Mineral springs, old volcanoes and gullies around Daylesford
Overview
Hepburn Regional Park wraps around the mineral springs towns of Daylesford, Hepburn and Hepburn Springs, about 110 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. It is a bushland park shaped by creeks, springs and volcanic country, with a mix of open forest, ferny gullies and pockets of wetter ground along the watercourses. The park is also part of the longer Goldfields Track corridor, which links central Victorian landscapes between Ballarat and Bendigo.
What gives this park its character is the way several distinct landscapes sit close together. You move from mineral spring country and shaded creek lines to lookouts, waterfalls and the crater of an extinct volcano, all within the same broader reserve.
Highlights
The park is best known for its mineral springs, especially around Sailors Falls, Tipperary Springs, Golden Spring and Argyle Springs, where groundwater reaches the surface in a landscape of creeks and damp gullies. These spring areas give Hepburn a different feel from many other central Victorian parks, with water playing a much bigger role in the scenery.
There is also a strong volcanic thread running through the park. Lalgambuk, also known as Mount Franklin, is an extinct volcano whose crater remains one of the clearest landforms in the area. Elsewhere, elevated points such as Jacksons Lookout open out to broader views over the surrounding district, balancing the enclosed feel of the creek valleys and forested slopes.
Best Time to Visit
Spring is a particularly rewarding time to be here, when wildflowers appear through the bushland and the walking country feels fresh after winter. Mid-winter is another good season, especially around Sailors Falls, when water flow is usually stronger and the gullies are at their greenest.
Early autumn suits anyone who enjoys the volcanic side of the park, with Lalgambuk showing seasonal colour from the deciduous trees planted within the crater. Summer can still be pleasant in the more shaded creek sections, but the park generally feels at its best when there is more moisture in the landscape.
Plants and Animals
Birdlife is one of the easier things to notice here. White-browed Scrubwrens, Grey Currawongs, Crimson Rosellas, White-throated Treecreepers and Yellow Robins are all recorded in the park, while Rufous Fantails and Satin Flycatchers visit the gullies seasonally.
Mammals seen in the area include koalas and kangaroos, and the park also supports the brush-tailed phascogale, a small native marsupial that is considered rare and is seldom seen. That mix of common woodland species and more elusive animals reflects the variety of habitats across the park, from drier forest to sheltered creek lines.
Culture and Heritage
Hepburn Regional Park is one of six Aboriginal Title parks in central western Victoria and is jointly managed by the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation and Parks Victoria. The park sits within the traditional lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung, and this Country is understood as a living cultural landscape with both physical cultural places and continuing stories and connections.
Gold rush history is also part of the park’s character, especially around Sailors Creek. At The Blowhole, the landscape still shows the scale of nineteenth-century mining works, where miners diverted the creek through a tunnel in the hillside to expose the original bend for gold working.
