Kororoit Creek Trail
 |
|
|---|---|
| Kororoit Creek Trail along Kororoit Creek | |
| Kororoit Creek | |
| Length | Upper 10km, lower about 3km |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Hills | None |
| Connecting Transport | |
| Train | Albion station, Seaholme station |
The Kororoit Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Kororoit Creek in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.[1][2][3] The name "Kororoit" is thought to have come from an Aboriginal word meaning "male kangaroo" although this has not been confirmed.
The interrupted upper half is located in Burnside and Deer Park.
The uninterrupted upper section starts in Ardeer and proceeds to Brooklyn the lower half is located in Altona.
[edit] Following the Path
[edit] Upper section interrupted
The trail starts in Caroline Springs, 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 dirt track 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 800m).
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 400m) to the Western Ring Road Trail.
[edit] Upper section uninterrupted
The trail then runs directly and uninterrupted from Moore Park, Ardeer to Albion, Sunshine and then onto Brooklyn (approx 4 km). The trail passes very close to Sunshine station and also has easy access to the Western Ring Road Trail at Moore Park and more indirectly to the Federation Trail in Brooklyn.
[edit] Lower section
The Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail goes through Altona Coastal Park - site of the old Williamstown Racecourse. A lone palm 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.
At Millers Rd cross the road to the serenity of Cherry Lake. A 3.7 km path circumnavigates the lake. On the way birdlife including pelicans can be seen. It makes for stark contrast in this heavily industrialised area and is well worth the trip.
[edit] Future expansion
As of 2008[update] the path is only complete in two distinct sections, 5.7 km apart. The upper section is to be extended from Leamonth Crescent to Princess Hwy as announced in October 2007.[4] Thus the Kororoit Creek Trail will be linked to the Federation Trail and the upper and lower sections of the Kororoit Creek Trail will be directly linked.[5] As of 2010, connection of the two sections will be somewhat more complicated by the construction of WestLink, that is likely to intercept the path, just south of Learmouth Crescent. [6] Once the upper and lower paths are joined, those using the trail will be able to travel along an uninterrupted pathway from Ardeer to Port Phillip Bay. (Approx 11 km)
[edit] Connections
The northern end of the upper half connects to Western Ring Road Trail. The southern end of the upper half is a dead-end near Learmonth Crt.
The northern end of the lower half is a dead end at Cherry Lake. The southern end of the lower half connects to Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail.
Upper: North end at 37°44′18″S 144°44′19″E / 37.738450°S 144.738725°E. South end at 37°48′11″S 144°49′57″E / 37.803048°S 144.832414°E.
Lower: North end at 37°51′29″S 144°49′36″E / 37.858104°S 144.826533°E. South end at 37°51′31″S 144°51′01″E / 37.858477°S 144.850282°E.
[edit] References
- Bike rides around Melbourne 3rd edition, 2009, Julia Blunden, Open Spaces Publishing, ISBN 978-0-9752333-4-4
- Bike Paths Victoria sixth edition, 2004. Edited and published by Sabey & Associates Pty Ltd. pp118. ISBN 0957959117
[edit] External links
- Commute along the missing link between the upper and lower Kororoit Creek sections
- Friends of Lower Kororoit Creek
- Hobsons Bay council - map
- BrimBUG - local Bicycle User Group for trail in upper Kororoit Creek
