Hike at a glance

5,688

Quick overview: The Enfield Bald Hills Loop Hike is a 15.5 km trail that starts and ends at the Surface Point Picnic Area. You will pass the southern slopes of Mount Misery and the township of Little Hard Hills before ascending to the 477 m summit of Bald Hills. The terrain includes moderate inclines and varied surfaces, with potential wildlife sightings along the way. This hike is well-suited for those looking for a moderately challenging outing in Victoria's Enfield State Park.

Length

15.5km

Duration

5 hrs

Difficulty

Grade 3 (Moderate)

Trail type

Circuit

Trail details

Max elevation: 475m
Min elevation: 308m
Total Ascent: 298m

Start: Surface Point Picnic Area

End: Surface Point Picnic Area

Location: Enfield State Park

State: Victoria

Nearest town: Rokewood

State capital distance: 146km

Latitude: -37.77001931

Longitude: 143.73834460973742

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

Route in detail

The Enfield Bald Hills Loop commences at the Surface Point picnic area in the Enfield State Park; one of the largest conservation reserves in the region. Locate the start of the Forest Park Walking Track (at the northern end of the car park) and follow it east past the southern slopes of Mount Misery and Wattle Track to Halls Road. Cross the road and continue to follow the track as it turns north then east towards the small township of Little Hard Hills. On reaching the car park at the end of Dredge Road locate the track on your left and follow it a short distance to the junction of Incolls Road.

Turning west, follow Incolls Road, past Halls Road for approximately 2.6km and locate a walking trail on your right.This trail will take you to the summit of Bald Hills at 477m. From the summit, return via the same route to Incolls Road or follow the road that heads in a westerly direction to the junction of Incolls and Misery Creek Roads.

Leave Misery Creek Road at this point and continue directly west along an old management track. This track eventually fades as it enters Firth Gully. Continue to follow creek as it turns south into follow Firth Gully. After a short distance you should be able to locate the Long Gully Loop Track. Following this track south along its length will take you back to the trail head at the Surface Point picnic area.

Fossicking

Nearly half of the park is available for fossicking or panning for gold along Misery Creek. Remember to fill any holes made and leave the area as you found it. Relics are protected by law and must not be disturbed or removed.

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

Enfield Bald Hills Loop Hike (15.5km)

Map of the route “Enfield Bald Hills Loop Hike (15.5km)”: 15.47 km, 298 m of climbing and 298 m of descent, elevation between 309 m and 475 m. It is a loop that starts and ends at -37.77002, 143.73834 (latitude, longitude).

Total distance: 15.5 km
Max elevation: 475 m
Min elevation: 308 m
Total climbing: 298 m
Total descent: 298 m

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

Thank you to Koil Schonie for sharing this trail

Preparation and safety

Trail tips

The Surface Point picnic area has barbecues, tables, toilets. Camping is allowed for short periods but you need to bring your own water. Firewood also may be in short supply and fires may only be lit in the facilities provided.

The park features a number of walks of varying distances. Experienced walkers with navigational skills can hike completely off trail in this park and can bush camp overnight at Frith Gully.

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

25 km south of Ballarat on the Colac-Ballarat Road C146. VicRoads 76 E6. Turn right into Misery Creek Road and proceed approximately 3 km to Surface Point picnic area. It is also accessible from the Sebastopol-Smythesdale Road by turning left into State Forest Road.

Access conditions

2WD Access
Gravel Road
Small Car Park
Public Toilets
Picnic Table

Get there with Google Maps

Accommodation nearby

Search accommodation in nearby towns: Ballarat, Bonshaw, Bungaree, Buninyong, Elaine, Rokewood, Skipton, Smythesdale

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

Enfield Bald Hills Loop Hike (15.5km)

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Explore the region

About the region

South of Ballarat, Enfield State Park preserves a broad sweep of native forest in a part of western Victoria where much of the surrounding land has long been cleared for farming. The park sits within the old goldfields country between Ballarat and Geelong, and its bushland reads as a dark, continuous block on the horizon, merging with nearby state forest and giving this district a stronger sense of wooded country than many neighbouring landscapes.

