The Bay Trail (Safety Beach to Portsea)

The 30km Mornington Peninsula Bay Trail extends along the Port Phillip coast from Safety Beach to Portsea. This shared pathway offer walkers and cyclists great views as it winds its way along the foreshore reserve and is flanked by the beautiful sandy bay beaches and clear waters of Port Phillip.

The township of Dromana was proclaimed in 1861 and was well established as a seaside resort by 1881. It’s not hard to imagine the pier busy with steamships taking holiday makers and produce to and from Melbourne. The gravelled wide pathway offers an easy walk along the Dromana coast to the rocky cutting of Anthonys Nose - where Arthurs Seat falls steeply into the sea. The path continues through the boat ramp car park and then through the campsites and foreshore reserve through McCrae and past the tallest lighthouse in Port Phillip. It continues to wind through the tall banksia and tea tree with campsites on one side and the beach on the other to the pier at Rosebud (named after a shipwreck!)

On through the foreshore of Capel Sound with more campsites to the town of Rye where, at the base of the aptly named Whitecliffs, is an historic lime kiln that tells the story of how local limestone was mined and turned into lime to help create many of the buildings in Melbourne. Through the Moonah trees and back to the foreshore of Blairgowrie, past the picturesque yacht club marina to Sullivan Bay and the Collins First Settlement site. It was here in 1803 the first official European settlement of Victoria was established. From here it’s on to Sorrento and up the hill behind the pier where the tram tracks built in 1889 for the Sorrento Tramway Company can still be seen. On through the Sorrento Park with its incredible playground and diverging a bit to take in part of the Sorrento Portsea Artists Trail known as Millionaires Walk between Lentell Avenue and Point King Road. Finish up and refresh at a favourite ‘watering hole’ in Portsea village.