Cement Creek Redwood Forest facility upgrades

Project status

March 2023:

Project timelines for the Cement Creek Redwood Forest facility upgrades have been delayed, while we work through significant and necessary heritage assessments and permits. This unique park is subject to a number of heritage controls that work to protect the natural and cultural values of the park, and ensure that any works compliment and are sympathetic to this stunning environment into the future. We will provide further updates as this progresses.
The Cement Creek Redwood Forest is currently closed to all vehicle and pedestrian access via Cement Creek Road due to works being delivered by Yarra Ranges Council to upgrade the Cement Creek Road Bridge. Visitors can access Redwood Forest by bike or on foot via the O’Shannassy Aqueduct Trail, however please note this is a 16km round trip. For more information please visit the Yarra Ranges Council project page.

The project

This project is being delivered on Wurundjeri Country.

The Cement Creek Redwood Forest in the Yarra Ranges National Park has become an increasingly popular site for visitation over the last few years thanks to the enchanting and photogenic Californian Redwood trees.

Visitors to the Yarra Ranges National Park will soon enjoy greater accessibility, new facilities and increased protection of the environment through a new project at the Redwood Forest.

Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water and Yarra Ranges council will work together to deliver improved visitor facilities to manage increased visitation at the site while ensuring the environment’s natural values are protected. These works will include:

Parks Victoria works:

Adding additional car parking spaces
Construction of an accessible public toilet facility
Installation of a visitor safety gate
Construction of a visitor weather shelter

Melbourne Water works:

Creation of boardwalks and viewing areas along Cement Creek for accessibility and environmental protection
Fencing and revegetation along the creek and riverbank

Yarra Ranges Council works:

Upgrading the Cement Creek Road Bridge to increase the load limit
Re-surfacing of Cement Creek Road between the bridge and entrance to Redwoods Forest.

Environmental and cultural heritage assessments will inform exactly where, when and how components of the project are delivered.

Project benefits

Visitors

The improvements delivered through this project will improve access for diverse visitors to visit the Redwood Forest with a new accessible public toilet and wet weather shelter.

Environment

The project includes environmental protection works from both Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria to minimise the impacts of visitation to the site. This involves building boardwalk style viewing points and closing some informal trails to allow for revegetation of the environment.

Community

The project involves adding more car parking at the site, which will reduce the traffic impacts and safety issues on the road for the local community.

Project funding

This project is being made possible thanks to the following funding:

$2.3 million from the Victorian Government's $46 million Regional Tourism Investment Fund
$300,000 from the Victorian Government
$300,000 from Melbourne Water, collected through the waterways and drainage charge.

Project timeline

Subject to on-ground and construction industry conditions, and environment and cultural heritage assessments, the timeline for the project is estimated below:

Late 2022: Detailed designs complete
Early 2023: Procurement of construction contractor
Autumn 2023: Construction commences
Spring 2023: Construction complete

This timeline will be updated as the project progresses.

Environment and cultural heritage management

A key objective of this project is to undertake environmental protection works and to minimise future impacts from visitation to the site through re-vegetation of the creek and riverbed and closing some informal trails.

We will work with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation to develop and implement a Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the site to ensure the cultural values of the site are protected.

Who we're working with

Access changes

Yarra Ranges Council Cement Creek Road bridge works: Road access closed

Yarra Ranges Council is completing important works to rehabilitate and upgrade Cement Creek Road Bridge. These works are currently impacting road and vehicle access to the Cement Creek Redwood Forest and car park.
While the Cement Creek Redwood Forest itself is not closed, vehicle and pedestrian access via Cement Creek Road will remain closed into 2023 as bridge works are being completed.
Visitors can still access the Cement Creek Redwood Forest by bike or on foot via the O’Shannassy Aqueduct Trail, however please note this journey is approximately a 16km round trip.
Information about the Council’s Cement Creek Road Bridge upgrades and expected construction timelines are available on their website.

Parks Victoria Cement Creek Redwood Forest facility upgrades: As of March 2023, works to upgrade the visitor facilities at the Redwood Forest have not commenced. During works, we will need to temporarily close some areas of the park, and some informal trails and access points will be permanently closed to rehabilitate and protect the natural environment. We’ll update this page and on-site signage to inform visitors when these access changes come into effect.

Related information

FAQs

Will there be access to the creek during works?

Some sections of Cement Creek and the Yarra River will remain open during the works, however other sections access will need to be temporarily closed during the works to ensure the safety of visitors and crews. Parks Victoria will ensure disruption to the park and visitors will be kept to a minimum.

Why are you doing these works?

We are making improvements to the Cement Creek Redwoods Forest to support increased visitation at the site. In addition to improving the visitor experience, these works will protect the health of Cement Creek and the Yarra River through revegetation and the creation of viewing platforms and boardwalks in line with Melbourne Water’s Healthy Waterways Strategy.

How are you making the site more accessible?

This project involves building an all-abilities public toilet facility, a visitor shelter and additional car parks.