The northern section starts on the very edge of suburban Melbourne next to open countryside. Travelling south through remnant vegetation and 2.2 km later, one arrives at Hendersons Rd.
Epping railway station is 500m to the west along Hendersons Rd and the station is soon followed by
Epping Plaza. The path intersects with the
Hendersons Road Drain Trail at Childs Road. 900m later the path forks to the left and right. After 2 km, McKimmies Road is approached. The path does not proceed under the road. It crosses McKimmies Road and continues on for 1.6 km through Thomastown East Reserve. A small wetland nearby harbours the
growling grass frog. The path intersects with the
Western Ring Road Trail, travelling 850m east along the Western Ring Road Trail to where the Darebin Creek Trail continues to the south on its west bank, crossing under the Western Ring Road. Leaving the Western Ring Road Trail the southern section starts by descending to the creek and tracking along the west bank of the creek. After crossing McCleans Road, the path splits in two, as it enters a Norris Bank Reserve. It rejoins at the far end of the reserve at Settlement Road. On the south side of Settlement Road the path continues on the west side of the creek for 2.6 km until it reaches the eastern end of Rathcown Rd, by a paddock full of shaggy sheep where there is a new bridge crossing. (An on-road shortcut is to continue west along Rathcown Rd for 600 metres to a path on the left that re-connects to the Darebin Creek trail). The trail crosses to the eastern side where the path continues to a T-intersection where the path to the right follows the creek, left connects to Bundoora Park via Waters Way. An unsigned path looms up on the left, that leads to the Bundoora campus of
La Trobe University and is surveyed by a lone park bench. A footbridge crosses to the east bank of the creek later. The trail continues south past another footbridge on the right (west) that leads to
Northland Shopping Centre. An asphalt section meets a crossing with a concrete section later. Three km later the trail meets the north end of Ford Grove. The trail continues past the south end of Ford Grove. After another 500m the trail forks at a wooden boardwalk section: to the east it crosses a footbridge. The trail continues westward towards Smith Street, passing under a large and high steel bridge that carries the
Hurstbridge railway line, and then under the bluestone and concrete
Darebin Creek Bridge (Heidelberg Road) before finishing at Sparks Reserve. The pedestrian and cycling bridge spanning the Yarra River, connecting the Darebin Creek Trail to the
Main Yarra Trail, was opened on 25 March 2018. Community advocacy groups worked over a twenty-year period to achieve this impressive outcome. ==Epping to South Morang rail extension==