Armadale Settlers Common East
Armadale
Directions - Armadale Settlers Common is located just east of Armadale, in the foothills of the Darling Scarp. Head east on Albany Highway, and take the first left onto Carradine Road after the Albany Hwy/South Western Hwy intersection. Take the second left onto Canns Road and follow this for four kilometres until you reach one of the smaller car parks for the reserve. There are multiple car parks along Canns Road, along with a larger one on the southern end of Observation Circuit.
The Hike - The Armadale Settlers Common area has been on my radar for a while, thanks to the City of Armadale putting together a little marketing campaign for the trails in the area. Having hiked at Wungong Gorge, Churchman Brook and Bungendore Park, there is some really nice bushland to the east of Armadale, a suburb that is sometimes unfairly talked about in Perth circles in a negative light. I've always enjoyed my time exploring near Armadale, and it's the gateway to expeditions further east like Sullivan Rock and Boonering Hill.
Trying to organise more hikes with friends this winter, I opened up my list of to-hike places that would be both kid and dog friendly, along with being one that we hadn't done before. With bonus points for being a quieter location (i.e. not Bells Rapids, Noble Falls or Lesmurdie Falls), Armadale Settlers Common ticked all the boxes. There are two parts to the area called Settlers Common, the section to the east of Carradine Road looking like it was easier to create a short circuit that would appease the squad. Organising a lovely moist day in June, we coincidentally all turned onto Carradine Road at the same time, and were soon parked up at the meeting point I had dictated to everyone. After a ridiculously hot summer and autumn, it was only a couple of weeks ago that the regular 30 degree days had ended, which had caused serious issues in the Perth Hills with trees dying en masse or being extremely stressed. Keen to get out and see how bad it really was, recent rains were a welcome relief, and signalled the unofficial start to the hiking season.
Plotting out a circuit within this patch of remnant bushland, there are many trail options through here, so it's possible to treat this as a choose your own adventure style of hike. Marshalling the troops, we headed along the pavement into the reserve, and then made a sharp right to begin a circuit around the outside of the bush. There were some early season wildflowers out, including some Matted Triggerplant and Parrot Bush. Just up the path I spotted something in the trees to my right, and it turned out to be an Australian Wood Duck. I pointed it out to everyone and Jen exclaimed that she didn't know that ducks could be found in trees, something that has become a bit of a running joke with our group. Rounding a corner in the north-east part of the reserve, we passed the Observation Circuit car park and soon started on the gravel path. Spotting a tree with a lot of needles stuck into it, I won't resort to making a joke about even the trees in Armadale shooting up, instead I'll inform you that this is a method of trying to deal with dieback.
Speaking of dieback, as you make another turn and start descending a hill, there is a boot cleaning station that you should use in order to protect the area. We all had a scrub, even young Miles, and continued along out merry way, into some of the most enjoyable forest of the entire loop we did. Excellent mixed forest, along with a plethora of head high or above Grass Trees, made for some lovely hiking, especially nice after the long, dry autumn I mentioned above. Following the winding path, the group was going at their own pace, mainly dictated by the smaller members of the group (one of my dogs isn't a fan of cronchy ground). Reaching the edge of the park, a neighbouring property to the right provided a viewing spot for some kangaroos, along with spotting a Brown Goshawk perched up in the canopy. This would be a good day for bird twitching, and with my new 18-300mm lens, capturing them in better detail was a lot easier. Just up ahead, Aron and I waited for everyone else where a crackle of Black Cockatoos were having a feed, and making their customary noisy commotion.
Continuing on, there are multiple trails leading off to the left, but I kept us on course as we first stopped for a snack of homemade Nophredil Shortbread Biscuits (it was a LOTR themed day), then continued to the right, following the edge of the park. I was happy to see a few more wildflowers through here including Wilson's Grevillea, Common Pinheath, and three different types of Acacia. With the private property continuing to be visible on the right, there were more kangaroos, and eventually a house. Passing that quickly, we rounded another corner and kept going, admiring the small birds flitting around the place. Don't make the mistake I made by continuing all the way to the end of this path, instead take the left turn as you see another house to your right. This leads back towards Canns Road, through the lovely She-Oak Forest, where you'll cross over the road and continue along the gravel path. Taking a left turn to follow a fence line bordering more private property, this wasn't my favourite part of the walk but was necessary to get us back to the start. A consolation was a playful Scarlet Robin that posed for plenty of photos. Take a left turn before the track ends and turns right to cross Canns Road again, joining the pavement, where you continue to take the right turn option that leads back to the car park. Hike over.
Final Thoughts - With the list of hiking trails in Perth that I haven't visited growing ever shorter, it's nice to be able to save them for a special occasion, like hiking with friends.
While this isn't blow your socks off levels of scenery, there was enough here, even at the start of the hiking season, to keep me engaged. Walking close to private property can sometimes be less than ideal, but for the most part, it isn't such a big deal here.
You're always going to get compromises with remnant bushland that is surrounded by private property, so if you go in expecting this and just focus on the bushland that is here, you'll be fine.
This was a lovely morning out with friends, topped off by a fun afternoon playing board games and eating good food. I might check out the other side of Carradine Road on my own sometimes, as it looks promising.
Another dog friendly Perth hike added to the website, so if you're looking for a short walk to enjoy near Armadale, then this is a good option.
Get out there and experience it!
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