The Giants Trails provide opportunities for the whole family to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature. A combination of mountain biking, hiking and shared-use trails span the forest between Walpole and the Valley of the Giants.
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Visitors can choose an adventure to suit their experience, available time and ability. From short walks to full day rides, there is something here to suit everyone. Ride or walk among giant karri and tingle trees, gaze out over the ocean at Hilltop Lookout, meet the Pleated Lady or ride through a living tree.
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With a variety of new trails now open, rides and hikes can be combined with the long-distance Munda Biddi Trail and Bibbulmun Track to create loops ranging from 7km to 82km! The family friendly, green-rated mountain bike trails are typically flowing open trails on firm terrain with gentle gradients with some small, rollable obstacles. At Class 3, the hiking trails are of moderate difficulty with a few steep sections and rough surfaces.
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​The Giants Trails link the towns of Walpole and Nornalup with the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk through the heart of the Walpole Wilderness. There are two main trailheads – the Walpole Trailhead in the centre of town and the Giants Trailhead, which is located near the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk. Both trailheads have sealed road access, toilets, bike racks and repair stations, and picnic tables.
The Giants Trails were designed and built with accessibility, experience and sustainability front of mind. Each trail was carefully planned, taking into consideration and respecting important environmental and cultural values, and care was taken during construction to minimise impact and ensure the long-term sustainability of the trails. ​​
ADVENTURE AWAITS​​​​
Once Upon a Time is the start of the adventure and takes visitors out of Walpole along a shared-use trail. From there, the possibilities are endless! A long ride with a spectacular section along Kwakoorillup Beela (Frankland River) that reaches dizzying heights can be had by following Kingia’s Landing and Riverrun. Another option is to climb Rapunzel’s Tower (on foot or by bike) to the expansive views of the Southern Ocean at Hilltop Lookout. Riders can then flow
back to Walpole along Robin’s Hood and hikers can join the Bibbulmun Track.
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From the Giants Trailhead, Gatekeepers will get the blood pumping and adrenaline flowing for riders, while Tinglebell takes hikers into an enchanted forest of ancient tingle trees.
Cross country mountain biking enthusiasts can challenge themselves on the 82km Epic Tale route. Ridden as a loop out of either the Walpole or Giants trailheads, this full-day ride is jam packed with adventures and takes in nearly every trail in the Giants Trails network and shows off some of the many beautiful areas of the Walpole Wilderness. ​​​
DEEP ROOTS
Cultural stories are woven through the interpretive signage at trailheads and trail junctions. Tales of the little hairy men or mummaries are warnings to trail users to tread lightly and the importance and significance of totems is explained.
Trail names were chosen to reflect the fairytale nature and unique values of these forests. Once Upon a Time is, of course, the best way to begin any adventure and Wonderland takes riders, not down a rabbit hole, but into an environment so magical that they may start believing in impossible things.
The red tingle trees have large, buttressed bases and surprisingly delicate roots, which leads to the obvious comparison with Cinderella and her glass slippers. The Glass Slipper trail links the Tree Top Walk and the Giants Trailhead with the elegant Pleated Lady, one of the most iconic trees in this forest. Tinglebell refers to the tiny, bell-shaped fruit
of the tingle trees.
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There are also trail names for fans of more contemporary fantasy tales: Riverrun and Kingia’s Landing were inspired by Game of Thrones and there’s even a trail named after the classic 80’s movie, Labyrinth.
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The best place to find out more information about the
Giants Trails is TrailsWA at www.trailswa.com.au. ​
TRAILS LINKS
