Hike at a glance

21,298

Quick overview: The Dandenong Ranges Circuit Hike is a 15.7 km loop starting and ending in Olinda, traversing varied national park terrain. Along the way, you'll find scenic viewpoints of Melbourne, the Olinda Falls, and the Mount Dandenong Arboretum. Expect moderate difficulty with steep sections near lookouts. Completing the hike generally takes around 4.5 hours, and you may spot local wildlife such as lyrebirds. At the summit, a cafe has a break with panoramic views of the city.

Length

15.7km

Duration

4.5 hrs

Difficulty

Grade 3 (Moderate)

Trail type

Circuit

Trail details

Max elevation: 627m
Min elevation: 398m
Total Ascent: 782m

Start: Olinda

End: Olinda

Location: Dandenong Ranges

State: Victoria

Nearest town: Tremont

State capital distance: 49km

Latitude: -37.85558425

Longitude: 145.36619603633883

Check current conditions
Track conditions, access and closures can change quickly due to weather, fire, maintenance or safety concerns. Always check the relevant land manager’s website and conditions before you visit. Trail Hiking Australia does not provide real-time track and closure monitoring, and land managers remain the authoritative source for current alerts, closures and access restrictions.

About the trail

Difficulty

Route map

Preparation

Getting there

Photos

The region

Weather

About this trail

Important information

Mechanics Track is closed from Apr 2022 to May 2022 for repairs (both sides of Olinda Falls). Check conditions before heading out. The area is littered with trees and the ground is soft in many places due to trees being uprooted. It is not possible to see the track in most sections and there's a high chance of anyone attempting this getting lost or having to walk back.

Route in detail

The circuit walk of the summit of Mount Dandenong links two large sections of the national park, visits Olinda Falls, Mount Dandenong, Arboretum and two of the best view points overlooking Melbourne.

From the Olinda Recreation Reserve walk along the Olinda-Monbulk road towards Monbulk, past the old Golf Course and then turn left down Chalet Road, just by the Olinda Pool. A short way down Chalet Road, turn left onto the Golf Course Track / Rock Track. Follow Golf Course Track/Rock Track, at the junction with Cornius Track, keep left. At the 4 way junction with Mathias Track, go straight ahead onto Blackhole Track. Join KC Track where it junctions with Blackhole Track.

Follow KC Track, turn left on Rifle Range Gully Track, look and listen for Lyrebirds'

Turn left after a couple of km's onto Bartlett Track. Bartlett Track joins onto Falls Road, walk down Falls Road for about 200 metres to join Mechanics Track on the right, which leads to Olinda Falls. Signposting is clear to Olinda Falls. Return the same way and join the top section of Mechanics Track from the other side of Falls Road. OR walk up to the Olinda Falls Picnic Area (toilets available) turn left on Falls Road then right onto Mechanics Track. Mechanics Track crosses over Farndon's Road and then continues up to finish at the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road (beside the Mount Dandenong Pre-School). Cross carefully over the Tourist Road, there is a small track visible, walk up through the Mount Dandenong Arboretum.

Stay to the trail on the right through the Arboretum, coming to Ridge Road where you cross over to Kyeema Track. Follow Kyeema Track, about 100m on the left is Trig Track, going up to the Mount Dandenong Summit. Cafe, views, toilets. Return the same way and continue walking along Kyeema Track towards Burkes Lookout, about 1.5 km's away. At the junction with Tower Track, turn right and head down the hill.

Turn right onto ZigZag Track, then left onto Channel 10 Track. Follow Channel 10 Track until meeting Dandenong Creek Track, turn right, staying on Dandenong Creek Track until coming to the Olinda-Basin Road. Turn left onto the Olinda-Basin Road and walk about 200 metres until Caterpillar Track on the right. Follow up Caterpillar Track which joins Dodds Track and then continues onto Dodds Road OR keep walking up Olinda-Basin Road for 1.2km's to Mount Dandenong Village and return to Olinda via the roads). Dodds Road joins Range Road, turn left and walk the short distance back to Olinda.

Trail difficulty

Grade 3 (moderate) badge

Grade 3 (Moderate)

Moderate walks with some obstacles

Grade 3 walks may include short steep hills, formed tracks with some obstacles, rougher surfaces and many steps. Some bushwalking experience is recommended, and walkers may encounter natural hazards such as steep slopes, unstable surfaces or minor water crossings. Grade 3 walks are no longer than 20km.

