Valley and Eagle Nest Loop is a 7.9km, grade 3 hike located in Dandenong Ranges National Park, Victoria. The hike should take around 3 hours to complete.
Hike overview
The Valley and Eagle Nest Loop is a superb walk on well-maintained tracks through the lush forest. Situated in the newest section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, not far from Silvan Reservoir.
It is, possibly, the most remote of all the walks in the Dandenong Ranges. A number of trails branch off this track and walks can be extended. This variation is an extension of the standard 3km circuit.
This walk is a few minutes drive from the Olinda Falls carpark. It is not marked but you can easily follow the path/road signs to complete the circuit. There is a good uphill section and finishes with a very narrow walkway.
Walk past the toilets onto eagle nest road until you reach eagle nest picnic ground. Turn left onto Hermons track and then right on Georges track (possums track on map). Follow this until you see Barges track, turn left here. Stay on this past Bartlett track (which you'll cross twice) then straight ahead you'll find rifle range gully. You will come to a fork and you want to take the left track called black hole track (unmarked).
Route and GPX file
Max elevation: 463 m
Min elevation: 239 m
Total climbing: 587 m
Total descent: -587 m
Trail location
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Getting there
Olinda falls is easy to navigate to and can be typed into google maps. From here you follow Falls road past the National Rhododendron Gardens then onto Chalet road past the R. J. Hamer Arboretum. Take a left onto Silvan road then left onto Boundary road. Follow this until you reach the picnic ground.
About the region
The forested slopes of the Dandenong Ranges are a place of tranquil forest walks, quaint hilltop towns and charismatic animals such as lyrebirds and wallabies. Conquer the famous 1000 Steps, discover Olinda Falls and enjoy commanding views over Melbourne and the Yarra Valley.
The Dandenong Ranges is a rainforest getaway on Melbourne's doorstep. A short drive or train ride from the city you will find steep volcanic hills covered in stands of the world's tallest flowering tree, the Mountain Ash. Living among the greenery are wallabies, lyrebirds, wombats and the Powerful Owl so please ensure you leave your dogs at home to avoid disturbing the local wildlife.
The mountains of the Dandenong Ranges offer stunning views across Melbourne. Waterfalls are also a feature of this cool temperate rainforest. Olinda Falls and Sherbrooke Falls are best after rain. Just don't forget to wear hiking boots.
Similar trails nearby
Explore Safe
While planning your hike, it’s important to check official government sources for updated information, temporary closures and trail access requirements. Before hitting the trail, check local weather and bushfire advice for planned burns and bushfire warnings and let someone know before you go. Plan ahead and hike safely.
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Gear to consider
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Acknowledgement of Country
Trail Hiking Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we hike and pay respects to their Elders, past and present, and we acknowledge the First Nations people of other communities who may be here today.
1 Review on “Valley & Eagle Nest Loop Hike (7.9km)”
It’s a nice hike but description is a bit out of date. The Valley Picnic Ground has been closed off to vehicles for about 2.5 years (since the big storm in June 2021). There is decent space to park at the gate where Boundary road starts from Silvan road and you can walk in from there. This will add about 1.8km to the hike. Alternatively, you can start the hike at Eagle Nest Picnic ground, which is open.
There are no toilets on this hike. There used to be toilets at Valley Picnic ground but while the toilet block was still there about 5 years ago, the toilets had not been in use since about 2014. I do not believe there is access to drinking water anywhere on the hike either. There are BBQ facilities, but they are the open fire ones.
I was on a different hike yesterday (28 Dec 2023) and at the point where Black Hole Track meets KC Track, there was a sign saying KC Track is currently closed. I wasn’t going down that way anyway and I can’t say what the situation is exactly.
As for how challenging it is, if you’re fit, it’s probably relatively easy. If you’re my size (rather large), it’s quite hard but still rewarding.
Thanks Chris. I’ll make a note to review and update the info.
We also got confused at the start of the walk as we could not find the toilet (I think they decided to remove it) so we walked past a vehicle gate onto a road called boundary track, we walked down this until a ‘T’ intersection, turned right and followed the above instructions.
We also have the same issue on rifle range gully, we did not see the track that went off to the right so it must be a small track?