Greenmount National Park is a national park in the locality of

Greenmount, Western Australia Greenmount is a locality and a geographical feature in the Shire of Mundaring, Western Australia, on the edge of the Darling Scarp. It is a vital point in the transport routes from the Swan Coastal Plain into the hinterland of Western Austra ...

, 22 km east of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. It is one of the smaller national parks along the

Darling Scarp The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...

and is a component of the Darling Range Regional Park. Due to its proximity to

John Forrest National Park John Forrest National Park is a national park in the Darling Scarp, east of Perth, Western Australia. Proclaimed as a national park in November 1900, it was the first national park in Western Australia and the second in Australia after Royal Nat ...

, which used to be known as Greenmount National Park until 1928, and relationship to subsequent reserves to the south it is a vital scarp

wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...

. Bus tours were available from

in 1933 with Hill's Bus Tours offering passengers a tour around the park on Sundays in September. Beam Transport Ltd. offered a similar service through the Park to

Mundaring Weir Mundaring Weir is a dam (and historically the adjoining locality) located from Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Scarp. The dam and reservoir form the boundary between the suburbs of Reservoir and Sawyers Valley. The dam impounds the Hel ...

in 1937. As a feature adjacent to the

Helena River The Helena River is a tributary of the Swan River in Western Australia. The river rises in country east of Mount Dale and flows north-west to Mundaring Weir, where it is dammed. It then flows west until it reaches the Darling Scarp. It passes ...

Valley it has significance in Aboriginal folklore, and also featured very early on in early European settler's diaries. Mountain Quarry is one of several blue stone quarries located within the park, popular with rock climbers and walkers. Vehicle access to the quarry site is restricted; however a car-park and picnic facilities including toilets are within walking distance of the main site, which is completely accessible on foot. There are several panels containing historical information about the site spread around as part of the popular

Railway Reserves Heritage Trail The Railway Reserves Heritage Trail also on some maps as ''Rail Reserve Heritage Trail'' or ''Rail Reserves Historical Trail'', and frequently referred to locally as the ''Bridle Trail'' or ''Bridle Track'' is within the Shire of Mundaring in ...

, which runs close to the quarry. The

Boya Boya may refer to: *Boya, Western Australia *Boya, Nepal *Boya people, an ethnic group in Sudan *Boyar caste, Boyar caste of India *Mireia Boya Busquet (born 1979), Spanish scientist and politician *Pierre Boya (born 1984), Cameroonian footballer * ...

/ Koongamia leg of the Railway Reserves Heritage Trail, also known as the "Bridle Trail", curves around the south-western edge of the park, crossing through the Mountain Quarry car-park and picnic area. Fire affected northern side of Greenmount National Park

Fire affected northern side of Greenmount National Park

In the early 2000s significant bushfire damage occurred on the southern slopes of this park. Large fire-breaks bisect the park, serving as popular walking routes among locals. The western and northern slopes, visible from

Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link ...

, have extensive ''Watsonia'' infestations. In late 2005, the government authority in charge of the national park was taking steps to prevent vehicular access along the top of the ridge to the lookout due to vandalism and issues with residents adjacent to the park. The park is situated along the side of Greenmount Hill and has views over the

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

below and

to the west. The dominant vegetation in the park is

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

s such as marri and

wandoo Wandoo is the common name for a number of Western Australian ''Eucalyptus'' species, all of which have smooth white bark. The original "wandoo" is ''Eucalyptus wandoo''. Additional species have been given this name because of a perceived likeness w ...

along with an array of wild flowers and heathland along the northern slopes. The hill is steep and contain several breakaways and rocky outcrops.

See also

References

Further reading