Shepherds Hill Recreational Park – A walk on the calm side

Located only a short drive from the city centre, Shepherds Hill Recreational Park is a popular destination where you can enjoy a family picnic, take an easy or strenuous short bush walk, ride your bike over gentle trails or through demanding, expert downhill runs.

Or if the whim takes hold, you can simply lie on your back and stare at the sky.

The park may be near a busy metropolitan arterial road, (clogged with roadworks when I was there) but it is a haven where outside of summer you can discover fresh fungi and mosses, wildflowers and flowing creeks filled with frogs. In summer, it is a shady place to let your mind wander.

On weekends you will find Shepherds Hill Recreation Park filled with families and those seeking an escape from the busy suburban surrounds. But, after only a short walk from the car park, you will have forgotten the hum of traffic, your senses filled instead with the sound of birds in the trees and the happy expressions of other visitors.

My introduction to the park was in the form of the River Red Gum Loop that provided an early detour off the main access track and up along Viaduct Creek on my bicycle. The track was well made and clearly sign-posted but unfortunately the local archery club was in attendance and I had to detour (not well marked) around the event to pick up the trail again where it followed the aforementioned access track.

I would recommend riding clockwise, watch out for walkers but other than those two suggestions, you are free to enjoy your surroundings and the sound of lorikeets, rosellas and kookaburras. You may even want to ride the more adventurous Seaview Loop Track when you have completed this one.

You can ride your bike on roads open to the public or use the designated cycling trails and tracks on offer. If you are a bit more adventurous with your bike riding, the park offers a bicycle jumps-track just near the entrance from the car park.

If you brought your horse, there are also riding facilities near the main car park but you will need to organise this with the club beforehand.