Wet Forest, Waterfalls and Big Valley Views Around Marysville

Overview

Marysville State Forest sits about 95 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, around the township of Marysville in Victoria’s Central Highlands. It is a mountain forest landscape of steep ridges, ferny gullies and river country, with a mix of scenic drives, lookouts, waterfalls and walking areas spread through the forest. The 2009 bushfires burnt much of the area, and regeneration is still part of the character of the forest, alongside older pockets of damp mountain country.

Highlights

The appeal here is in the contrast between enclosed, shady gullies and wide-open viewpoints. Phantom Falls drops over granite boulders into a lush fern gully, while Keppel Lookout opens up long views across Marysville, Steavenson Falls, the Acheron Valley and across to Cathedral Range State Park. Around the forest, the scenery shifts quickly from tall wet forest to exposed spurs and valley-edge lookouts, which gives the area much of its sense of variety.

Best Time to Visit

Marysville State Forest changes a lot through the year. The cooler months are often the best time for seeing flowing waterfalls, green fern gullies and the damp forest at its freshest. In spring and early summer, the regrowth is especially vivid and the mountain ash country feels full and alive after winter. Autumn can also be a good middle ground, with mild temperatures and generally clear conditions that suit longer days out in the forest.

Plants and Animals

This is damp forest country, with moist fertile soils supporting dense shrub layers, ferns and tree ferns beneath tall eucalypt forest. Around Marysville, common canopy and mid-storey species include mountain ash, messmate stringybark, narrow-leaf peppermint, blackwood and silver wattle. The mix of wet forest and recovering ash forest also supports important wildlife habitat in the Central Highlands, including threatened species such as Leadbeater’s possum and the southern greater glider.