Port Kennedy: Dunes, Bushland and Coastal Cycle Route

Port Kennedy combines a distinctive dune landscape with two different routes through bushland and along the coast. Port Kennedy Scientific Park is part of Rockingham Lakes Regional Park. Its low-lying sandy plains and parallel dune ridges give the landscape its distinctive character. If you enjoy spending time outdoors, here are some practical points to help you choose the right holiday apartment: would you prefer to focus on a loop trail through quiet bushland or a longer, easy one-way bike ride?

Landscape between sandy plains and dune ridges

In Port Kennedy Scientific Park, low-lying sandy plains meet parallel dune ridges. These are two different landforms within the same landscape: open, low-lying plains and elongated rises. The park is part of Rockingham Lakes Regional Park; this landscape description refers to Port Kennedy Scientific Park.

The Lark Hill Nature Trail is a 3.5-kilometre loop through quiet bushland in Port Kennedy. Its loop format and stated length clearly distinguish it from a route with a fixed endpoint. If you would rather plan a complete loop for an outing than a one-way trip, this is the more suitable of the two options described. The bike route, by contrast, is longer and runs in one direction.

A walk or a coastal cycle route?

The Foreshore Flow Trail is a 19-kilometre, easy coastal cycle route from Rockingham Foreshore to Port Kennedy. It is described as a one-way route, not a loop. The two routes therefore differ not only in length and mode of travel: the Lark Hill Nature Trail is a loop through bushland, while the Foreshore Flow Trail describes a longer ride along the coast, ending in Port Kennedy. When planning your outing, consider which type of route suits you.

This distinction may also help when choosing your accommodation: consider whether you would like to plan your stay mainly around a walk in Port Kennedy or a bike ride that starts at Rockingham Foreshore and ends in Port Kennedy. The facts describe different routes, not a shared loop.

More nature and cultural highlights in the City of Rockingham

The wider destination of the City of Rockingham offers more than the routes in Port Kennedy. Rockingham has 37 kilometres of coastline. Dolphins, seals, penguins and pelicans live in the protected Shoalwater Islands Marine Park. Little Penguins live on Penguin Island; they are the only penguin species that occurs permanently in Australian waters and are also known as Blue Penguins or Fairy Penguins. Cape Peron offers coastal views across the Marine Park.

The City of Rockingham also offers a range of options for walks and nature observation. The Anne Mueller Environmental Walk is an easy, three-kilometre loop around Lake Richmond, rich in birdlife, including Australian Pelicans, Black Swans, Australian Shovelers, Musk Ducks, White-faced Herons and Common Greenshanks. A boardwalk at Lake Richmond offers views of a threatened thrombolite community. The 1.5-kilometre Penguin Island Boardwalk gives walkers close encounters with flora and fauna.

Water sports and coastal exploration are further themes in this broader destination: the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park Paddle is an eight-kilometre kayaking trail along the Rockingham coast. The Churchill Park Dive Trail is about 60 metres’ wade from Rockingham Foreshore. Point Peron offers opportunities for coastal diving and snorkelling among limestone caves and swim-through caves, and is also mentioned as a place for kayaking and stand-up paddling. The Pond in Safety Bay is a spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing. These destinations differ from the two routes in Port Kennedy and can broaden your options for a stay in the City of Rockingham.

Culture and events in the wider destination

Culture enthusiasts will also find specific points of interest in the City of Rockingham. Rockingham Museum is housed in an Art Deco building, the former Rockingham Road Board Building dating from 1946/47. Its many exhibitions cover Rockingham’s history and aim to inform and educate visitors and children. Rockingham Arts Centre offers professionally curated exhibitions, workshops and development programs. Day Cottage is one of Rockingham’s oldest surviving houses and a rare example of a colonial-era limestone cottage.

The Rockingham Beach Cup is a major event that brings visitors to Rockingham every year. For travel planning, it is also useful to know that Rockingham is a short 45-minute drive or train ride from Perth. The redeveloped Rockingham Beach Foreshore created an accessible lookout and a Beach Bowl; a boardwalk connects the foreshore with the beach. This information relates to Rockingham and the City of Rockingham, and does not necessarily apply to individual accommodations in Port Kennedy.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: West Perth, Kings Park, Cuballing, Bibra Lake, North Boyanup, Rocky Gully, Hillarys, Binningup.

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