Four Ways Trail (Idinggada Yina)

How to get there

1. Loop/Z-Bend entry station, then the signed Z-Bend carpark. Unhitch caravans in town.
2. Fill 3+ litres per person in town. There is no water on the trail or at the river.
3. Tell someone in town your intended return. PLB recommended. Reception is poor on the gorge floor.
4. No dogs. Screenshot alerts and an offline map before you leave town.

How to do it (step by step)

1. Start early. Abort at the first heat or fatigue signal — the climb-out is mandatory.
2. Stay on the signed route. River junctions invite wrong turns. Do not invent a link to the Loop.
3. Carry Loop-like water (about 1 L per person per hour). The river is not a drinking source.
4. Do not combine with the full Loop or the River Trail as a stack the same day.
5. If anyone is unsure at the first steep ground, reverse to the lookout and call it a success.

What to expect

Four Ways (Idinggada Yina) is the longer Class 4 descent from the Z-Bend carpark to a river junction — commonly published around 6 km return and 2–4 hours. Verify live figures. It is shorter than the Loop and still a real gorge-floor day.

You lose height, walk river country, and climb the same ground out. Shade is limited. Heat is the same oven as the Loop even if a 7 am gate is not posted on this trail.

Who it suits

Experienced walkers who already know they want more than the lookout and the short River Trail. Not first-timers, not a family add-on, and not a “we missed the Loop so we’ll do the hard one” decision at 10 am.

If anyone is unsure about ladders, heat or navigation, stay on the Z-Bend lookout path. That is still a complete visit.

Kit and daylight

Treat kit like the Loop: 3+ litres per person, hat, sturdy shoes, electrolytes if you use them, and a PLB or satellite messenger. Download Emergency+ in town.

Start early. Finishing a gorge climb in the hottest part of the day is the usual failure mode. There is no river pickup.

Four Ways vs the Loop vs the River Trail

The Loop is a 9 km circuit from a different carpark with a published 7 am summer closure. The River Trail is the shorter Z-Bend descent. Four Ways is the longer Z-Bend descent. They are not interchangeable “Kalbarri walks.”

Pick one hero. Stacking two gorge-floor walks is how groups run out of water and daylight.

Map (orientation)

Pin may be approximate. Confirm trailheads, parking and track status on Explore Parks WA / DBCA before you drive.