Forrest-Peppermint Grove Beach (WA 755) commences at Wonnerup Inlet and trends to the northeast as Forrest Beach, terminating at the channelised Capel River mouth as Peppermint Grove Beach. The beach represents a transition in the level of wave energy from less than 1 m in the south to about 1 km at the river mouth. It commences at Wonnerup Inlet with low waves and transverse sand ridges extending a few hundred metres offshore. Moving northwards along Forrest Beach the ridges decrease in width, and by the 10 km mark have moved in close to the beach, with the northern Peppermint Grove section having no ridges and a more typical reflective beach, usually dominated by high tide beach cusps and a deeper inshore. The backing barrier reflects this transition with the low foredunes that extends all the way to Dunsborough, increasing in height and width along Peppermint Grove beach, reaching 20 m by the river mouth. The dunes average a few hundred metres in width, with a 1 km wide interbarrier depression occupied by wetlands and lagoons, including the Wonnerup Estuary, separating the Holocene barrier from the inner Pleistocene barrier. The Turat Forest National Park occupies part of the Pleistocene barrier. There is access to the beach at Forrest beach, with the Forrest Beach Road paralleling the back of the beach for 5 km, and in the north via the Peppermint Grove Road. Since the late 1990’s Peppermint Grove has experienced considerable housing development in the backing foredunes and right up to the river. There are a number of beach access points, car parks and boat launching sites along the beach. Waves are usually calm to low along the beach with a steep reflective beach face. During higher wave conditions a heavy shorebreak develops at the base of the beach and some times there are good waves over the river mouth bars. Both river mouths are usually narrow and shallow, and may close during the summer months. When open, channels and shoals form off the inlets. read more

Beach Length: 14km