Healesville: Discover Art, Parks and the Black Spur

Healesville offers different ways to experience a stay: art and local history add cultural highlights, while parks, the Watts River and the forest landscape of the Black Spur invite you outdoors. You can shape your trip according to whether you’d rather explore culture, spend time in parks or take a scenic drive.

Art and local history

At the Eva and Marc Besen Centre at TarraWarra Museum of Art, visitors can see how more than 300 artworks are stored. The Centre also includes a learning centre and an event space. Alongside the artworks themselves, the collection and how it is stored are a particular focus—offering a tangible way to engage with art that looks beyond individual works.

The Memo tells another side of the town’s history. The soldiers’ memorial hall was built in central Healesville in 1924 after a major community campaign secured funding for it. Remembrance and community involvement are at the heart of its story. Together with the museum, it offers a contrast between contemporary art and a history tied to a specific building and the circumstances of its creation.

Two distinct park experiences

The parks also offer different ways to enjoy the outdoors. Maroondah Reservoir Park has several picnic shelters, gas and wood-fired barbecues, picnic tables and an information shelter. There are several facilities to choose from for a picnic day. Park conditions can change seasonally; if a particular barbecue or picnic facility is important to your plans, check current conditions before your visit.

Coronation Park has walking paths along the Watts River, picnic tables, barbecue facilities and a rotunda. The riverside paths give this park a different character from Maroondah Reservoir Park, whose listed facilities are particularly geared towards picnics and barbecues. You can distinguish between the two based on your interests, without having to plan a full day around either one.

“Platypus rock” is also located in Coronation Park. A sculptural seat has been installed there, representing Healesville’s connection to the natural environment and native animals. This adds a public art element to the walking paths and picnic facilities: the sculptural seat makes that connection an explicit theme.

Forest scenery and travel experiences

The Black Spur stretches from Healesville to Narbethong and is known for its tall mountain ash trees and fern gullies. Unlike the paths in the parks, this scenic route runs between two towns. If you’re planning a drive along the Black Spur, check road conditions beforehand; they can change.

The Yarra Valley Railway is another link between places: it is restoring the railway line between Healesville and Yarra Glen. Passenger services are paused. For travellers interested in railway history, the restoration is a distinct part of the region’s history, separate from the paused passenger service.

Wildlife adds another specific program detail. At Healesville Sanctuary, the daily “Spirits of the Sky” presentation features Australian birds of prey. As this is a current program, check before your visit whether the presentation is running on your travel date. That way, you can take this experience into account when planning without assuming it will always be available.

Find hotels to suit your travel interests

These experiences give you some specific points to consider. Choose which side of the town interests you most and tailor your search accordingly.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Heidelberg, Gisborne, Kensington, Eltham, Williamstown, Emerald, South Yarra, Narre Warren.

Return to the main travel overview: Melbourne.