Kaleen-Giralang walk directions

Summary

Giralang's open spaces are utilised to the max on this super dog friendly route. One of our longest walks, it also provides extensive safe off leash opportunities. The route follows a series of interconnected designated off leash parks comprising the inviting green and expansive Giralang Ovals, and the semi-bush parkland bordering the edges of suburbs Giralang and Kaleen. Some up and down hill walking is required but the reward of impressive mountain and city views makes it well worthwhile. We also provide directions for a shorter, flat option if you prefer. The walk starts and ends at the Kaleen Plaza shops featuring an excellent dog friendly café.
Start/Finish - Kaleen Plaza shops, Georgina Crescent
Time/Distance - Allow 90 minutes/approx 5.5 km (short option allow 30 minutes/approx 2.5 km)
Off lead rating - ♥♥♥
Parking - Georgina Street car parks around the shopping centre
Dog friendly café - Ten By Ten Café
Public toilets - Inside the Kaleen Plaza
Bins - Kaleen Plaza shops, Giralang Ovals
Distractions - Potentially kangaroos
Children's playgrounds - near Sculptor Street
Photo gallery - See photos taken on the Kaleen-Giralang walk.

Note - All our dog walks assume you are a responsible dog owner with effective control of your dog. See our Important Stuff page before starting any of our walks.

Map

Use the navigation tools to zoom in or out for different views of the route or click on the 'view larger map' icon on the top right hand corner of the map to view in google maps.

Directions

Kaleen Plaza shops to Giralang Ovals (10 minutes)

1. Start in the car park bordered by Maribyrnong Avenue, Georgina Crescent and the shops. Follow the pedestrian walkway and crossings bisecting the car park to Maribyrnong Avenue, then cross Maribyrnong Avenue using the pedestrian crossing.
2. After crossing, turn left to follow the concrete footpath, passing the Kaleen Veterinary Clinic and crossing another small road (Callabonna Street), until the footpath intersects with a bitumen path (a cycle path). Turn right to follow this path running parallel to a storm water drain.
This is a pretty, flat, open park planted with mature stands of silver birch and pines that makes for pleasant and shady walking in summer.
Remember this is a shared path with cyclists.
3. Continue following the bitumen path, crossing a street (Chuculba Crescent).
4. After a short distance, you'll reach the extensive Giralang Ovals.

Giralang Ovals (10 minutes)

Off leash opportunity on the ovals.
5. Continue on ahead either following the path, or if you'd like some off leash time here, veer across to wander through the middle of the ovals.
If no sports games are in progress, we suggest you walk across these lovely ovals rather than follow the path. You might like to spend some time here so your dog can zoom around the open space, play with other dogs, or chase a ball. If there are sports on, you may walk your dog off leash along the grassy area between the path and the storm water drain, but make sure you keep at least 10 metres from the path.
6. As you pass across the ovals, you'll see the grey Giralang Primary School buildings on your right. Once past these buildings and onto the second large oval, veer to the right to reach the small car park adjacent to the low beige brick amenities blocks.
If you prefer not to continue with the rest of the walk, you could spend some more time walking around the ovals, before retracing your steps back to the Kaleen Plaza shops. This very pleasant short and flat version will still take around 30-45 minutes and cover approximately 2.5 km.
Take care to keep dogs well away from the school grounds where dogs are prohibited.
There are garbage hoppers and other smaller bins adjacent to the car park and amenities blocks.
If you are continuing on the longer walk, off leash opportunity ends here.

Giralang Ovals to Barton Highway (15 minutes)

7. With your dog on leash, cross the car park and join the concrete footpath heading up hill behind the amenities blocks. The footpath passes between the Giralang Primary School and a community centre.
8. You'll quickly see an underpass up ahead. Follow the footpath through the underpass (passing under Canopus Crescent).
9. On the other side of the underpass, where the footpath forks, take the right fork, then nearly immediately take the left fork as the path splits, and continue on the footpath uphill. Ignore any other forks left or right towards streets or cul de sacs.
10. Continue following the concrete footpath up hill until it terminates at a main street (Chuculba Crescent).
This footpath follows a narrow easement between the back fences of suburban houses.
11. Cross to the other side of the street, pausing in the central pedestrian island if necessary, towards a small park planted with pine trees.
12. Turn hard right to walk along a concrete footpath along the side of the street, passing a bus stop. Shortly after the bus stop, the concrete footpath forks three ways. Take the middle fork  which gradually veers to the left through the park away from the street, not the hard left or hard right forks. Follow the concrete footpath as it continues through the trees, ignoring another fork to the right. The park widens as you continue up hill.
13. Leave the footpath to follow a dirt track heading to the right through the park, when the footpath veers off towards a small street. The dirt track continues on up hill in the middle of the park towards a row of coppers logs.
Off leash opportunity starts after passing through the coppers logs.
Pass through the coppers logs where the park opens wide both left and right, and continue walking ahead on the track towards the eucalyptus trees, a highway in the distance (the Barton Highway) and beyond that the new suburb of Crace.
14. Well before you reach the highway, the dirt track is bisected by a wide dirt track. Turn right to follow this wide dirt track.

Barton Highway to Kaleen-Giralang border (20 minutes)

15. Continue following the dirt track a good 15 minutes or more as it runs between the Barton Highway on your left and the houses of Giralang on your right.
This semi bush parkland strip is wide enough to provide a good buffer between the sometimes noisy highway and Giralang's houses and streets.
There are good views south to the city and mountains beyond after about 10 minutes or so.
There are also attractive dense stands of eucalypts along this track but unfortunately not close enough to the path to give good shade in summer.
16. Note carefully the point where the track dips downhill and forms deep, damp ruts, and then rises again steeply. As the path heads up hill, follow the track forking right heading towards the houses, and when the track forks again, take the left fork heading away from the houses that heads up the steepest part of the hill.
The deep track ruts are nearly always filled with water, hence the attempt by walkers to form 'stepping stones' across the worst bits with concrete and wooden blocks.

Kaleen-Giralang border to Kaleen Plaza shops (15 minutes)

17. At the top of the hill, you'll reach a band of eucalyptus trees and acacias. At this point, the track is bisected by another wide track. Turn right on this new track to follow the top of the ridge. This wide track passes through another long informal park forming the border between Giralang and Kaleen.
Note that if you have a dog interested in kangaroos, we recommend leashing your dog as you reach the top of the hill. Although we have yet to see any kangaroos, our 'roo obsessed whippets get very perky here. Generally we only need to leash our dogs for around 5 minutes.
There are more fine views south of mountains and the city as you continue on.
18. Continue following the track as it starts to go down hill to reach a street (Spigl Street) bisecting the park. Go down the stairs to reach the street, cross over, then turn left to reach another set of stairs taking you up to the right and more parkland.
Leash your dog before crossing this road. Off leash opportunities continue on the other side of the road.
19. Continue following the dirt track heading up to the right and uphill to follow the line of eucalyptus trees.
20. Continue following the track as the park narrows. It veers right and then left at this point between green colour bond backyard fences then drops steeply down hill.
There is a small children's playground to the right of the track just after it narrows then widens again (near Scultpor Street)
21. Continue down hill, the last part becoming steeper, ignoring any forks to the right or left, until you reach the bitumen cycle path by the storm water drain that you followed in the early part of the walk.
Off leash opportunity ends before you reach the bitumen path.
Take care walking down hill on this section as the dirt track can get slippery in dry weather.
22. Turn left at the path and retrace your steps back to the Kaleen Plaza shops, only about 5 minutes walk away.

If you'd prefer to join one of our regular guided group walks, find out more at our guided walks page.