Seven out of ten, and thats before you factor in the lack of traffic
I'll give the Canning River path a seven. Not a perfect surface, not a scenic postcard the whole way, but it does the one thing the Swan River loop struggles with on a weekend: it lets you actually ride at your own pace. No dodging prams three-wide near the bridge, no bunched-up hire bikes near the brewery. Reckon that alone is worth the trade-off in scenery.
I rode most of it again two Sundays back on the gravel bike, partly to check a section that had copped some root damage near the bridge underpass and partly because the coffee at the servo on the Riverton side is better than it has any right to be. Nothing's changed much. Still quiet. Still underrated.
Where it starts and what the surface is doing
Most riders pick it up somewhere around the Kent Street Weir or further down near Riverton, depending which end of the valley they're coming from. The path itself is sealed shared path for the bulk of it, standard Perth bitumen-and-crushed-limestone mix, with a few short unsealed detours where the council hasn't quite finished the job. Nothing technical. A hybrid handles it fine, a road bike will feel every seam, and the gravel bike is overkill but comfortable, which is basically my excuse for riding it every time.
Where it does get interesting is the stretch through the wetlands, where the path narrows and the surface turns patchy with loose gravel after rain. Drop your tyre pressure a touch if you're running anything skinnier than 32mm — I run about 45psi on the gravel bike through there instead of my usual 60, and it stops the front wheel skating on the looser sections near the boardwalk. Not a big deal, just worth knowing before you hit it at speed.
The Riverton Drive East sections
There are two separate stretches worth knowing by name if you're planning the ride off a map rather than just following the blue line. The northern segment, listed as Riverton Drive East RSP, runs along the reserve closer to the bridge and gets a decent amount of shade from the paperbarks, which matters more than people think in February. Further south, the other stretch also carrying the Riverton Drive East RSP tag opens out a bit, less tree cover, wider path, better for getting a rhythm going if you're not stopping for photos.
Honestly the naming is a bit confusing on the council signage too, but once you've ridden it once you won't need the map again.
Carousel to Southlands, and why it's the better warm-up
If you want a shorter loop to test your legs before committing to the full river run, the Canning Route 2: Carousel to Southlands section is the one I point people to. It's flatter than most of the riverside stretch, well used by locals doing laps before work, and it connects cleanly back into the main path if you decide you've got more in the tank. I've taken the Sunday bunch down this bit a few times when someone's nursing a dodgy knee and doesn't want the full distance.
The wetlands stretch, and the kayak option nobody mentions
The wetlands section is genuinely the best bit of the ride, not because the surface is great — it's the patchiest part of the whole path — but because it's the only stretch where you'll actually see something other than other cyclists. Black swans, the odd heron, and if you time it right, the Perth Kayak Tour - Canning River Wetlands group out on the water, which is a nicer way to see the same stretch if your knees have had enough of the saddle for the day. I've never done the kayak tour myself, cant speak to the pricing, but I've ridden past it enough times to say it looks like a decent way to see the wetlands from a different angle.
Where I'll disagree with the usual line
Most of the write-ups on this stretch talk it up as a hidden gem, and I get why, but I'd argue the