Ultimate guide to the best walks in Melbourne
THOSE feet were made for walking. Here’s 16 of the sweetest spots for a stroll in the world’s most liveable city.
Melbourne
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WHETHER your version of a walk is a strut along the city’s footpaths or a bush ramble, there’s plenty of sweet spots to get your oxygen fix around Melbourne.
Fancy a walking path that sashays past gorgeous swimming holes and animal farms, or cliff walks that double as an art class?
Perhaps you like the hills, laneways, waterfronts or historic areas? We have you covered, and found plenty of Instagram pictures taken out and about to inspire you.
Of course, we’re bound to have missed some along the way, so tell us about your favourite walk below.
1. Royal Botanic Gardens Trail
It’s an oasis in the heart of the city where you can take a huge gulp of fresh air while enjoying a skyline view of the city. Once you’re inside the massive 89 acre grounds, make your way along 3kms of winding paths that showcase 12,000 plant species. If the botanic gardens sound too easy, you can also walk, or up the ante with a jog, around the perimeter on a 3.84km track known locally as ‘The Tan’. For more on The Tan, see number 13.
Difficulty: Easy
2. Main Yarra Trail
The 35km bushland path twists along the riverside from Southbank to Eltham. It’s hard to believe you’re so close to the skyscrapers as you meander past ancient gums and billabongs. Play spot the amazing homes with their own private piers perched along the Kew riverbank. The trail is home to five smaller trails around Yarra Bend Park which range from a 850m bushland loop to a two hour 6.3km stroll past Dights Falls. See number 8 for more on the falls.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
3. The Bayside Coastal Art Trail
A favourite for locals and tourists who flock to one of the city’s most picturesque red cliff coastlines, the Bayside Coastal Art Trail stretches 17km between Brighton and Beaumaris. It’s an easy stroll adjacent to Beach Rd with thing or two to learn along the way: it doubles as an art class. Plus, there’s lots of cafes to keep your interest piqued as you pass 50 signposted artworks. You can even print off a guide before you go. Difficulty: Easy
4. Merri Creek Trail
The Merri Creek Trail starts at Dights Falls near where the Yarra River and Merri Creek join in Abbottsford, two kilometres east of the city, and ends in Reservoir, a decent 21km north. The trail follows the creek, with most of the path right next to the creek. Along the way it passes Clifton Hill, Coburg Lake Reserve, the Brunswick Velodrome and award-winning CERES sustainability centre to name a few. Lots of trams, trains along the route.
Difficulty: Easy
5. Werribee Gorge State Park
Get out those hiking sticks, and don’t forget your swimmers. Just 40 minutes west of the city, this wild, rugged, bushwalking and rock-climbing wonderland thrives. Nestled between Ballan and Bacchus Marsh you can pick from four walks to take in amazing views of the river, gorge cliff faces and historic Aboriginal sites: Circuit walk (10km, medium to hard), River Walk (3km, medium), Falcons Lookout (3km, medium) and Centenary Walk (4km, medium to hard). Take a picnic.
Difficulty: Medium to hard
6. Sherbrooke Falls Trail
This delightful 2.4km stroll In Melbourne’s east takes you past bright green ferns, and lots of native birds to pretty Sherbrooke Falls. Make a day of it by heading to nearby Burnham Bakery in lush green pastures; you won’t want to feed the bread to the Rosellas. As you walk the trail through a canopy of 200-year-old Mountain Ash and Sassafrass trees, you’ll be sheltered from the sun. Great on a hot day if you want to dip your toes into the cool waterfall stream during the one hour return trip. Here’s how to get there and picnic details.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
7. The Bay Trail
Start in sunny St Kilda and take the 6km stroll along the Bay Trail, which finishes in Brighton. The stunning coastline path is shared with cyclists, and forms part of the official 50km stretch from Seaford to Port Melbourne around Port Phillip Bay. Along the way, you’ll see Luna Park, Acland Street’s famous cakes, the St Kilda Marina, as well as yachts and sailboarders. On weekends, take a punt from Port Melbourne across the Yarra River to Spotswood for a coffee in the city’s west.
Difficulty: Easy
8. Dights Falls Trail
The gorgeous Dights Falls Loop Trail deserves its own mention, among our Yarra faves mentioned in number 2. The 4km path takes an hour to conquer starting on the north side of Kanes Bridge with signs to keep you on track towards the falls — an artificial weir built on a natural rock bar across the Yarra — before you swing back around to the beginning. You’ll marvel at a former ‘lunatic asylum’ and a Koori garden along the way.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
9. Melbourne Heritage Walk
If an urban 2km laneway stroll in the city is more your thing, start at Flinders Station and wind up in Little Lonsdale Street. As you push past the crowds, you’ll pass the state’s oldest flour mill, the glorious Block Arcade’s historic dome/mosaic floor, the famous Gog and Magog clock at the Royal Arcade, and McKillop Street’s beautiful bluestone and bricks. Duration: One hour.
