Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail

__NOTOC__MelbourneBikePath


DESCRIPTION=Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail - Williamstown section
NAME=Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail
LENGTH=10km from the Docklands to Williamstown via Footscray Rd. 5km from Williamstown to Altona.
DIFFICULTY=Easy
HILLS=None
HAZARDS=Shared pedestrian path on Hyde St and Moreland St Yarraville section narrow.
WATER=Great Bay Views along 80% of path.
PATH=
BUS=
TRAIN=Altona and Williamstown stations
TRAM=

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. [ [http://maps.vicroads.vic.gov.au/website/bikes2b/viewer.htm VicRoads - Bicycle Facilities Map] ] [ [http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?slct2=24 Melbourne and Geelong's shared paths in Google Maps] ] [ [http://www.bigyak.net.au/bike/bike.html#melgel Melbourne and Geelong's shared paths in Google Earth] ] The trail forms part of the western half of the Bayside Trailwhich encircles Port Phillip Bay.

Following the Path

Towards the Footscray end the path connects with the Maribyrnong River Trail and passes the offices of the Lonely Planet publications. At this junction cyclists can continue north on the Maribyrnong River Trail or connect to the Footscray Rd off-road path which continues directly to the Docklands and the Capital City Trail.

Between Footscray and Spotswood the path is narrow and continues south down Moreland Street, Whitehall Street before turning west down Somerville Road and then south again down Hyde Street for approximately 1 kilometre. Under the West Gate Bridge the trail becomes a 3 meter wide off-road path, and continues south along the banks of the Yarra River for approximately 3 kilometres to Williamstown. From here continuous paths can be followed all the way to Altona.

On weekends, a punt takes cyclists across the Yarra River from Spotswood near the Scienceworks Museum.

Connections

In the north you can access the Maribyrnong River Trail as well as the Footscray Rd Path which connects to the Capital City Trail in Docklands. Heading south the trail goes through Williamstown and intersects the lower Kororoit Creek Trail in Altona, then the Laverton Creek Trail. In the south the path terminates at the Skeleton Creek Trail in Altona Meadows.

* North end at coord|37.831687|S|144.895411|E (the punt).
* South end at coord|37.896534|S|144.781834|E.

References

* "Bike rides around Melbourne" 2nd edition, 2006, Julia Blunden, Open Spaces Publishing, ISBN 0-9752333-2-7

External links

* [http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Files/CoastalTrail.pdf Hobsons Bay council - map]
* [http://www.westgatepunt.com/ West Gate Punt]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4euHUrVKX4 Commute to Lonely Planet]
* [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~hbbug/ Hobsons Bay Bicycle User Group]