__NOTOC__ The Kororoit Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the

Kororoit Creek The Kororoit Creek is a watercourse of the Port Phillip catchment, rising in the outer north western suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The Kororoit Creek rises below Mount Kororoit, northeast of ...

in the inner western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The interrupted upper section is located in Burnside and Deer Park, the uninterrupted middle section starts in Ardeer and proceeds to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, while the lower section is located in Altona.

Following the trail

Upper section (interrupted)

The trail starts in

Caroline Springs Caroline Springs is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melton local government area. Caroline Springs recorded a population of 24,488 at the 2021 census. Carol ...

, on to Burnside continuing through to Albanvale and then Deer Park (approx 10 km). The trail starts as a concrete path in Caroline Springs, where Caroline Springs Boulevarde crosses the creek. Some 2 km later use the road section from Westwood Drive to Bilungah Place. This leads to a gravel section and a ford to access the east side of the creek. A 1 km concrete path leads to a small footbridge near the Deer Park Secondary College at Deer Park. If the ford is flooded, a nearby road route can be used to access this footbridge instead. Navigation is then straightforward with sealed concrete paths on both sides of the creek arriving at Station Road (approx 800 m). After an easy road crossing at Station Road the path continues on the south bank along Gurnung Drv and crosses to the north bank, then through Cairnlea to Cairnlea Drive (approx 700m). From here pedestrians cross the Western Highway and then proceed east to Moore Park in Ardeer (approx 400 m) to the

Western Ring Road Trail __NOTOC__ The M80 Trail (previously known as the Western Ring Road Trail) is a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians that bridges the northern suburbs and follows the Western Ring Road/Metropolitan Ring Road (M80) freeway in Melbourne, Au ...

Middle section (uninterrupted)

The trail then runs directly and uninterrupted from Moore Park, Ardeer to

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

, then

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...

and onto

(approx 4 km). The trail passes close to both

and

stations and also has easy access to the

at Moore Park and onwards to the

Federation Trail The Federation Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which mainly follows the heritage-listed Main Outfall Sewer through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. There are three bridges spanning across major ...

in Brooklyn. the trail ends at this intersection with the Federation Trail.

Lower section

In July 2017 a new section of the Trail, connecting Grieve Parade to Barnes Road, was opened. This section is augmented along its length with sculptures created by Geoffrey Ricardo: "A strange trail of beasts, spirits and guardians". The one kilometre link from Grieve Parade to the

is incomplete and is being delayed by the construction of the

West Gate Tunnel The West Gate Tunnel, originally known as the Western Distributor, is a four kilometre toll road currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia, to link the West Gate Freeway at Yarraville with the Port of Melbourne and CityLink at Dockl ...

. There is an existing rough track but is unsuitable for riders and becomes exceedingly muddy in winter. With relative easy, this track could be improved to at least make it passable, so that riders could use the trail, rather than waiting till the West Gate tunnel is completed in late 2023.

Lowest section

The

Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail __NOTOC__ The Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the coast line of Hobsons Bay in the inner western suburbs in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The trail forms part of the western half of t ...

goes through

Altona Coastal Park Altona Coastal Park, a 70 hectares intertidal and salt marsh area located 11 km from Melbourne CBD in the western suburb of Altona, is an important recreational and nature conservation area, providing habitats for a large biodiversity of fl ...

- site of the old

Williamstown Racecourse Williamstown Racecourse was a horse racing track located at Altona, Victoria, Australia. Located south of Kororoit Creek, the racecourse was opened in 1869, following the establishment of the Williamstown Racing Club the previous year. In 1885, ...

. A lone

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

stands guard over the remains of the old grandstand. North of the park, at the ford over Racecourse Road and also at the south end of the park, trails split off that lead to a single path, that heads westerly towards Millers Road. Nearby was the old

Williamstown Racecourse railway station Williamstown Racecourse is a demolished station on the former Altona railway line, now part of the Werribee railway line in Melbourne, Australia. It was located in the suburb of Altona, immediately south of the Kororoit Creek Road level cross ...

. At Millers Rd cross the road to the serenity of

Cherry Lake Cherry Lake (also known as Lake Lloyd) is an artificial lake in the Stanislaus National Forest of Tuolumne County, California, U.S.A., about east of the city of Sonora. It is at an elevation of on the western side of the Sierra Nevada, and l ...

. A 3.7 km path circumnavigates the lake. On the way bird life including

pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

can be seen. It makes for stark contrast in this heavily industrialised area.

Future expansion

The section from the

to Cherry Lake is still incomplete. Once the upper and lower paths are joined, there will be an uninterrupted walking and cycling path all the way from Ardeer to

Port Phillip Bay Port Phillip (Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is completel ...

Connections to other bike paths

The northern end of the upper section connects to

. The southern end of the upper section connects to the

. The northern end of the lower section is a dead end at Cherry Lake. The southern end of the lower section connects to

. Upper: North end at . South end at .
Lower: North end at . South end at .

References

*''Bike rides around Melbourne'' 3rd edition, 2009, Julia Blunden, Open Spaces Publishing, * ''Bike Paths Victoria'' sixth edition, 2004. Edited and published by Sabey & Associates Pty Ltd. pp118.

External links

Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek

Hobsons Bay council - map

BrimBUG
- local Bicycle User Group for trail in upper Kororoit Creek * {{Bicycle Trails in Melbourne Bike paths in Melbourne