GUIDE TO SHORT WALKS IN VICTORIA

Front Page
Listing of all Walks
Melbourne Region
Northern Region
Western Region
Eastern Region
Southern Region
Maps and Resources
Walking Clubs
Walksafe
Best Lookouts in Central Victoria
Victoria Map
3D Satellite Images
How the Guide Happened!
Reader Survey
Email to Bob

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Every place,destination, and location in this site is stored in a database. Enter the word into the box, hit "find"and if it is the site, its page location(s) will be displayed on a new screen! Use this feature as a quick "go to" for places and parks! Try it out! The database is updated daily.

Search this site powered by FreeFind

NEW WALKS ADDED TO THE GUIDE SINCE OCTOBER 2008 
Click "Listing of all Walks" or use the Find feature (above) to locate the sub-page or section in which the walk is described!
Content updated on June 1, 2009
 
SOUTHERN REGION
Pt Leo Beachwalk - Westernport Coast
Blowhole/Nobbies Boardwalk - Phillip Island
Conservation Hill and Wetlands Track - Rhyll - Phillip Island
Somers to Sandy Point Coastal Walk - Westernport - May 2009
Hastings Foreshore Circuit Trail - Westernport
Tea Tree Creek Bay - Flinders Coast
Cape Paterson and Bunurong Marine NP
St Andrew's Beach to Rye Ocean Beach - coastal walk
Blowhole Track - Flinders Region
Balnarring Coastal Walk - Westernport Coast
Cape Woolamai - Pinnacles Walk - Phillip Island
The Gurdies Bushland Reserve and Lookout Walk - Bass Coast
Balnarring to Somers Beachwalk - Westernport Coast
Merricks to Balranning Beachwalk - Westernport Coast
Shoreham to Pt Leo Beachwalk - Westernport Coast
George Bass Coastal Walk - Bass Coast - San Remo Sector
George Bass Coastal Walk - Bass Coast - Kulcunda Sector
Warringine Park Creeklands Trail - Bittern
Warringine Park Coastal Wetlands Trail - Bittern
Gunnamatta Beach to St Andrew's Beach - coastal walk
Gunnamatta Beach to Fingal Cliffs - coastal walk
Cannons Creek Coastal Walk - Westernport Coast
Somers - Sheoak, Koala and Beach Walks
Lang Lang Coastal Walk - Westernport Coast
Corinella Walks - Westernport Coast
Warneet Walks - Westernport Coast
Flinders - Spring Creek Cove Walk - Mornington Pen. NP

EASTERN REGION
Bald Hill Lookout - Bunyip SP
Fainter Falls - Bogong - Alpine NP
Cannibal Creek Track - Bunyip SP
Buttongrass Reserve Walk - Bunyip SP
Avard's Track - Bunyip SP
Silvertop Ridge Track - Bunyip SP
Ferres Walking Trail Circuit - Bunyip State Park
White Box Track - Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park
Mt Pilot Summit - Chiltern-Mt PilotNational Park
Tawonga Huts - Fainter Firetrack - Alpine NP
Razorback and Bon Accord Tks - Alpine National Park
Upper Yarra Walking Track - Big Pat's Creek
Bingley Hill Walk - Yarra State Forest - Healesville
Sunday Creek Walk - Mt Disappointment State Forest
River Walk - Warburton
La La Falls - Warburton
Forest Trail - Maroondah Reservoir Park
Wilhemina Falls - Murrindindi Scenic Reserve - Toolangi State Forest-
Tomahawk Creek Track - Kurth Kiln Park
Monk's Fireline Track - Kurth Kiln Park
Bobcat Link Track - Olinda Forest
Mechanics Track - Mt Dandenong
Possum Track - Olinda Forest
Hermon's Track Circuit - Olinda Forest
Flower Farm Circuit Walk - Olinda Forest
Sherbrooke Falls Circuit Walk - Sherbrooke Forest
Lookout Rocks - Olinda Forest
Silvan Reservoir Park - adjacent to Olinda Forest
Olinda Falls Circuit Walk - Sherbrooke Forest
Mt Cannibal Summit Walk - Garfield
Mt Dunn - Mt Buffalo National Park
Silver Creek Buffer - Circuit Track - Kinglake NP
Singleton Bushland Reserve and Burke's Lookout - Dandenong Ranges NP
Shiprock Falls - Kurth Kiln Park
Mt Worth State Park - Gippsland
 