Good to know: Not every Grade 3 characteristic will apply to every walk, so check the route description for the specific challenges of this hike.

Map and GPX file

Dandenong Ranges Circuit Hike (15.7km)

Map of the route “Dandenong Ranges Circuit Hike (15.7km)”: 15.65 km, 782 m of climbing and 782 m of descent, elevation between 400 m and 627 m. It is a loop that starts and ends at -37.85574, 145.36596 (latitude, longitude).

Total distance: 15.65 km
Max elevation: 627 m
Min elevation: 398 m
Total climbing: 782 m
Total descent: 782 m

GPX files, maps and content are copyright Trail Hiking Australia. Not to be copied, redistributed or uploaded to other platforms including AllTrails.

Preparation and safety

Plan and prepare

Australian conditions can turn a small oversight into a serious situation faster than most walkers expect. For a day hike, that means the right gear, weather-appropriate layers, enough food and water, and allowing time to finish in daylight. The day hike planning guide walks you through it.

The Hiking Safety Systems and planning calculators help you understand and close the gaps before you leave home. The Interactive Safety Scenarios show how small gaps turn into real incidents. If you’re new to planning hikes, start with the hike preparation guide.

Download the free hiking preparation and safety checklists before leaving home to help you think through your plans. They help ensure important considerations are not overlooked and support safer decision-making on the trail.

Let someone know

Before you go, complete a trip intentions form and share it with a trusted contact. Agree on a Late-Back Time and ask them to call 000 (Police) if you have not checked in. A clear trip plan is one of the simplest and most effective safety steps you can take, and it only takes two minutes.

Let someone know your plans →

Heading somewhere remote, off-track or overnight? Use the comprehensive trip intentions form instead, as your emergency contact will need more detail. Register your trip plan here →

Getting there and where to stay

Directions

Parking at Olinda Recreation Reserve, Olinda-Monbulk Road or the Old Golf Course next to the reserve.

Access conditions

Bitumen Road

Get there with Google Maps

Accommodation nearby

Search accommodation in nearby towns: Gembrook, Healesville, Seville, St Andrews, Tremont, Woori Yallock, Yarra Glen, Yarra Junction

Find somewhere to stay near the trailhead. Click the button below to open an interactive map automatically centred on this hike's location.

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Travel arrangements

Whether you are travelling from across Australia or exploring closer to home, these options can help you organise your journey to the trail and make the most of your visit.

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Photo gallery

Dandenong Ranges Circuit Hike (15.7km)

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Explore the region

About the region

Rising abruptly from Melbourne's eastern suburbs, the Dandenong Ranges are a belt of steep volcanic hills where tall wet forest, fern-filled gullies and cooler mountain weather create a landscape quite different from the surrounding plains. Much of this country is protected within Dandenong Ranges National Park, but the broader ranges also include gardens, reservoirs, villages and smaller reserves that together shape the character of the district. The result is a rare meeting of metropolitan edge and deeply wooded upland, with the forested slopes still forming part of Melbourne's familiar backdrop.

Mountain Ash dominates many of the taller forests here, with dense understorey, tree ferns and sheltered creeks giving parts of the range a distinctly cool-temperate feel. Waterfalls are a natural feature of these moist slopes, especially after rain, and the steep topography helps explain why tracks can move quickly between ridges, gullies and lookouts. Wildlife is one of the region's quieter strengths. Superb Lyrebirds remain closely associated with the Dandenongs, and the forests also support species such as Powerful Owls, Sooty Owls, wallabies and wombats.

The Dandenong Ranges sit within a larger chain of protected country running from Western Port toward the Yarra Valley and on into the Yarra Ranges, so even a short walk here belongs to a broader arc of forested habitat east of Melbourne. That larger setting matters because the Dandenongs are not an isolated patch of bush but part of a connected landscape of ridges and reserves. Although the range is heavily visited and closely bordered by settlement, it still holds substantial native forest and woodland across its main ridge and slopes.

