Trail Fast Facts
Track Grade
Grade 3 (Moderate) - Walks for Most Fitness Levels: Grade 3 on the AWTGS represents moderate walking tracks. These are ideal for walkers with some fitness who are comfortable with some hills and uneven terrain. While suitable for most ages, some bushwalking experience is recommended to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience. Tracks may have short, steep hill sections, a rough surface, and many steps. The total distance of a Grade 3 walk can be up to 20 kilometers.
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Gear to consider
What you carry in your pack will depend on the weather, terrain, time of year, type of adventure, and personal preferences. Having trouble deciding what gear’s right for you? My free planning, food and packing checklists provide an introduction to things your could consider (as well as the Ten Essentials) on your day, overnight and multi-day adventures. Customise your kit according to your personal needs, always considering safety first.Â
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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.
3 Reviews on “Mount Baw Baw to Mushroom Rocks Hike (30km)”
Glen Butler
If you start at Mushroom rocks, you can eat and stay at Baw Baw and make it a luxury walk/ski and heaps quicker to drive!
I down loaded the GPX file and completed this hike on Friday the 10th and 11th of May.
The first thing I would like to say is that anyone attempting this walk with the gpx map – DO NOT TRY the route that starts by heading in a southerly direction from Mt Baw Baw to the Alpine track. The last two or three kilometers of the track prior to meeting up with the Alpine track is completely overgrown, and passes through a couple of bogs without proper boardwalks to protect the bogs. The signage is absolutely dreadful. I do not think anyone has maintained this track for at least 10 years – the remnants of old sign posts that we found were testament to this. Seriously don’t bother attempting it – it is not only bad for the environment, you have to make your own path – it is also potentially very dangerous – especially if you get wet from the bushes and bogs and get caught in a snow storm.
We began our hike by taking the northerly route to the Alpine track from Mt Baw Baw. Take care in following the GPS – we missed a turn off and had to back track (once again terrible signage). Once on the Alpine track you can’t really get lost, there are yellow markers nailed into the snow gums – although the trees are staring to grow over the markers. We only made it to Mushroom rocks at dusk and quickly pitched our tent – in doing so we missed an opportunity to pitch our tent in one of the awesomely sheltered rock overhangs. This would have been better for us because after we pitched our tents it rained and hailed so we had to stay in our tent the whole night.
The hike takes 5-6 hours so next time I will leave Mt Baw Baw earlier – before 11:00am so I can pick a sheltered camp site before dark. The other thing to note is that the drop toilet next to the Scout hall is not marked or signed so it is not easy to find. It is about 100 m from one of the camp sites and through a narrow path – down hill.
On the way back we decided to try the Southern route back to Mt Baw Baw village from the Alpine track – once again I do not recommend you try this – we kept thinking we would get to a decent path soon – but that never happened. If it wasn’t for our GPS we and the GPX may we would have been hopelessly lost in the poor visibility we hiked in.
We also became completely saturated and our boots water sodden as we wallked through the bogs and overgrown bushes (sometimes we had to push/barge/scramble through dense shrubs well above head height to try and stay on the gpx track. It wouldn’t have been fun if it started snowing or if there was white out.
Great – Thanks Darren. Much appreciated!
Great hike- Thanks Darren! Perfect for beginners who are breaking into the hiking world. Just a few things, the first ~2km’s on the The Village Trail is through some thick shubbery (almost bush bashing) and a bog! Don’t stop becuase you will be bitten by flies. About ~13km’s on the way to Mushroom Rock there is a flowing water source under a wooden bridge (for anyone low on water).
HI, can I just clarify: is this a 30k round trip, or 30 each way? Thanks
Here’s my 2cents:
1) First time hiker.
2) Fitness almost non existence.
3) 65kg body weight carrying about 16kg.
4) Carried 4litre of water, but ran out of water the last 5km back.
5) Solo hike. 5.5hours Mt Baw Baw – Mushroom Rocks; 6 hours return back on the same exact route (did not detour to Baw Baw Summit as per website suggestion because leg was jelly).
6) It was hell. had to stop every few metres up a climb after prolonged walking. That last stretch entering into Mushroom Rocks was torturous, on the way in was steep downhill, foot was hurting mad, on the way back was uphill leg was burning.
8) Did not die.
Great! Just been looking for the next weekend walk, and here it is. Thanks!
Hi the link to the gaps files seems to be broken, any chance of this being fixed. Keen to do this after my prom hike cancelled due to flooding.
Easy Hike, definitely a Grade 3, but the most confusing part is just getting out of Baw Baw village area and onto the main track!
If you take the Summit Trail, the total hike to Mushroom Rocks will be 19.3kms, Village/McMillians Trail will be shorter at around 15km.
The signage is definitely not set-up for hikers, and info/signage along the way is really poor, so despite being physically pretty easy, you’ll constantly be second guessing that you’re going the right way.
If you can, try and get a good topographical map covering the area, but do not expect to find this at Baw Baw village itself ! The only place I found that sold them was the Post-Office in Neerim South for about $15.
This is not a hike that is full of beautiful open vistas and sweeping views. For the most part, you’ll be on a track through a gauntlet of trees, with a handful open spaces. I was constantly wondering ‘when am I going to see something!?’ But it never arrived.
The camp at Mushroom Rocks isn’t anything special, it’s just the goal of getting there. Some people might be cursing themselves that they descended from 1515m down to 1250m, only to do the climb back up the next morning.
WATER – There is none at Mushroom Rocks, the closest stream is 2.6km prior, by the footbridge at the intersection for Talbot Hut Ruins.
Alternatively, some people might find the ruins a more convenient campsite than Mushroom Rocks.
Reminder – if completing this during the official ski season, you’ll need to be carrying chains for your car ($40 for 2 days, rent these in Neerim South when you go to buy your map), and you’ll have to pay park-entry fee for your car too ($45 p/day, $20 for half day).