Hike to Marketgarden Hill, Warrandyte State Park

Yarra Ranges zoom view from Marketgarden Track

Good afternoon - off Marketgarden Track!

Yarra, from Scouts Track clifftop

Market Garden Track starts at the main entrance of the Clifford Park Activity Centre, in the Warrandyte State Park, 30 km east of Melbourne town.

It is a gated fire management track.

It continues for about 4 km to the north, reaching the Bend of Isles on the Yarra River, at the junction of Lucerne Paddock Track.

It runs along the main north ridgeline, adjacent to farming properties on the west, with an increase in altitude from 104 m to 130 m.

This area of the Park is known as the Yarra Brae Section, which was added in 1987, following acquisition of land, formerly a large farm. The memory of the farm lingers, in the Lucerne Paddock and Market Garden track names.

For part of the way, the track divides - the old track runs next to the fence line of a farm - the new track is parallel, lower down.

There are excellent views from the upper track across the Park and towards the Yarra and Dandenong Ranges.

I explored the southern section of this beautiful track on Sunay afternoon July 4, 2010. On a previous trip I had followed the track to its end on the banks of the river, but time was against me on this occasion, and my turnabout point was at the junction of Scouts Track.

I returned along the lower track, a total distance of about 3 km.

See all of the Photos of my visit, which includes an archival image, looking down on the Yarra, taken in 1940, from the same vantage point on Scout Track. In that year, the hills swere relatively bare of trees!