bridges Trail, a roughly 4-kilometre circuit covered on its own page, and the Woodloes Walk towards Masons Landing gives a gentler out-and-back option.

Leash status

The park is managed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions with the City of Canning, and dogs must stay on lead at all times on the walk trails. The hard limits: no dogs in the sensitive wetland and nature reserve sections, keep at least five metres from playgrounds, and stay off the riverbanks where wildlife habitat matters most. This is waterbird and turtle country, so the leash rule is enforced for a reason.

Pepsi: treat the whole loop as a slow sniffari on a short lead. The boardwalk sections are where the turtles sun themselves, and that is exactly where your dog will want to stop longest.

Water and hazards

There is no reliable drinking water along the trail itself, so carry enough for both of you and bring your own waste bags, as dispensers are not always stocked. Snake awareness applies in the warmer months near the wetlands, and shared paths carry cyclists, so keep left and shorten the lead at bridges and boardwalk narrows.

When to go

Early morning is the pick: cooler, quieter and the best light on the billabongs. The flat, shaded sections make winter walking pleasant too, though patches of the gravel surface turn soft after heavy rain.

Getting there and parking

The main start is the Kent Street Weir car park on Kent Street, Wilson, with parking, toilets, picnic and barbecue facilities at the weir precinct. The Canning River Eco Education Centre sits at the same entrance.

More walks nearby

If your dog finishes the walk still keen, the Wilson Park Fenced Dog Park near the weir is the approved off-leash run in the suburb, a short drive from the trailhead.

More routes are in the Western Australia dog friendly trails guide, and the suburb's other entries sit on the Wilson destination page.