Outer Circle Trail

Anniversary Outer Circle Trail
Outer Circle Trail looking north toward Mont Albert Road Bridge
Length	Approx 13.7 km
Location	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Cycling details
Trail difficulty	Easy to medium
Hazards	Crossing High Street and Toorak Roads- Use crossing
Surface	Concrete or bitumen
Hills	Various hills at Willsmere park and near Ashburton Station otherwise fairly flat
Water	Drinking fountains every 2km approx
Connecting transport
Train(s)	Alamein line (any station), or East Camberwell Station
Tram(s)	Route 109, Route 75

The Outer Circle Trail, also known as the Anniversary Trail, Anniversary Outer Circle Trail, or even the Outer Circle Anniversary Trail, is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which partly follows the Alamein Line through the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The trail follows the right-of-way of the old steam era Outer Circle Line. It runs from the Yarra River Trail near the Eastern Freeway at Fairfield, down to Gardiners Creek Trail in the south. The Outer Circle train line opened in 1891. Parts of the trail were opened 100 years later in 1991, hence the Anniversary.

It is heavily used by local residents and recreational cyclists, due to its proximity to other paths, many suburbs, and connecting transport. The path was upgraded in Dec 2006 and is now fully sealed and divided. Signs are still lacking, and there is no lighting for some of the sections, such as between Whitehorse Rd and East Camberwell station. The path, in some stages, follows the direct line of the old railway, in others it weaves through parks, and follows the side of the Alamein Line, continuing beyond Alamein Station underneath the still standing pylons for the overhead wiring to the Gardiners Creek Trail in Malvern East.

Leaving the Yarra River Trail head south on the Chandler Highway and the Anniversary Outer Circle Trail can be found 0.6km later, just across the bridge that crosses the Eastern Freeway. A safer alternative is to continue along the Yarra River Trail from the Chandler Highway to Willsmere Park - 1.5km. You can cross under the Eastern Freeway at Willsmere Park and traverse to the Anniversary Outer Circle Trail via Hyde Park.