The Torrens Linear Park was completed in 1997 as the first of its kind developed in Australia where it is the largest hills-to-coast park. It began as a flood mitigation scheme along the River Torrens running westward from the Adelaide Hills, through the Adelaide metropolitan area, to the sea. Cyclists and walkers can use a trail that runs the 30 km (19 mi) length of the park, from Gorge Road, in Athelstone in the north-east, through the Northern Parklands of the City of Adelaide, to the river mouth at Henley Beach in the west.[1] In the Parklands section, the river runs past many notable landmarks including the Adelaide Zoo, the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, the Festival Theatre and Elder Park.
There are shared-use pedestrian and cycling paths along both sides of the river for most of the length of the park, and along one side of the O-Bahn Busway.[2]