About Brimbank Park
LOCATION
‘Brimmers’ as we affectionately call this Park is about 15 km north west of Melbourne. The 25km Maribyrnong River Trail follows the river from Keilor to Footscray Road.
NEAREST TOWN
Keilor is less than 2km from the Park.
OPENING HOURS
The Park is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm year round and 8.30am to 8.00pm during daylight savings.
ACTIVITIES
Brimbank is a great place for hiking, trail running, cycling, orienteering (there’s a permanent orienteering course set up out there) and even kayaking.
Dogs are permitted on a leash.
GETTING THERE
Melways Map reference: 15 B10
From Melbourne, take the Calder Highway and exit at Keilor Park Drive then turn right into the park about 500m from the highway exit.
From the western suburbs, take the Western Ring Road and exit at Keilor Park Drive. Turn left at the lights into Keilor Park Drive and then left into the Park.
Look out for the brown sign pointing towards the Park entry.
CONTACT
Call the Parks Victoria office:
Phone: 13 1963
FACILITIES
Facilities include picnic tables, taps, BBQs, flushing toilets, disabled toilets and the Leaping Lizard cafe.
WILDLIFE IN BRIMBANK PARK
I’ve walked and run and cycled there many times and have never seen any wildlife other than cockatoos and rabbits.
Hiking and Trail Running
Brimmers is a great place close to Melbourne to do some decent hill training. There are two main hills at Brimbank – the slow and steady hill and the short, sweet and steep hill. I trained here each weekend during my preparation for the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon. These hills are harder than any I encountered during the GOR half.
Trails+ runs an ultramarathon and fun run festival in the park in April each year. It’s an awesome event.
Suggested walks/runs
Here are some ideas to get you started at Brimbank Park:
Brimbank Double Circuit
Distance: 10.2km circuit
Grade: Moderate
Elevation gain: 312m
Elevation loss: 362m
Time (running): 1:15
Time: (walking) 2hrs+
Map
Brimbank Park – 10km Circuit
This walk/run will add some decent hills to your training regime. See the elevation profile below:
Brimbank Park 10km Circuit – Elevation Profile
Park outside the car park, just off Keilor Park Drive, essential if you arrive early before the Park gates are open. Find the walking track that runs parallel to the road and follow it for about 1km to the pedestrian crossing across the road. Take the track to the right and descend the steep, winding hill. Wheee! Good fun. Continue to follow the track that hugs the Maribyrnong River for several kilometres, past the toilets and picnic grounds. Ignore any paths to the left or to the right.
When the bitumen track meets the gravel track just past the toilets, veer left and start heading up the long, slow and steady hill.
Once you reach the top of the hill, keep going on the winding bitumen track (ignore the dirt track at the top on your right) until you hit the main road again and the same pedestrian crossing you saw earlier. Turn back and follow the track back down the hill you just ran up (wheee!) and continue all around the same track close to the Maribyrnong River and back up the short and sweet and steep hill (puff puff puff).
At the top of the hill, follow the track back to your car outside the Park entrance.
Brimbank to Canning Street Bridge Return
Distance: 18km (approx)
Grade: Easy – no hills, some slight rises
This is an out and back course that’s great for half marathon training, following the Maribyrnong River Trail.
Enter the Park and follow the signs to Car Park C. From here, follow the bitumen track to the gravel track and continue along the Maribyrnong River Trail. It’s approximately 9km to the Canning Street Bridge, Avondale Heights where there is a small park, toilets, and tap. Refill and refresh here before turning to back the way you came.
Maps
- Parks Victoria – Maribyrnong Valley Parklands – free PDF
- Parks Victoria – Brimbank Park – free PDF map optimised for mobile devices
- Parks Victoria – Brimbank Park Nature Trail – free PDF
There’s no need to purchase a ‘real map’ for Brimbank as it’s very hard, even for me, to get lost out there.
Last modified: July 16, 2015
We live not far from Brimmers and have had the occasional picnic there, they have added a kids park right out the front of the cafe now. I took the kids there in the summer for a play. I haven’t ever run there though. Not that I have done much running at all of late!
Great to know about the kids park outside the cafe. I’ll have to check it out. I must admit, it’s been a while since I was there. I really enjoyed my long training runs there. There was a small group of us running together every Sunday morning for months and months. Those hills there were a great way to benchmark my fitness. However, I have a long history of injuries from running – my biomechanics are terrible and my Achilles both suffer terribly. Then I developed an inflamed sacroiliac joint during pregnancy which two years later finally cleared up and means I can finally walk pain free… then not one month later I dropped a fire extinguisher on my bare foot and have a broken toe! Oh woe poor me 😉 Can’t wait to get back to nature soon. I’m going stir crazy being so house-bound.
Re. wildlife – I cycle and walk around the park regularly and in the last 5 years have spotted a few snakes (browns and tigers), a turtle, tonnes of rabbits, a couple of foxes, some water rats, countless birds (mainly cockatoos, gallahs, ravens, wagtails, kookaburras, lorikeets, herons, red-rumped parrots and sometimes honeyeaters), some perch and either a carp or trout in and around the river. There’s a lot to see if you know where to look! Unfortunately the further downstream you get the worse the water quality.