Difficulty: Easy
10. 1000 Steps (Kokoda Walk)
At the base of the Dandenong Ranges in Ferntree Gully an enchanting 3km challenge awaits, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. The 1000 steps are steep and were originally made from trunks of tree ferns before being replaced by wooden pails and in the ‘50s, finally concrete steps. It’s is not recommended for those with medical conditions, or a pram. Don’t mind the amazing fit runners who pass you on their ascent, but do marvel in the WWII plaques, lush ferns, manna gum and blackwood trees. It’s a 1.5 hour return along the track, which Victorian veterans of the Kokoda campaign adopted as their memorial site in 1998 due to the similarity to the first 100 metres of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
Difficulty: Hard
11. Olinda Creek Walking Track
Take in the sights, smells and sounds of the Dandenong Ranges as you pass through dry open forest areas and gorgeous fern-filled gullies of the Aussie bush. The Olinda Creek 5.6km hike from Silvan to Mt Evelyn should take about two hours, but it’s not a circuit so you’ll have to turnaround and go back if you came by car. But, given you’ll have time, it’s all the better for being able to spot echidnas, lyrebirds and black wallabies.
Difficulty: Moderate
12. Royal Park
You may have stumbled across Royal Park — Melbourne’s biggest inner city park — if you’re a sportsmad cyclist, tennis player, netballer, cricketer, golfer, footballer, or play soccer, baseball, or hockey. Just 4km north of the CBD in pretty Parkville is also great for kids, as well as those keen on just a good old fashioned stroll around the massive 170-hectare grounds with a bushland landscape and wetlands. Plus, there’s BBQs and one of the city’s best playgrounds.
Difficulty: Easy
13. ‘The Tan’ Track
‘The Tan’ was originally a horse track for Melbourne’s well-to-do, and is these days popular with runners, mums with prams and walkers. The 3.8km track stretches around the King’s Domain and Botanic Gardens, but we recommend starting at Birdwood Ave, South Yarra.
Difficulty: Easy
14. Capital City Trail
Be a tourist in your own city on this sightseeing stroll that showcases some of Melbourne’s most famous landmarks. The Capital City Trail is a 29km circuit, or four hour return walk in Southbank, but you can also jump on and off as you like. Check out the Arts Centre, the Royal Botanic Gardens, the MCG, Melbourne Park, Como House, Dights Falls, the old Inner Circle Railway at Royal Park, Polly Woodside and the Melbourne Exhibition Centre before returning to vibrant Southbank. The path is flat, and smooth so great for cyclists too.
Difficulty: Easy
15. Princes Park
Stunning Princes Park is a mostly tree-lined 3.2km dirt track which takes you past Cartlon Football Club’s home ground, a bowling green, a playground and lots of areas for dogs to roam free. You might even see medieval re-enactments of Swordcraft, if you’re lucky. You can easily take a short cut if you don’t have the time to smash out the whole loop, but there’s also the option of circling it twice if you’re feeling energetic. Watch out for Lycra-clad joggers, prams and dogs a plenty.
Difficulty: Easy
16. Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail
In Melbourne’s west, the 23km walking and cycling path starts at the West Gate Bridge in Spotswood, heads along the pretty Williamstown and Altona foreshores and winds up in Sanctuary Lakes. You’ll see wetlands, lakes, beaches and get a dose of history with some remarkable buildings along the way.
Here are some other mentionable Melbourne parks:
Alexandra Gardens
Birrarung Marr
Carlton Gardens
Docklands Park
Fawkner Park
Fitzroy Gardens
Flagstaff Gardens
JJ Holland Park
Kings Domain
Queen Victoria Gardens
Shrine Reserve
Treasury Gardens
Trin Warren Tam-bore (wetlands of Royal Park).
Or, if you fancy heading out of Melbourne, try these:
Hanging Rock
Surf Coast Walk
Mornington Peninsula Walk
Yarra Ranges National Park
Cape Schanck trail
Fingal Beach trail
Bridgewater, Blairgowrie
Lifesaving Track
Coppins Track
Coppins Lookout
Cape Woolami Walk
Pt Nepean National Park
Have we missed your favourite walk? Tell us about it below:
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