Little Salmon Bay - Rottnest Island snorkelling

A sheltered bay with calm water and a 700-metre snorkel trail, marked by ten buoys above information plaques on the seabed. Seagrass meadows, rocky reef and limestone formations hold plenty of colourful fish, which makes it a favourite with families and beginners.

The trail loops out from the white sandy beach and back, passing the limestone reef on the left side of the bay, where fish dart in and out of the seagrass and rocks. Look for scalyfin, western king wrasse, moon wrasse, red-lipped morwong, sea stars and crayfish, along with small patches of pink coral. Allow about an hour.

The bay lies within the Parker Point Sanctuary Zone, where no fishing of any kind is allowed. One visitor in 2018 reported that some buoys in the middle of the trail were hard to spot and the plaques were grown over with algae.

• Experience level: Easy
• Depth: 1-3 m
• Access: Island Explorer Stop 6 (Little Salmon Bay); about 25 minutes by bike from Thomson Bay. No facilities at the bay; the Parker Point toilets are about a five-minute walk away. 700 m snorkel trail marked by 10 buoys, starting and ending on the beach. Inside the Parker Point Sanctuary Zone - no fishing of any kind.
• 700m Snorkel Trail
• 10 Trail Buoys
• Marine Sanctuary Zone
• Family Friendly
• Seagrass Meadows
• Sheltered Bay

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