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Elizabeth Quay Elizabeth Quay

Paddle  in Perth & Surrounds

  • 1-3 hours
  • 2 km

Short paddle from under the Narrows Bridge to Elizabeth Quay where there is a small beach to land on.  . A great place for paddlers to visit, stop for a coffee, wander the public art, or even walk up to the city for a spot of shopping.

Kayaking to Elizabeth Quay
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There is a small beach, just wide enough to land two kayaks side by side.

Start this short trip in the car park under the Narrows Bridge on the South Perth side. Parking here is free and permitted for up to 4 hours. There is a sand beach to launch from. Cross under the bridge to the north side of the river and follow the shoreline to Elizabeth Quay.

The high arches of the footbridge are obvious about a kilometre to the east. Enter the pond under the footbridge by the first span you come to, this keeps you out of the ferry channel. Once inside the pond, be careful of boat traffic. There is a narrow beach hidden in the south east corner. On the map this is the right side of the island playground. You could paddle under the low bridge here, but beware ferry traffic near the Barrack Jetties. Larger boats must stick to the deeper channels, obvious with Port and Starboard markers. If you paddle outside of these channels you will avoid conflict. Note that you do not have right of way over other vessels, commercial or otherwise, if they are restricted to the channel.

This area can be windy. Waves can be confused near the rocks walls and reflective surfaces close to the pond but it is only a hundred metres or so until you are adjacent to the beach on the north side of the river.   

Return to your car via the reverse route. You can land on the beach along the way and picnic on the grass. The eight large orange mooring bouys are for public use.

Western Australian (Perth City) Visitor Centre

(08) 9483 1111

Other Links

Be trail ready for Elizabeth Quay

Here is everything you need to know before visiting this trail.

Time / Duration

1 hour paddling - more time for exploring

Length

2km

Trail Start

Car park under Narrows Bridge on the South Perth side.

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Trail End

Elizabeth Quay

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Additional information

On windy days some confused waves near rock walls.

What To Pack

Hazards & Warnings

Beware commercial ferry traffic.

Facilities

  • Cafe
  • Car Park
  • Picnic Area
  • Public Toilet
  • Shaded Area

Best time of year

All year

Fees

Trail Access

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3 trail goers have rated Elizabeth Quay as 3 out of 5!

We love to hear from people who've been on our Western Australian trails, so it would be most appreciated it if you wanted to leave a review.

Chelle Fisher

Reviewed 14 Sep 2022, 11:02am

Can be a challenging paddle as we found with strong winds but for those who like the hustle and bustle of city life its nice enough.
Troy Reynolds

Reviewed 1 Apr 2019, 11:35pm

As a new person to Kayaking I really enjoyed the experience going from the Narrows to Elizabeth Quay. Stopping for breakfast and a coffee and then paddling back.
Fayley Arthur

Reviewed 24 Mar 2019, 11:05pm

Elizabeth Quay was built despite the fervent objections of the state's own expert hydrologists - so its no surprise that the water quality within and around the Quay is pretty gross because its exactly what was predicted. The location gets a fair bit of wind being an open spot in windy Perth so you can get a little blown about on a kayak, but its also a fairly nice way to see this part of Perth. There are many beautiful spots to experience Perth's awesome outdoors (many of them on this site) .... I recommend doing them first

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