Western Australia
Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Perth's free, walkable showpiece: a vast bushland park on a rise above the Swan River, with the city skyline below, a treetop walkway and the September wildflowers.
Where
Perth, Australia
Opening hours
The park is open around the clock as public open space; the Botanic Garden, the Federation Walkway and the visitor centre keep daytime hours (the walkway typically opens from around 09:00 to late afternoon). Free guided walks run most days in season. Hours shift seasonally, so confirm current times on the official site.
Tickets
Free — no ticket needed to enter the park, the Botanic Garden or the Federation Walkway. Parking is mostly free, though some bays are metered, and the volunteer-led guided walks are also free. You only pay for the café, gift shop or any special events.
Time needed
One to three hours. An hour covers the Federation Walkway, the war memorial and the main lookout; allow a half-day if you want to walk the bush trails or picnic.
In short
Visiting Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Kings Park is one of the world's largest inner-city parks, spread over a rise above the Swan River with the Perth skyline laid out below. It is free, an easy walk or short bus from the CBD, and at its best in the September-October wildflower season. The standouts are the treetop Federation Walkway through the Botanic Garden, the State War Memorial lookout and the long views over the river and city. You can wander for an hour or settle in for a half-day.
A park with the city at its feet
Kings Park is the thing to do first in Perth, partly because it is free and partly because it hands you the whole city in one go. Spread over a bushland rise on Mount Eliza, it is one of the largest inner-city parks anywhere, and from its eastern edge the Swan River and the Perth skyline are laid out below you. A good chunk of it is genuine native bush rather than mown lawn, which is unusual this close to a downtown, and within it sits the Western Australian Botanic Garden growing thousands of the state’s plant species.
The signature walk is the Federation Walkway, a raised path that runs partly along a steel-and-glass arched bridge through the treetops — short, easy and the best single thing to aim for if your time is tight. Nearby, the State War Memorial sits at the most commanding lookout, where the view over the river is at its widest.
Timing it and getting up there
It is an easy approach from the CBD: a twenty- to thirty-minute walk up from the city or riverfront, a short bus or taxi, or a drive into the mostly free car parks at the top. Allow an hour to take in the walkway, the memorial and the main lookout, or stretch it to a half-day if you want to follow the bush trails or picnic on the lawns.
Time it for September into October if you can: that is the wildflower season, when the Botanic Garden and surrounding bush put on Western Australia’s spring show. Outside that window it is still very much worth the trip — the views and the walkway carry it year-round. Free volunteer-guided walks run most days, and it is a lovely spot at dusk as the skyline lights come on. Confirm walkway and visitor-centre hours on the official site before you set out.
Planning the rest of your trip? See the Perth city guide.
