2.5 kilometres return, grade 4, about ninety minutes if you stop for photos and don't rush the steps back up — that's Lesmurdie Falls on a wet July morning, and it's a different walk entirely to the one most people post in January. I've done this track in both seasons now, and I'll say it plainly up front: Lesmurdie Falls in winter is worth the drive out from Perth. In summer you're mostly looking at rocks.
The short version
Lesmurdie Falls sits in the national park of the same name, just past Kalamunda, and the car park off Lesmurdie Falls Road fills quickly on any weekend between May and September. The walk itself is short by local standards — nothing like a day on the Bibbulmun Track — but the steps down to the lower lookout are steep enough that your knees will know about it the next morning. There's a viewing platform near the top for people who don't want to commit to the full descent, and that's a legitimate option if you've got dodgy ankles or you're minding small kids.
What you're walking toward is Lesmurdie Brook dropping through a series of granite steps into the valley below, with the Perth Hills escarpment opening out behind it. When the brook is running, the lower section has genuine volume and noise, and the whole gorge smells like wet bush and leaf litter. That smell alone is most of why I bother going back each winter.
Why winter is when it earns its keep
The falls are seasonal, and that's not a minor detail buried in the fine print — it's the whole story. After a decent run of winter rain the brook has enough flow to actually fall, in stages, down the granite face, and the plunge pool at the base fills up properly. The WA Dept. of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions manages the park and the track infrastructure, and their seasonal advice lines up with what I've seen on the ground: go when the rain's been falling, not when you've just decided you fancy a hike.
I went on a Tuesday in late July this year, after three straight days of rain, and the brook was loud enough that I had to raise my voice to the walker coming the other way to warn her the steps were slick near the bottom. That's not scenery for Instagram, that's just a wet track doing what it's meant to do in winter, and it's the version of Lesmurdie Falls that actually justifies the climb back out.
What summer actually looks like
Here's my mildly unpopular opinion on this one: Lesmurdie Falls is heavily spruiked on social media as a Perth must-do, and in summer it does not deliver what the photos promise. By December the brook is reduced to a trickle at best, often nothing, and you're standing at the lookout looking at bare granite and dry leaf litter where the water should be. People still turn up in thongs expecting the waterfall from the Instagram post taken in August, and they leave a bit disappointed, understandably.
If you're set on visiting in the warmer months, go for the views over the Perth Hills and the exercise, not the waterfall itself, and time it for early morning before the heat and the crowds both arrive.
The track, the gear, and the steps
The track down from the car park is sealed and gentle for the first stretch, then turns to stone steps with handrails as it drops into the gorge. I carried two 600ml bottles, wore my older pair of trail runners rather than boots, and didn't bother with gaiters — the track's well formed enough in winter that you're not pushing through wet scrub, just watching your footing on slick rock near the base. I did slip once on the second-last flight of steps on the way back up, nothing dramatic, just a scraped palm and a bruised sense of competence.
The steps are the real workout here, not the distance. Coming back up after rain, with the stone slick and your legs already a bit tired from the descent, it's a proper pinch — not unlike the short sharp climb out of the valley on the Bibbulmun Track between Mundaring and Beraking, except you do it in a fraction of the distance and without a pack. If you've walked that section you'll know what I mean; if you haven't, just know the Lesmurdie climb punches above its length.
Other options nearby if the car park's full
Lesmurdie Falls gets busy, and if you turn up on a sunny winter Sunday and the car park's chokers, I wouldn't sit in a queue for a park bay. The Perth Hills has other walks worth the detour instead. Smit Road is a solid alternative with less foot traffic, and Darkin Road is another one I'd rate over fighting for parking at Lesmurdie on a peak morning. Neither has a waterfall, but neither has the crowd either, and some days that trade-off is the better one.
If you want to make a bigger day of the hills while you're out that way, the Munda Biddi Trail Perth Hills day ride covers similar country on two wheels rather than on foot, and it's worth a read if you're trying to decide how to spend a full day in the area rather than just the ninety minutes Lesmurdie takes.
Going at dusk instead of midday
If you'd rather see the falls without the midday crowd, there's a guided option worth knowing about — the Lesmurdie Falls Sunset & Sparkling Hike times the walk for golden hour and finishes with a glass of something sparkling at the top, which is a fair reward after the climb back up those steps. I haven't done the sparkling part myself on a solo walk, obviously, but the timing is smart — the light through the gorge in late afternoon is better than the flat glare of a summer midday, and the crowds thin out considerably once most day-trippers have packed up and headed home.
Planning your visit properly
Before you go, it's worth checking current conditions through Trails WA, since track closures after heavy rain or storm damage aren't unheard of in this park, and nobody wants to drive out to Kalamunda only to find the lower track fenced off. The DBCA also posts updates when sections are closed for maintenance or fire management, so it's worth the two minutes before you leave home rather than finding out at the car park.
My practical advice, for what it's worth after a few winters of doing this one: pick a morning after at least two days of solid rain, wear shoes with decent grip rather than anything you'd call fashionable, and don't expect to need the full day for it. Lesmurdie Falls is a short, sharp walk that rewards winter timing and punishes summer optimism, and once you've seen both versions you won't need me to tell you which one to plan around.