MELBOURNE REGION
Spadoni's Bushland - Yering
Smith's Gully Historical Nature Trail
The Common - Warrandyte SP
Sugarloaf Reservoir and Mt Graham Summit
Gold Heritage Trail - Warrandyte SP
Blue Tongue Bend (Circuit Walk) - Warrandyte State Park
Blue Tongue Bend - Warrandyte State Park
Stane Brae Walk - Warrandyte State Park
Black Flat Goldfields Walk - Warrandyte State Park
Ridge Track - Churchill National Park
Gold Heritage Walk - Smith's Gully
Pound Bend Walk - Warrandyte State Park
Witton's Reserve Walk to Mt Lofty - Warrandyte State Park
Badger Weir Walk - Healesville Region
 
WESTERN REGION
East West Walk - You Yangs Regional Park
Serendip Sanctuary Tracks - Lara
 

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JOIN HIKING VICTORIA!
 
If you are interested in recreational or educational walking in Victoria, please consider joining HIKING VICTORIA!
 
Established in November 2007, HIKING VICTORIA offers a very comprehensive Message Board, and is the unique on-line place for sharing of information and experiences, whether you are an occasional walker or a seasoned veteran!
  • There are no compulsory membership fees
  • There are no banner adverts, popups, or popunders
  • Hiking Victoria is a "Gold" (Premium) Board, hosted by the Canadian-based Company "Sparklit". It's funded by voluntary donations from members. Donations pay for the Board's ongoing hosting expenses, and keep it ad-free and provide for many additional features, including uploading of images, and unique headers, footers, and graphics, and the facility for the Administrator to send announcements and news direct to all members at their E-mail addresses.
To see the Board, and to register,  please go to HIKING VICTORIA 

This is the INTERNET GUIDE TO SHORT WALKS IN VICTORIA!

Its author and creator is Bob Padula, OAM, of Mont Albert, in the east of Melbourne.
 
I am a Professional Engineer, providing technical consultancy services in the area of high-frequency broadcasting - I graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1967, and was employed by Telstra Corporation until 1998. 
 
I have been actively involved in bushwalking since 1954, and regularly undertake short walks around Greater Melbourne and nearer country areas. I also have a passion for digital photography, 4WDing along unmade roads, and exploration of parks, reserves, sanctuaries, coasts and mountains! 
 
This Guide contains details of walks I have completed in the period from March 2005 until now, and most can be completed by anyone with a moderate level of fitness.  Some walks are suitable for persons with limited mobility.
 
Most walks described are located in the general area around Melbourne, but there are many further afield!
 
In publishing this free Guide, and sharing my knowledge and experiences through the Internet, it is with the hope that it will encourage readers to set aside some time to venture regularly into the Victorian countryside and enjoy the beauty and scenery which it offers, and at the same time support the development and maintainence of an appropriate level of fitness.   
 
The starting points for all of the walks listed are easily reached by conventional cars, including some over good unsealed gravel roads. They range from relatively short hikes of about an hour or less, to more extensive half or full day adventures. Overnight walks are not included in this Guide.
 
Some walks are step-on, step-off shorter hikes, which are part of longer multi-day trips. They include the:
 
24 km Beeripmo Walk (Mt Cole State Forest)
91 km Great Ocean Walk (Apollo Bay district)
15 km O'Shannassy Aqueduct Trail (Warburton district)
35 km Rainbow Bird Trail (south of Ballarat)
 
I have also included accounts of many of the network of excellent walks constructed by the Great Dividing Trail Association, based in the Daylesford district. I am a member of the Association, and of Bushwalking Victoria.
 
Several walks are along the nearer Coast, including trips around Westernport Bay.  
 
The Guide also covers many walks in the extensive Yarra River Parklands to the north east of Melbourne, and hikes in reserves and parklands in the outer east of Melbourne, including the large Dandenong Valley Parklands.
 
Destinations. Some of the hikes are to places which are not often visited, which have been discovered from careful research of Melway's and other maps, personal observation, perusal of the comprehensive Park and Track Notes issued by Parks Vic and DSE, examination of hard-to-get publications, and contacts with Shire Councils, Bushwalking Clubs and activity-based organizations.

Site Navigation. Clicking on the desired link on the Navigation Bar at the left of this Front Page will take you to the selected Regional page, where you will find a listing of the walks in that Region. The Navigation Bar appears on each page, and the headings there are Rollover Links. Throughout the Guide, except the Navigation Bar, text which is underlined is a clickable link to a URL, either internal or external.
 
