# Yarra Scenic Drive

Yarra Scenic Drive is a tourist drive following the Yarra River, in Victoria, Australia. The route traverses approximately 60 km from Williamstown – where the Yarra empties into Port Phillip Bay – to Warrandyte – Melbourne's first goldfield site on the banks of the Yarra.

## Route
### Warrandyte to Bulleen

Through these outer north-eastern suburbs, the route winds near to the Yarra River, but rarely can the driver see the river itself. The roads do, however, pass by a number of Yarraside parks, including Pound Bend, Westerfolds Park, Finns Reserve, Birrarung Park and Banksia Park, which are all well-liked serene picnic locations with a view of the outer-suburban Yarra River, where it is still safe to swim and canoe.

### Heidelberg to Alphington

There is little in the way of a Yarra view along this section of the drive. The best Yarra vantage point is found alongside the Boulevarde, but there are many stores and some industry through these middle-northern suburbs.

### Yarra Boulevard, Kew

A winding but road on the edge of a hill which provides a marvellous view of both the Yarra and the inner suburbs. It also runs alongside several golf courses.

### Burnley to Southbank

For most of this section, the road runs directly alongside the Yarra River after it widens past Dights Falls, with a clean view of the bridges and surroundings. Alexandra Avenue also provides access to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Birrarung Marr. Alexandra Avenue, however, is an important thoroughfare in inner-eastern Melbourne, and so traffic can often be unpleasant.

### City

Route 2 briefly takes in the CBD, driving directly past Crown Casino and the Melbourne Aquarium.

### West Gate Bridge

The famous West Gate Bridge spans the Yarra at its widest, and gives a panoramic view of the city, the docks, the industrial western suburbs, and Port Phillip Bay. Traffic is chaotic during peak hour.

### Yarraville to Williamstown

This is a drive along the inner-western beachfront to the end of the mini-peninsula at Williamstown, finishing the route alongside a scenery of blue skies, yellow sand and marinas - a far cry from the leafy green beginnings of Warrandyte. This section coincides with the newer Bay West Trail, signed as Tourist Route 11.

## History

The drive was originally signed as Metropolitan Route 2 in 1965, and was signed accordingly with the standard blue and white curved shield signs. When the route was extended from Ivanhoe East to Warrandyte, it was re-signed using the brown five-sided shield in 1989, usually shown in the centre of a small green and white sign bearing the words Yarra Scenic Drive.

