Maribyrnong River Trail

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


View of city skyline and Maribyrnong River at Essendon West
Maribyrnong River Trail
Length	25km Brimbank Park to Footscray Road
Difficulty	Mostly easy
Hills	Mostly Flat, hills around Steele Creek, Essendon West
Hazards
Water	Brimbank Park, Canning Reserve, Riverside Park, Pipemakers Park
Path	Shared use gravel and bitumen path
Sights, Landmarks	Maribyrnong River, Brimbank Park, Pipemakers Park, Scienceworks Museum, West Gate Bridge
Connecting Transport
Other Paths
Bus
Train
Tram

Cycling beside the Maribyrnong River at Avondale Heights.

The Maribyrnong River Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians which follows the Maribyrnong River through the north western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The path, often on both sides of the river, follows the meandering of the Maribyrnong River through a valley cut in the basaltic plateau in Keilor East at Brimbank Park, then across a floodplain to its entry into the Yarra River at Docklands.

[edit] Connections

A path from Brimbank Park east along the Western Ring Road connects with the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail.

At Footscray it connects with the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail and the Capital City Trail, as well as continuing by onroad bicycle lanes and dedicated paths under the West Gate Bridge to Williamstown.

On weekends a punt takes cyclists across the Yarra River under the West Gate Bridge at Spotswood near the Scienceworks Museum.

[edit] Description

From Brimbank Park, the gravel trail winds its way through the trees along the valley on the east side of the Maribyrnong River.

At Canning Reserve Tea Gardens at Avondale Heights the trail becomes concrete. On the weekends the smell of barbecues fills the air, with picnickers dotted along the length of the river, children enjoying playgrounds or water games. The concrete path follows a creek valley up into Avondale Heights, while a gravel path continues along the river.

At Steele Creek at Essendon West the path becomes concrete and follows the creek inland before winding up the hillside to the top of the plateau for outstanding views of the Maribyrnong River and the skyscrapers of the Melbourne CBD in the distance. Care needs to be taken crossing Buckley Street.

At Maidstone the path on the western side of the river passes through Pipemakers Park with its Living Museum of the West which contains historical presentations on the river valley and the people who have lived there since its initial occupation up to 40,000 years ago by the Wurundjeri people.

The path passes Flemington Racecourse, where the Melbourne Cup is run on the first Tuesday of November each year as part of the Spring Racing Carnival.

Melbourne Off-Road Bicycle Network