Emerald to Cockatoo walking trail

Over the Easter weekend we decided to head out to Puffing Billy country and walk the Emerald to Cockatoo walking trail. The well-made trail is ~7 km each direction and mostly flat with a few relatively gentle inclines. Dogs must be on-lead on the trail.

We started the trail in Cockatoo. The end-point of the trail here is clearly marked and comes out on McBride St close to the main part of town, opposite the bowls club. From there, the trail follows Cockatoo Creek and then slopes upwards into Wright Forest.

It's a peaceful ramble through the tall native Eucalypts in Wright Forest. There is plenty of bird life and lots of interesting smells. Be aware that dogs are permitted only along vehicle tracks in Wright Forest.

The trail loosely follows the Puffing Billy steam railway, so if you go on a weekend or in school holidays when the train is running, there are lots of vantage points for train-spotting along the way. You'll hear it before you see it!

The trail passes through Emerald Lake Park which makes for a picturesque picnic spot, especially in Autumn when the leaves are changing colour. The park is quite large so there are a lot of trails that can be explored here too.

The trail continues from the main car park, sloping up under a canopy of tree ferns to the Nobelius Heritage Park. From there you cross the Beaconsfield - Emerald Rd and follow the trail to its end point (behind the Gem Community Arts Centre on Kilvington Drive) where you can turn around or, if you are like our humans, head to the nearest cafe to refuel.

We had a lot of fun walking this trail - it's one of few long walks we know of in the hills that are dog-friendly. The trail is well-marked and pretty straight-forward to stick to - you just need to follow the blue markers with yellow arrows. (Carry a map - and water - with you though just in case!)