## Major intersections

| LGA | Location | km | mi | Destinations | Notes |
| Hobsons Bay | Williamstown | 0.0 | 0.0 | Battery Road – Williamstown | Southwestern terminus of tourist route, Battery Road continues west |
| Hobsons Bay | Williamstown | 1.4 | 0.87 | Ferguson Street, to Kororoit Creek Road (Metro Route 35) – Altona North, Laverton North | Northern end of Nelson Place, southern end of The Strand |
| Hobsons Bay | Newport | 3.2 | 2.0 | The Strand – Newport | Eastern end of North Road, road continues north as The Strand |
| Hobsons Bay | Newport | 3.5 | 2.2 | North Road (west) – Newport Douglas Parade (Metro Route 35 south) – Williamstown | Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 35 |
| Hobsons Bay–Maribyrnong border | Spotswood–Yarraville border | 6.1 | 3.8 | Francis Street (Metro Route 35 east) – Footscray, Pascoe Vale Hyde Street (north) – Footscray | Northern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 35 |
| Maribyrnong | Yarraville | 6.8 | 4.2 | Werribee railway line | Werribee railway line |
| Maribyrnong | Yarraville | 7.3 | 4.5 | Williamstown Road (Metro Route 37 north) – Footscray, Essendon Francis Street (west) – Brooklyn | Northern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 37 |
| Maribyrnong–Hobsons Bay border | Yarraville–Spotswood border | 7.9 | 4.9 | Melbourne Road (Metro Route 37 south) – Newport, Williamstown West Gate Freeway (M1 west) – Laverton North | Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 35 Western terminus of concurrency with route M1 |
| Hobsons Bay | Spotswood | 8.4 | 5.2 | Werribee railway line | Werribee railway line |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 8.5– 11.0 | 5.3– 6.8 | West Gate Bridge | West Gate Bridge |
| Melbourne | Port Melbourne | 11.5 | 7.1 | Todd Road/Cook Street – Fishermans Bend | Westbound exit part of local lanes containing exit to Citylink |
| Melbourne | Port Melbourne | 12.6 | 7.8 | CityLink (M2) – Tullamarine, Melbourne Airport | Trumpet interchange with local-express lanes; westbound exit on local lanes |
| Melbourne | Docklands | 14.1 | 8.8 | West Gate Freeway (M1 east) – Kooyong, Narre Warren, Pakenham Montague Street (Metro Route 30 south) – South Melbourne | Eastern terminus of concurrency with route M1 Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Routes 30/55 Southern end of Wurundjeri Way |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 14.3 | 8.9 | Charles Grimes Bridge | Charles Grimes Bridge |
| Melbourne | Docklands | 14.4 | 8.9 | Harbour Esplanade – Docklands | Northbound exit only |
| Melbourne | Docklands | 14.8 | 9.2 | Wurundjeri Way (Metro Route 55 north) – Brunswick, Coburg | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 55 Western end of Flinders Street |
| Melbourne | Docklands–Melbourne CBD border | 15.1 | 9.4 | Spencer Street (Metro Route 50 north) – North Melbourne Flinders Street (Metro Route 30 east) – Richmond, Camberwell | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 30 Northern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 50 |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 15.3 | 9.5 | Spencer Street Bridge | Spencer Street Bridge |
| Melbourne | Southbank | 15.9 | 9.9 | Clarendon Street (south) – South Melbourne City Road (Metro Route 20 west) – Port Melbourne | Eastern terminus of Metro Route 50 Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 20 |
| Melbourne | Southbank | 16.1 | 10.0 | Queensbridge Street – City | |
| Melbourne | Southbank | 16.5 | 10.3 | Power Street, to West Gate Freeway (M1) – Laverton North, Werribee | |
| Melbourne | Melbourne | 17.9 | 11.1 | Olympic Boulevard (Metro Route 20) – Richmond, Camberwell | No right turn northbound into Olympic Boulevard Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 20 |
| Stonnington | South Yarra | 20.0 | 12.4 | Punt Road (Metro Route 29) – Clifton Hill, St Kilda, Elwood | |
| Stonnington | South Yarra | 20.6 | 12.8 | Sandringham, Frankston and Pakenham railway lines | Sandringham, Frankston and Pakenham railway lines |
| Stonnington | South Yarra–Toorak border | 21.8 | 13.5 | Williams Road (Metro Route 25 south) – Prahran, Elsternwick, Brighton | Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 25 |
| Stonnington | South Yarra–Toorak border | 22.2 | 13.8 | Alexandra Avenue (west) – South Yarra | Northern end of Williams Road |
| Stonnington | Toorak | 23.0 | 14.3 | Grange Road (Metro Route 21 south) – Toorak St Georges Road (east) – Toorak | Eastern terminus of Metro Route 25 Eastern end of Alexandra Avenue Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 21 |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 23.1 | 14.4 | MacRobertson Bridge | MacRobertson Bridge |
| Yarra | Burnley | 23.2 | 14.4 | Twickenham Crescent (west) – Burnley Loyola Grove (Metro Route 21 north) – Kew, Reservoir | Northern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 21 Western end of Yarra Boulevard |
