Schwerkolt-Creekside Walk
The reserve’s longest trail through shaded woodland and open grassland — the full experience.
- 2.5 km Distance
- 60 min Return time
- Moderate Terrain
- 8 Audio stops
- Info Centre Start point
Start at the Information Centre. Follow the track shown in RED on the map. Walk through the picnic area and pass the ponds, to follow Yellow Box Track and then the Schwerkolt Track until you reach Schwerkolt Cottage, open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, see https://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/things-do/arts-culture/schwerkolt-cottage.
Walking next to the creek gives you a great opportunity to see Pacific Black Ducks and Wood Ducks, and, in the Spring, families of ducklings. You will also see visible remains of sites used by Augustus Schwerkolt where he quarried for stone to build the Cottage, as well as old fruit trees on your right which h serves as the Schwerkolt family’s orchard area.
Along the track, also note the very lovely poles showing Indigenous art which serve as distance markers used for the Mullum Mullum Park Run (Mitcham) a 5 km run/walk/cycle event held every Saturday morning from Schwerkolt Cottage and through Yarran Dheran.
For more detail see: https://www.parkrun.com.au/mullummullum/course/
Audio guide
Walk Lightly, Embrace Nature Series
Every walk has a free, mindfulness-guided audio companion — a gentle, narrated journey around the reserve, available through our free Yarran Dheran app. Phone reception can be patchy on the trails, so it's built to download for offline use: save the walk while you're connected, then listen and navigate anywhere along the trail — no signal needed.
Tip: once you're in the app, open your walk and tap Save offline before you set off.
On Android, iPad, or a computer? The full experience — including offline downloads — also works at app.yarrandheran.org. A dedicated Android app is on the way.