Below are some of the shorter walks or sights that doesn’t require a long time, I called them “gap-fillers” where you want to add them to your itinerary if you are going past them, or when you just want a day of more rest and shorter walks. 

In ranking of (my) preference:

1)  Mt Frankland National Park. Here is a longer write-up on this location but a seasoned (fast) hiker will be able to cover this in less than 2hours and leisure walkers should allow up to 4hours including breaks. 

Mt Frankland National Park- The Summit

2) Horseyard Hill . This is a surprising little gem hidden behind the Walpole Visitor Centre. The trail starts at the back of the centre and there’s a little write up about the trail. Along the way there are little reading panels about the trail and its history that adds some fun to the walk. I choose not to disclose too much as I think this little 2.5km loop deserves all the attention it should get. Do stop by here if you are in Walpole and be enchanted by it, as it had for me. 

Horseyard Hill

3) Knoll Drive and Walk.  The one way loop drive is about 5km and there are 2 fishing spots which you can get out and enjoy views of the Nornalup Inlet. You can also do the Knoll Walk which cuts through the forest and you can join back up to the road at different points. The drive is one way direction so if you are walking with the road traffic, do keep to the side. 

Knoll Walk

View of the Inlet from one of the stop on the Knoll drive

4) Mt Clare Summit Trail . This is a short 2.4km forest trail which ends up with a uphill climb on the granite rocks towards the end. The reason why this is lower on the rating is because I wasn’t sure what view I was suppose to enjoy when on the hill top. It could be because the view is blocked or covered by tall grown trees, or maybe it was a cloudy day or its winter time. Nevertheless, you will be rewarded with beautiful Tingle and Karri trees .

Mt Clare Summit

5) Mt Frankland South National Park – Swarbrick. This loop is only 500m walk and easily accessible by strollers and wheelchairs. I’m not an artistic person so the art installations didn’t wow me at all.  I think we spotted 3 along the way in addition to the ones at the beginning which I think they are mirrors. 

Short write-up at the start of the Swarbrick walk

6) Fernhook Falls. We went past this falls a few times to and from our accommodation so we decided to stop at it to check it out. It had rained the few days prior however I don’t think the rain would make much difference as it is a very short fall. There is a pool at the lower end which I would assume would get popular during summer time. As we were at the falls during winter time, there’s hardly anyone around, and I think this would be a popular choice for camping grounds in summer. The view of the falls is also covered by tall trees and bushes so I couldn’t get a good photo of it. 

Map

7) John Rate Lookout . Last one my list is the John Rate Lookout. We only spent about 10mins or less here. This is another spot that we drove past a few times going to or leaving our accommodation in Walpole and decided to make a stop to check it out. There are public toilets you can use and there is (could be more than 1) a picnic table you can use, looking at the view. The view is a nice of of the Nornalup inlet bordered by tall Tingle trees so it does form a very nice frame. However that is pretty much it. Perhaps this place will be lively in summer time

“Lookout”view

The above ranked suggestions are purely based on my personal preferences and I hope they can provide you some ideas if you run short of time or just wanted something to fill parts of your day during your stay in Walpole. I am sure if you swing by the Walpole Visitor centre, the staff will be able to assist too.