Visit Bell’s Rapids & Take a Hike Along the River
Bell’s Rapids Park is situated in Brigadoon in the northern reaches of the Swan Valley. As the name suggests the water here is rocky, shallow & very fast in the winter causing the white water rapids for which the park is well known.
Classic shot of Bell’s Rapids with its White Foamy Water
Park by the River
Like many similar rivers around the world you will often see large amounts of white foam on the surface of the river. As far as I can tell this foam is naturally occurring and not due to pollution as some believe, if you want a more technical answer then check out this link from the Aquatic Restoration & Research Institute.
Bell’s Rapids is a great spot for a picnic or just a relaxing stroll by the Swan River. There are toilet facilities here and ample parking by the river accessible to all vehicles.
We often go there and sit and listen to an audio book or just enjoy the scenery & wildlife. Of course you have to take a comfortable chair so we just park the MR2 under a tree right by the river, wind down the windows, take the roof off and relax in luxury 🙂
Relaxing in Comfort
You’ll also get amazing views of the Avon Descent if you turn up there on Saturday 1st or Sunday 2nd August 2015, but be warned, the natural experience may be diminished by the hundreds of spectators milling around frightening off the birds! We’ve yet to make it to the Avon Descent so no pictures to show yet, maybe this year we’ll get around to it and grab some action shots 🙂
For the quieter days Bell’s Rapids has our favourite walk trails in the Swan Valley, you can choose between the shorter & easier River Walk (2.5km) or the longer & harder (with a bit of a hill climb) Goat Walk(5.5km) which incorporates the River Walk as the return route. Click here to see the Swan Valley’s pdf guide to the walk trails.
Goat Walk, Bell’s Rapids, Brigadoon
The views from the Goat Walk are simply breathtaking, and a must see for any one visiting the area with an average level of fitness. The image above was taken with my iPhone from the ridge looking north up towards Jumbuck Hill Park, in fact that image is a stitch of 3 images taken with my iPhone.
The image below shows an iPhone panoramic view from the top of the incline up to the ridge you will walk along overlooking Bell’s Rapids. I must say that I’m very impressed with the ability of the iPhone camera to get some great shots, all it takes is a little care & a bit of basic photographic knowledge and you can get some amazing images from it. Of course it’s ability is limited and the quality will only get you so far but in the right circumstances it can be a very useful tool, especially if it is the only camera you have available.
Goat Walk Panorama from My iPhone
Finally a few artistic images from the shots I took with my 70-200 of the rocks and the water flowing through them 🙂 Both shots were taken at around 1/20th sec without a tripod so I’m very happy with how they turned out.
Red Rocks & Foaming Rapids
Red Rocks & Foaming Rapids
How to get to Bell’s Rapids Park
The Bell’s Rapids is 39km north-east from Perth CBD, it takes about 41 minutes by car.
For directions to Bell’s Raids from your location click on “View larger map” on the Google Map and select “Directions” from the top left of the map.
Location: Cathedral Avenue, Brigadoon, WA
Website: swanvalley.com.au
-31.953513
115.857047