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Mount Difficult Range - Briggs Bluff Hike (20km)

Grampians National Park

Victoria

20km

9 hrs

Grade 5

One way

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Hike at a glance

Quick overview: The Mount Difficult Range - Briggs Bluff hike is a 20 km Grade 4 route in Grampians National Park, starting and finishing at Plantation Campground. The ascent to the plateau is steep, overgrown, and requires sustained navigation. From there, the route follows the escarpment to Briggs Bluff with expansive views. Expect a long, physically demanding day, descending via Beehive Falls, with an optional 4 km side trip to Mount Difficult.

Hike length

Average duration

Trail Difficulty

Hike Type

Route details

Max elevation: 731m
Min elevation: 210m
Total Ascent: 1104m

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 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.

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Grade 5 (difficult) badge

Remote, unmarked, and high consequence
These are the most challenging walks and are only suited to highly experienced and well-prepared hikers.

Expect very rough, steep, and often unmarked terrain, with limited or no signage. Navigation skills are essential, and you must be self-reliant, including emergency preparedness. Distances may exceed 20km, and conditions can quickly become serious if things go wrong.

Safety note: There is little margin for error. Mistakes in navigation, weather judgement, or preparation can have serious consequences.

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Preparation matters: Plan your day hike well and bring the right gear, weather-appropriate layers, food and plenty of water. Before you head out, read up on bushwalking safety and use this day hike planning guide to make sure you're ready. Need help getting started? Check out the full hike preparation guide.

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Small oversights can compound quickly in Australian conditions. See how it happens in the Interactive Safety Scenarios. Then refer to the Hiking Safety Systems, planning calculators, and make sure a trusted contact has your trip plan before heading out.

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.

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

Download the 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.

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Need a rental car to get you to the hike? Find one here →

Get there with Google Maps

Find hotels, cabins, and campgrounds near the trailhead. Click the button below to open an interactive map automatically centred on this hike's location — no searching required.

Find Accommodation

Or browse accommodation in nearby towns: Ararat, Cavendish, Dadswells Bridge, Dunkeld, Halls Gap, Horsham, Landsborough, Pomonal, Stawell, Warracknabeal, Wartook, Wartook Valley

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The map below shows the rain forecast for the trail area. Tap the toggle in the top right corner to explore other layers including wind, temperature, UV index, thunderstorms, fire danger, and weather warnings — all useful for planning a safe hike.

1 Review on “Mount Difficult Range - Briggs Bluff Hike (20km)”

Overall rating
  • Darren edwards avatar Darren Edwards Trail Author

    My wife and I did this a while back and we nearly gave up on the ascent from Plantation Campground on several occasions. There were even tears. There’s no track, it’s overgrown, and the undergrowth just wants to rip everything apart. We did it as an overnight hike, camping near Mount Difficult, and we dreaded that we had to come back down the same way.

  • Richard clarke avatar Richard Clarke

    I suggest there should be no posts on the Grampians. Apart from the Halls Gap area, it’s largely closed due to bushfires.
    https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/grampians-national-park#change-of-conditions

    1. Trail hiking australia avatar Trail Hiking Australia

      Richard Clarke great suggestion. I did consider this a lot as that was my immediate thinking too. After speaking with tourism agencies in the region, I was encouraged to continue sharing walks in the Grampians as they want people to continue planning for when the park reopens, whenever that may be. For now, the best thing people can do is check the link you shared to understand what is open, as that will progressively change

  • Tammy schoo avatar Tammy Schoo

    See parks victoria website for updates. This trail has closed from plantation campground and now starts at beehive falls.

  • Completed Mt Difficult yesterday. Track very over grown 2/3 of the way and difficult to spot at points, we did our best to clear some of it. Pay attention for piles of rocks on the way up that some legend(s) have left, they do an excellent job of keeping you on the right track. GPS coordinates downloaded from this site are excellent thanks a lot for proving them.

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Mount difficult range - briggs bluff hike (20km) 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.

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