Beauty Spot Trail, Marysville
Beauty Spot Trail, Marysville
This shady short loop walk offers different landscapes, taking in darkened boardwalk pathways, tree fern groves and the winding Leary Creek.
Summary
This shady short loop walk offers different landscapes, taking in darkened boardwalk pathways, tree fern groves and the winding Leary Creek.
Description
If it's a lush, short walk you're after (suitable for all family members) then this is a great choice in the Yarra Ranges National Park.
The track, one shorter 0.5km option and a longer loop (1.5km) winds around a varied track of bushland.
Home to several bird species, if you're a twitcher, best to visit at dusk or dawn. There are interpretive signs explaining the species that call this spot home, from pobblebonk frogs to tiny birds that feast on insects and help keep the bio-system in balance.
DIRECTIONS: This walk begins two streets behind the Marysville Information Centre. There's a carpark on Kings Road.
AMENITIES: There's a picnic table in the carpark but little vegetation to make it pleasant on warmer days. .
Please check Parks Victoria Yarra Ranges National Park page for any alerts impacting this area before you set out!
8756 Views
Points of Interest
1. Listen for lyrebirds
The trail begins in the shade, walking through towering manna gums. Listen for lyrebirds and their complex bird calls ringing continuously through the forest.
2. Fantastic fungi
Watch your step because there are several types of fungi growing along this trail. Learn more about mushrooms in Australia by the link below.
3. Leary Creek
This trail crosses Leary Creek in two spots. Badly affected by the Black Saturday bushfires, the creek contains one of the few remaining populations of a nationally endangered fish, Barred Galaxias.
4. Rest spot
There are a couple of benches along the trail and several interpretative signs if you'd like to know more about the flora and fauna native to this area. Look for signs of wombats digging as you rest.
5. Felled gums
Even when felled, the beauty of these gums remain. Some of the fellings will be accidental and caused by the weather, others will be deliberate clearing efforts.
6. Tiny moments
If you look carefully, you'll see tiny moments of interaction between the natural world, like a drop of sap that's fallen over 100 metres to land on this fern.
7. Bushland renewal
After the Black Saturday bushfires, signs of renewal and regrowth came from the resilient tree ferns, their bright green fronds striking against a backdrop of burnt out Manna gums.
8. Fungi fiefdom
As trail starts to descend into the tree fern groves, the fungi find themselves in a darkened paradise. At your feet, you might also notice birds foraging about, looking to feast on small insects.
9. Boardwalks
This trail includes a fantastic boardwalk pathway through fern tree groves. In 1939, a bushfire rushed through The Beauty Spot and destroyed these very same groves, along with a popular tourist spot.
10. Hideaway
This is a cooler spot to rest, hidden in the lush ferns and overhanging foilage. The trail is in a similar state of transition today, after being reconstructed following the Black Saturday bushfires.
11. Pobblebonk frog
As you walk through the wetlands, listen for the call of the Pobblebonk or banjo frog, named because of the 'bonk' sound it makes, like a banjo string being plucked.
12. Follow the light
The boardwalk resumes again, this time leading walkers in the direction of the light. Look up to spot bright-coloured parrots or wattle birds, raucously guarding their precious nectar supplies.
13. Valley beyond
As you walk towards the carpark look out towards the other side of Marysville and the valley for a reminder of how much was lost in the bushfires and all that is now slowly regenerating each day.
Features
Picnic spot
Seating available
Historical interest
Nature trail
Lake, creek, river