This is also Wurundjeri Country, and the ranges are part of a much older cultural landscape than their long history as a Melbourne day-trip destination suggests. By the late nineteenth century the Dandenongs were already attracting visitors seeking cooler air, forest scenery and places to picnic, and that long public familiarity still shapes how the region is experienced today. Even so, the strongest impression is usually environmental rather than suburban: tall trunks, damp gullies, filtered light and a sense that the city has fallen away faster than seems possible.

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Weather on the trail

The map shows the rain forecast for the trail area. Use the toggle in the top right corner to switch layers, including wind, temperature, UV index, thunderstorms, fire danger and weather warnings. Windy is a forecast model, not an official warning service. Check the Bureau of Meteorology for current warnings before you go.

Trail reviews

7 Reviews on “Dandenong Ranges Circuit Hike (15.7km)”

Overall rating

Eitan Froumine

Walk this route in January 2023. The Mechanics Track and is still closed.

09/01/2023, 15:22

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Joe Paolacci

Jim White

24/03/2022, 05:19

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1. Darren Edwards Trail Author
  
  Thanks for your comment Rory, If you have a current GPX file that I can compare and replace, that would be appreciated. I have had hundreds of people complete this circuit and no one commented that it was wrong so I am intrigued as to why you felt it was.
  
  24/03/2022, 05:19
  
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2. rob collis
  
  The Mechanics Walk section of this circuit is no longer accessible due to storm damage from earlier this year. Falls Road is now the most direct way to Olinda Falls.
  
  24/03/2022, 05:19
  
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3. Rhiannon Riches
  
  Vaughan Bowman
  
  24/03/2022, 05:19
  
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4. Jeremy Eaton
  
  Walked on 15 Apr in anticlockwise direction. Good walk and surprised me on the last hill. Caution required on Mechanics Track if wet (slippery).
  Great walk but we needed to allow extra time (about 5 hours)
  
  24/03/2022, 05:19
  
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5. Suresh Pathy
  
  Walked on 27.8.16 in an anticlockwise direction, seems to be the best for the slopes in wet conditions
  Excellent walk all around
  
  24/03/2022, 05:19
  
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6. Rianna Turner
  
  Walked this on 29/12/18 anticlockwise, great hike, took 4.5 hours. Both the “link trails” between Dandenong Creek Track and Range Rd were closed so I walked down the road a bit and went down Todd Rd.
  
  24/03/2022, 05:19
  
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  1. Cathy Skipworth
    
    Walked this route yesterday 26/08/19, the path from Basin-Olinda Road to Range Rd was nowhere to be found requiring a detour along the road. Took me longer than most clocking up 5.5 hours and 16.36 km without the Skyhigh section. The section between Olinda Falls and the Arboretum was very muddy and slippery which is what cost me most of the extra time and oh boy I did not need that last climb at the end! However beautiful views and well worth the effort.
    
    24/03/2022, 05:19
    
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Mandy Thomas

Did this walk today and it was great, might get a little slippery on some on the smaller tracks in the coming weeks. We went anti clockwise, 4 hours but cut out the the sky high loop. Get ready for a couple of steep hills at the end

24/03/2022, 05:19

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Amanda Cole

Chloe Farrow

24/03/2022, 05:19

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Rory Pope

Gpx file was horrible and super inaccurate

24/03/2022, 05:19

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Acknowledgement of Country

Dandenong ranges circuit hike (15. 7km) - trail hiking australia

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.

Curated by: Darren Edwards | Trail Hiking Australia

Last checked:

August 12, 2026

Hike at a glance

Trail details

About this trail

Important information

Route in detail

Trail difficulty

Grade 3 (Moderate)

Map and GPX file

Preparation and safety

Plan and prepare

Let someone know

Getting there and where to stay

Directions

Access conditions

Accommodation nearby

Travel arrangements

Photo gallery

Explore the region

About the region

Discover activities

More hikes nearby

Olinda Falls & Valley Hike (14km)

Valley & Eagle Nest Loop Hike (7.9km)

Olinda Falls & Mechanic Track (4.4km)

Eastern Sherbrooke Forest Walk (6.6km)

Explore hikes by town

Weather on the trail

Trail reviews

7 Reviews on “Dandenong Ranges Circuit Hike (15.7km)”

Leave a Review. Cancel reply

Notice something different about this trail?

Acknowledgement of Country

Curated by: Darren Edwards | Trail Hiking Australia

Last checked:

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