Each walk shows distance from Melbourne,  length, duration, features, date completed, general notes, a link to Track Notes (or Map) issued by Parks Victoria or other agencies, and a link to the Photo Album for that walk.
 
The Photo Albums have etailed information about the Walksto which they refer, and the images may be viewed as Slide Shows or individually.
 
Walks have been placed in the most appropriate Geographical Region, which include National,  State, or Local Parks. Several of the bigger Parks extend across the geographical regions adopted in the Guide - they include several tracks in the Dandenong Ranges, the Lysterfield Hills, and West Gippsland.
 
Sub-pages are provided for some Regions, where there are many walks.
 
All of the walks listed have been undertaken by myself in the period from March 2005..
 
A word of caution: some walks in the Dandenong Ranges National Park and the Kinglake National Park are steep and rocky, and care should be exercised if undertaking those tracks during or after wet weather.
 
I have also included details of the 37 km Lilydale-Warburton Rail Trail, which I completed by bike in 2006 - there are many access points to this wonderful Trail, which is used by walkers, cyclists, horses, ponies, joggers, prams and dogs!
 
Support Features. There are links on the Navigation Bar to various features in  the Guide, which you are invited to explore!
 
Though created for Walking, the Guide may of course be used alternatively for selecting interesting destinations for non-walking activities, or sight-seeing! Visit Best Lookouts for a  selection of special viewpoints!
 
New content or updating information will be added to this Guide from time to time. I hope that it has provided you with some interesting destinations to explore! (Bob Padula)

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NOTE!
Many of the walks outside of the Melbourne Region may be linked to form longer overnight trips - there are printed Walks Books which you may purchase from booksellers, map retailers, activity shops and Parks Victoria, containing suggested detailed itineries of those expeditions.
 
Longer walks are also arranged via Bushwalking Clubs and commercial tour companies.
 
 Many walks commence from picnic grounds, or car parks at Lookouts. Whilst the Guide is intended essentially for walking activities, it may also be used as a "Drive Guide" to interesting places, if it is not practicable to undertake the actual walks.

 
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MY BUSHWALKING WEBLOG!
I compile a separate chronological Weblog of my bushwalking trips, titled "BOB'S AUSTRALIAN BUSHWALKING JOURNAL", with some photos. This is updated whenever I complete a new walk. Click on the image below to see thumbnailed still pictures from my Weblog, and to visit it! You may be surprised!! An RSS feed is enabled from the Weblog, and you may set up a free subscription to it. 

BOB'S AUSTRALIAN BUSHWALKING JOURNAL

SLIDE SHOW!
There is also a Slide Show (below) of the better pictures from my Weblog - this will start automatically and cycle through the images!
This is a MacroMedia Flash Animation, and requires a Flash Player to be installed. Best with IE6 or Vista

If your system does not support Flash Animations, click here to open up the Slide Show in your Windows Media Player (or equivalent)

find.jpg
Every place, destinatioon and location in this site is stored in a database. Enter the word into the box, hit "find"and if it is the site, its page location(s) will be displayed on a new screen! Use this feature as a quick "go to" for places and parks! Try it out! The database is updated daily.

Search this site powered by FreeFind


VIDEOS OF MY WALKS!
Short videos, with music, of some of my walks are at
Videos of my Walks

PHOTO ALBUMS OF MY WALKS!
These are in slide show or static format, at
Photo Albums of My Walks

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The author at Badger Weir Park, December 2007
THERE ARE over 650 WALKS DESCRIBED IN THIS GUIDE!
That's about 3500 km! Jeepers, creepers...!

(This Project is a Work-in-Progress, with content updated when new walks are completed)
Click Listing of all Walks, which will take you to a page listing ALL of the walks, with quick links to the relevant section. 
 

SOME IMAGES FROM RECENT WALKS!

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Mt St Leonard from Market Garden Tk,Warrandyte SP, June 2009
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South Coast - Phillip Island - May 2009
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Apex Lookout - Bright - March 2009
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Mt Feathertop from Fainter Firetrack - March 2009
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Bogong Massif from Survey Track - Mt Beauty - May 2009

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South Coast - Port Nepean National Park - April 2009

If you have suggestions, comments or  ideas  about this Guide, please contact the author (Bob Padula) by Email . Alternatively use the Reader Survey Feedback Form. I will reply to all messages!

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Distances to the start of walks, from Melbourne, are in brackets against their descriptions