Parking
Start at the Weano Recreation Area car park by the information shelter. Toilets, shaded seating, picnic tables and barbecues are at the day-use area.
Overview
About Lower Weano Gorge Trail
Why go
- High, banded-iron walls give the walk a clear payoff.
- Toilets, shade and picnic facilities are at the trailhead.
Heads up
- The mapped walk is longer than some published short-route figures.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Karijini map
Full mapElevation655–678 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Karijini Tour Guide
Your drive to Lower Weano Gorge Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Karijini National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Karijini audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Weano and Hancock Gorges0:00 / 0:31
“You're nearing Weano and Hancock gorges, where the routes to Kermit's Pool and Handrail Pool involve demanding scrambling. For Hancock, allow about two hours and go only if you're fit and experienced on wet rock.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Karijini Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Oxer and Junction Pool Lookouts
- Knox Lookout: Two Gorges Meet
- How a Bee-eater Handles Lunch
- The Scales in a Moth's Pattern
- 141 audio storiesacross Karijini’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Dingo, Rock Wallaby, Mulga Snake, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 22 trails, 30 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Lower Weano Gorge Trail
The walk to the gorgeLower Weano Gorge Trail is a rough out-and-back from Weano Recreation Area to the bottom of the…
Lower Weano Gorge Trail is a rough out-and-back from Weano Recreation Area to the bottom of the 118-step access into the lower gorge. The mapped path runs about 1.4 km each way, so plan on 2.9 km return (about 1.8 miles) and roughly 1.5 hours with a look around. Some short-walk descriptions give 1 km return; the mapped route to the steps is longer, so allow extra time.
Turn back before the scrambleThe payoff is the high, layered red walls of Weano Gorge, where banded iron formations rise…
The payoff is the high, layered red walls of Weano Gorge, where banded iron formations rise above the track. The 118 steps are the steepest part, and the approach is uneven underfoot. Turn around at the bottom of the steps. The boulder scramble and water passages beyond are the separate, much harder Handrail Pool outing. Grade labels for the approach vary, but this is still more than a casual stroll.
Heat, rain and petsDo not enter a gorge when rain is in the area; flash floods can occur.
Do not enter a gorge when rain is in the area; flash floods can occur. Summer temperatures often top 40°C. Pets are not permitted in Karijini National Park.
Start at WeanoBegin at Weano Recreation Area by the information shelter.
Begin at Weano Recreation Area by the information shelter. Toilets, shaded seating, picnic tables and barbecues are at the day-use area. If you want a much shorter gorge viewpoint, the separate Oxer Lookout walk is 800 m return.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Karijini
44 sightingsDingoMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
18 sightingsRock WallabyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
15 sightingsMulga SnakeMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
36 sightingsHamersley Rock MonitorMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
13 sightingsWestern BowerbirdMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
34 sightingsChildren's PythonMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Karijini. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
