Cycling along the Parramatta River and under the M4 to Sydney Olympic Park

Brenden Wood
4 min readOct 25, 2020

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Parramatta has a bunch of cycleways that allow riders to explore the region safely.

The cycleway that runs underneath M4, and eventually long the Parramatta River, is one of the safest ways to bike ride between Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park.

The ride from Parramatta Park to Sydney Olympic Park under the M4 and back alongside the Parramatta River is about 22kms — and, if ridden slowly, takes about 2 hours to complete.

We chose to ride this Parramatta cycle loop anti-clockwise.

We saved the picturesque Parramatta River section of the ride till the end.

The M4 cycleway is accessible from Parramatta at Junction Street Granville.

At this point, you’ll find the cycleway underneath the M4 motorway.

Travel eastbound along this cycleway — it will take you safely over James Ruse Drive and over the Duck River.

The cycleway travels alongside the M4 at Adderley Street in Auburn and Lidcombe.

At Haslams Creek, the cycleway turns north and travels underneath the M4 and joins the Louise Sauvage Pathway at Newington.

The Louise Sauvage Pathway joins the River Walk near the Wentworth Point ferry wharf.

The cycleway, along the River Walk, will pass Newington Armoury — built from 1897 by the Royal Australian Navy.

At the Newington Armoury you’ll find a large cafe — a great spot to rest.

Continuing west, the cycleway crosses over Silverwater Drive and joins the Parramatta Valley Cycleway.

The cycleway passes along the ‘missing cycle link’ at Subiaco Creek, under the light rail bridge at Rydalmere and past the Western Sydney University.

Subiaco Creek Cycleway

The cycleway crosses the Gasworks Bridge near the Albion Hotel.

The cycleway then winds past the Parramatta ferry terminal and onto Parramatta Park.

Update: The M4 cycleway is now connected to Parramatta via a pop-up cycleway on Wigram Street Harris Park. Cyclists can now safely ride off the road from Parramatta to Harris Park and M4 cycleway.

Pop up cycleway created in mid-2021 on Wigram Street Harris Park

The safest route to ride from Parramatta to Sydney’s CBD is via the M4 cycleway and the Cooks River — you’ll find a map and more details here.

I hope you enjoyed your ride. Let me know about your experience — I’m on social media at @BrendenWood.

#Cycling #Parramatta #SydneyOlympicPark

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