Fortescue Falls, Karijini National Park: Walk, swim & getting there

Inside Karijini National Park, Fortescue Falls tumbles for 20 metres over a series of rock steps. Get to the pool at the bottom by descending a series of man-made steps.

Fortescue Falls is one of the main attractions in Western Australia’s remote Karijini National Park. It is the only permanent waterfall in the national park.

Fortescue Falls isn’t a particularly high waterfall, and you can hardly call the drop spectacular either. But what it does do is rather interesting. This Karijini National Park waterfall cascades along a series of naturally-carved rock steps, falling about 20 metres in the process.

How to get to Fortescue Falls, Karijini National Park

Fortescue Falls is inside Dales Gorge, well inside Karijini National Park. The Fortescue Falls car park is a 106km drive from Tom Price and a 205km drive from Newman. You can usually make it in a conventional vehicle, but the road conditions can be rough and you’re better off in a 4WD.

If you want to get to the waterfall before everyone else, you could stay overnight in the Dales Campground, which is next to the Fortescue Falls car park.

From the Fortescue Falls car park, it’s a 150 metre walk to the Fortescue Falls Lookout. If you want to get down to the bottom of the waterfall, there is a series of metal steps that descend into Dales Gorge.

Swimming at Fortescue Falls

There’s a small pool at the base of Fortescue Falls, but you’re better of continuing another couple of hundred metres to the bigger and more spectacular Fern Pool. This is one of the greatest swimming holes in Western Australia.

There are two walks worth considering – the Dales Gorge Walk along the bottom of the gorge towards Circular Pool and the Gorge Rim Walk along the top. At time of writing access to Circular Pool was closed due to rock falls.

Other good places to swim in Karijini National Park include Hamersley Gorge.

Accommodation options around Karijini National Park include the Karijini Eco Retreat and the Tom Price Tourist Park.