| Yarra | Burnley | 23.3 | 14.5 | CityLink (M1) – Narre Warren, Pakenham | Eastbound entrance and westbound exit only |
| Yarra | Burnley | 24.0 | 14.9 | Glen Waverley railway line | Glen Waverley railway line |
| Yarra | Burnley | 25.8 | 16.0 | Yarra Boulevard Link, to Swan Street (Metro Routes 20/21) – Richmond, Kew, Camberwell | |
| Yarra | Burnley | 26.2 | 16.3 | Lilydale and Belgrave railway lines | Lilydale and Belgrave railway lines |
| Yarra | Richmond | 26.9 | 16.7 | Bridge Road (Metro Route 30 west) – City, Port Melbourne | Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 30 |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 27.0 | 16.8 | Hawthorn Bridge | Hawthorn Bridge |
| Boroondara | Hawthorn | 27.1 | 16.8 | Burwood Road (Metro Route 30 east) – Camberwell | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 30 Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 36 Eastern end of Bridge Road, southern end of Church Street |
| Boroondara | Hawthorn–Kew border | 28.0 | 17.4 | Barkers Road (Metro Route 32) – Docklands, Forest Hill, Montrose | Southern end of Church Street, northern end of High Street |
| Boroondara | Kew | 28.8 | 17.9 | High Street (Metro Routes 34/36 northeast) – Box Hill, Ringwood, Boronia Princess Street (Metro Route 21 north) – Reservoir Denmark Street (Metro Route 21 south) – Burnley | Northern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 36 Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 34 Eastern end of Studley Park Road |
| Boroondara | Kew | 30.5 | 19.0 | Studley Park Road (Metro Route 34) – Carlton | Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 34 Northern end of Walmer Street |
| Boroondara | Kew | 30.8 | 19.1 | Walmer Street (south) – Kew McEvoy Street (east) – Kew | Southern end of Yarra Boulevard |
| Boroondara | Kew | 37.4 | 23.2 | Chandler Highway (Metro Route 21 south) – Burnley | Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 21 Northern end of Yarra Boulevard |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 37.5 | 23.3 | Chandler Bridge | Chandler Bridge |
| Yarra–Darebin border | Alphington | 38.1 | 23.7 | Grange Road (Metro Route 21 north) – Reservoir Heidelberg Road (Metro Route 46 west) – Carlton | Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 21 Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 46 |
| Banyule | Ivanhoe | 40.7 | 25.3 | Heidelberg Road (Metro Route 46 east) – Greensborough, Diamond Creek | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 46 Western end of The Boulevard |
| Banyule | Ivanhoe East | 42.5 | 26.4 | Burke Road (Metro Route 17 south) – Camberwell, Caulfield East | Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 17 Eastern end of The Boulevard |
| Banyule | Ivanhoe East–Eaglemont border | 43.5 | 27.0 | Lower Heidelberg Road (Metro Route 44 southwest) – Carlton Maltravers Road (west) – Eaglemont | Northern terminus of Metro Route 17 Southern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 44 |
| Banyule | Eaglemont–Heidelberg border | 44.8 | 27.8 | Lower Heidelberg Road (Metro Route 44 north) – Eltham, Kangaroo Ground Banksia Street (Metro Route 40 west) – Preston, Coburg | Northern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 44 Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 40 |
| Yarra River | Yarra River | 45.5 | 28.3 | Banksia Street Bridge | Banksia Street Bridge |
| Manningham | Bulleen | 45.9 | 28.5 | Manningham Road (Metro Route 40 east) – Doncaster, Glen Waverley, Edithvale | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 40 Western end of Bridge Street |
| Manningham | Bulleen | 46.1 | 28.6 | Bulleen Road (Metro Route 52 south) – Balwyn North | Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 52 Eastern end of Bridge Street, western end of Templestowe Road |
| Manningham | Templestowe Lower | 48.9 | 30.4 | Thompsons Road (Metro Route 42 south) – Balwyn North Foote Street (Metro Routes 42/52 east) – Warrandyte, Donvale | Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 52 Eastern end of Templestowe Road, southern end of Union Street |
| Manningham | Templestowe | 51.3 | 31.9 | Fitzsimons Lane (B37 north) – Eltham Williamsons Road (B37/Metro Route 42 south) – Balwyn North, Doncaster, Huntingdale | Western terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 42 |
| Manningham | Templestowe–Doncaster East border | 54.5 | 33.9 | Blackburn Road – Blackburn, Burwood East, Notting Hill | |
| Manningham | Doncaster East | 55.2 | 34.3 | Andersons Creek Road (Metro Route 13) – Doncaster East | |
| Manningham | Warrandyte | 60.1 | 37.3 | Kangaroo Ground–Warrandyte Road (Metro Route 9 north) – Kangaroo Ground, Wattle Glen Ringwood–Warrandyte Road (Metro Routes 9/42 east) – Ringwood | Northeastern terminus of tourist route Eastern terminus of concurrency with Metro Route 42 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Route transition ||||||