What makes the park distinctive is the way natural bush and goldfields history are layered together rather than separated. Mining took hold here in the 1850s and 1860s, and the names scattered through the area, including Misery Creek and Surface Point, still carry that history. Surface Point was associated with a Chinese settlement in the 1860s, and mining remains survive across the park as shafts, earthworks and other traces of an intense but short-lived rush. Timber cutting continued well beyond the first gold era, supplying mine props, firewood and eucalyptus oil, so the landscape that survives now is very much a worked forest that has regenerated over time.

The bush itself is more varied than it first appears from the roadside. Enfield supports a notably diverse understorey, including 61 orchid species, along with forest types built around stringybarks, messmate, scent-bark and wetter drainage-line gums. It is also closely associated with the Enfield Grevillea, a plant endemic to this area. A major wildfire at Berringa in 1995 burnt most of the park, and part of Enfield's story since then has been recovery, with regrowth reshaping both the appearance of the forest and the habitat it provides.

Enfield State Park is also part of Wadawurrung Country, and the area holds Aboriginal cultural significance. That deeper timescale matters in a place so often read through its mining relics alone. For walkers, the wider setting is a reminder that this is not an isolated pocket of bush, but one of the few remaining expanses of native forest in the shire, carrying both ecological value and the layered human history of Victoria's inland goldfields.

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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

1 Review on “Enfield Bald Hills Loop Hike (15.5km)”

Overall rating

Darren Bowman

I completed this walk recently, starting from Dredge Road in Enfield. Walking clockwise from here has some advantages in that the Surface Point picnic area is roughly a third of the total distance into the walk, so it’s a good spot to stop for morning tea or lunch depending on your arrival time. Several relics of mid-nineteenth century gold mining can be found along this first section if you keep your eyes open. Look for hand dug dams, water races and mine shafts in gullies and along hillsides. Until you get to Bald Hills, the walk is along dedicated walking track, which winds through open forest of Stringybark, Broad-leafed Peppermint, and Candlebarks. An understory of heath and other native shrubs adds interest and looks spectacular when in flower. Often Sulfur-crested Cockatoos can be heard screeching above from the treetops. Unfortunately, the walking tracks are occasionally accessed illegally by trail bike riders, but the tracks are largely in reasonable condition and this doesn’t detract from the overall experience being pleasant bushwalking. When I visited recently vandals had smashed signage at the Surface Point picnic area, which hopefully is an isolated event. There are a few steep pitches to raise the heart rate along Firth Gully, between Surface Point and Bald Hills. The other advantage of walking clockwise from Dredge Road is that it is mostly an easy downhill walk back to the car along a quiet forest road. Happy walking.

21/05/2024, 13:10

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Shannon Worcester

Lisa Maree van Bergen were we talking about this one?

24/03/2022, 05:18

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1. Adam Jay
  
  Lucas Cowland Scott Haskins This is another one ive been planning
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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2. Isabelle Day
  
  Mathew Lawrence definitely when it’s better though
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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3. Isabelle Day
  
  Mathew Lawrence I would go but don’t know if I would be able to do the walking track with my saw foot
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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4. Mike Rixon
  
  Maurs Rixon
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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5. Brad Dyson
  
  Melissa Mathews Shane Mathews
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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6. Jon Rad
  
  Not a bad hike. Seems like a popular trail for motorbikes and there’s lots of rutted trail. Overall a pleasant bushwalk.
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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7. Erica Trahar
  
  Ryan Trahar keen!
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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8. Angela Gawne
  
  Simon Izzard
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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9. Leesa Swanson
  
  Suzie Sharp, Tracky Dax, another one for when the weather gets warmer. Might need snow gear to do it this time of year ??
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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10. Mathew Lawrence
  
  true, didn’t think of that
  
  24/03/2022, 05:18
  
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Acknowledgement of Country

Enfield bald hills loop hike (15. 5km) - 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

Route in detail

Fossicking

Trail difficulty

Grade 3 (Moderate)

Map and GPX file

Preparation and safety

Trail tips

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

Long Gully Misery Creek Loop Hike (7km)

Mount Buninyong: Union Jack Reserve Hike (9.4km)

Mount Buninyong South Walk (3.5km)

Mount Buninyong Zigzag Summit Walk (2.5km)

Explore hikes by town

Weather on the trail

Trail reviews

1 Review on “Enfield Bald Hills Loop Hike (15.5km)”

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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