Grampians National Park (Gariwerd)

Gariwerd is the closest thing Victoria has to genuinely alpine-feeling country without the altitude. The ranges are sandstone, tilted so they present sheer faces on one side and long dip slopes on the other, and they rise abruptly from flat farmland.

For a Melbourne-based tourer it is the most rewarding weekend in the state, and unlike most of this site's destinations it needs nothing special from your vehicle.

Access

Sealed roads throughout the main visitor areas. Halls Gap sits in the middle with fuel, food and accommodation, and everything of interest is within a short drive of it.

Some of the more remote northern and western tracks are unsealed and a few are four-wheel drive only, but they are optional rather than necessary.

The walks

The Pinnacle is the signature walk. Several routes reach it, and the one through the Grand Canyon and Silent Street is the interesting version: a narrow slot between rock walls with a stepped climb. The lookout at the top sits above Halls Gap with the valley laid out below.

MacKenzie Falls is the largest waterfall in the park and runs year round. The walk down is steep and paved, and the climb back out is the part people underestimate.

The Balconies is short and mostly flat, ending at a rock platform above the Victoria Valley.

Mount William is the highest point in the park, reached by a sealed access road and then a steep formed track.

Boroka Lookout gives you the best view for the least effort in the whole park.

Fire and closures

This is fire country, and it has burnt repeatedly and severely. Tracks close, sometimes for extended periods, and the park's published closure list is the authoritative source rather than a map or an older guidebook.

On days of elevated fire danger, the park may close entirely. Check before you drive out, not after you arrive.

Season

September to May covers the comfortable range. Spring brings wildflowers and the waterfalls run best after winter rain. Autumn is settled and quiet.

Winter is cold and wet rather than impossible, and the falls are at their most impressive. Summer brings both heat and fire risk, and the middle of a hot day is not the time for an exposed sandstone climb.

Country

Gariwerd is Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung country and holds the largest concentration of rock art sites in southern Australia. Several sites are open to visitors with shelters and interpretive signage, and they are protected: the art is fragile and touching it destroys it.