The 14 kilometre Turquoise Way Trail made Jurien Bay a must-visit destination on our trip through Western Australia.
Jurien Bay is a small beach-side town 220 kilometres north of Perth. It lies at the southern end of the Coral Coast, which extends from just south of Jurien Bay to Exmouth in the north. The Coral Coast is fringed by the World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Reef.
The Turquoise Way stretches from Jurien Bay Harbour, just north of the main township to the Hill River in the south.
When I finally got to ride this trail, I was so impressed.
What makes a great cycle path? Here are some of my ideas:
Good quality track, whether it’s bitumen, gravel or dirt
The Turquoise Way has an excellent bitumen surface.
Beautiful scenery
There is beautiful beach scenery all along the track. The Coral Coast has amazing colours. They are not exaggerating about the turquoise!
Also, you can see the Hill River estuary from the trail.
When you reach the turnaround point at the end of 14 kilometres, a short walk through the shrubs will bring you to this view of the Hill River.
Shelters and Bike stands
All along the Turquoise Way, there are access paths to the beach. I counted 22 of these. Many of them had bike stands provided.
As well as this, there were a number of roofed shelters with picnic tables.
Kilometre Markers
It’s a good safety feature to have markers so you can keep track of how far you’ve come.
This helps everybody to ride within their ability.
Safety from Cars
As a dedicated cycle path, this is somewhere that you can confidently take younger children. While there are a few places where 4WD vehicles may cross the path, I saw none during my two rides along the trail.
Not Too Hilly
The Turquoise Way is very flat for the northern half of the ride, with a few more undulations in the southern half.
Coffee shops
While this is not essential for a good bike ride, it does add to the fun. Jurien Bay has lots of choice for a coffee reward at the end of your ride: the Bay Bakery, the Jurien Jetty Cafe and House Blend Cafe.
The Turquoise Way Trail ticks all of the boxes for a great cycle path.
I hope that in the future the trail can be extended a further 14 kilometres south to the town of Cervantes. What a wonderful day ride this would make!
Jurien Bay has a number of other attractions within easy reach such as Stockyard Gully Caves, Sandy Cape Recreation Park, Greens Head, the town of Cervantes and the Lobster Shack. The most outstanding attraction in the vicinity is the Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park. We spent a fun morning cycling the Pinnacles Desert Loop.
I have found the Trails WA website very useful for information about cycling trails in Western Australia.
Other exciting coastal trails in Western Australia are the Esperance Great Ocean Trail, the Perth Coastal Ride and the Mandurah Coastal Ride.
