Trail summary
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Track grade
Grade 4 (Hard) - Challenging Walks for Experienced Walkers: Grade 4 on the AWTGS signifies challenging walking tracks. Bushwalking experience is recommended for these tracks, which may be long, rough, and very steep. Directional signage may be limited, requiring a good sense of navigation. These walks are suited for experienced walkers who are comfortable with steeper inclines, rougher terrain, and potentially longer distances.
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Gear to consider
What you carry in your pack depends on factors like weather, terrain, time of year, the type of adventure, and your personal preferences. Unsure what gear to bring? My free planning, food, and packing checklists offer a great starting point, covering essentials for day hikes, overnight trips, and multi-day adventures. Use them as a guide to customise your kit to suit your needs, always prioritising safety above all else.
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Plan ahead and hike safely! Always carry enough water and pack clothing layers to adapt to changing conditions. Bring essential safety gear, including a torch, a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), and a reliable communication device. Check official government sources for trail updates, temporary closures, and access requirements. Before heading out, review local weather and bushfire advice, including warnings and planned burns. Most importantly, let someone know your plans before you go. Being prepared ensures a safer and more enjoyable hike! Stay Safe, Explore More, and Always #ExploreSafe
Acknowledgement of Country
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 “Walk Into History Hike (51.2km)”
I did this as an overnight hike in June/July 2020. This was the wettest hike i’ve done, it rained both days and all night. In terms of the track condition, and noting that it may have changed since I did it, I wouldnt entirely agree with Darren/Lachie above, we didn’t have any issue with trees down blocking the track (other than one large one along the Yarra Junction-Noojee Road section), also didn’t see an issue with the numerous bridges – these were all in quite good condition and sure, you need to watch your step, but I thought they were quite good – definitely beats a river crossing!
We started at Big Pats creek and went all the way to Powelltown, camping at Federal Mill. After constant rain water was reasonably easy to come by, but you will need to filter it as the streams were all fall of mud and plant matter. Federal Mill campground is very enclosed and there is space for about 8-12 small tents. There are leeches at this camp ground. The High Lead descent – as other people have noted – is no joke, its directly down at about a 30-35 degree gradient, muddy as hell, we all fell on our arses multiple times, so be prepared for this section! We parked the car at Powelltown and did the last 9km stretch along Yarra Junction Noojee road – this section could easily be cut out if you parked a car at the section where the trail intersects the road. You wouldn’t miss much at all by doing it this way as the stretch by the road was the least pretty, you cross the road often and hear the road noise the whole time.
Has anyone done that track recently? I’m planning on doing it next week with dogs and I’d like to find track updates (eg do I need to pack a machete? is there water at campsites?)
Completed this trail in full recently, absolutely stunning – thought I’d share some thoughts I would’ve liked prior to setting out.
Warburton section is quite nice, there is an option to wade through the Yarra. BPC to Starlings is a gentle gradient. We did the hike on some very hot days and only bumped into one tiger. There is no water at any of the campsites. At Starlings gap, 300m down the track towards the crossing there is a creek the flows through the path that can be collected for filtering – very clear cold water. At the Ada camps there are rivers that flow nearby both that are quite easy to find. High lead is steep however we met a lot of people who were purposely avoiding this section and so losing a lot of the full experience. I would definitely say that with a paid of good boots and poles high lead is definitely not worth avoiding / missing out other sections over. Just past high lead, right before it spits you out onto the Yarra Junction – Noojee Road, there is a fork – one path continues forward and another bears left (south). The one forward seems logical however will only result in a painful thicket of blackberry bush. Take the left turn. One you exit here, you actually have to venture down the pioneer fireline a little before again picking up the signs for walk into history – this would be easy to get wrong I would imagine.
All in all, a really pretty hike, the history is great as is the towering mountain ash, and the Ada Tree sections Myrtle and Beech rainforest.
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Adding some comments provided by Lachie Sprigg
The first section (Big Pats Creek to Starlings Gap) is in reasonable condition. Track isn’t washed away anywhere, the brush is encroaching the trail for the first few kilometres to the point of walking in single file, but the path is still easily discernible. There were about 2 dozen downed trees along the first section, with one massive one at about the 8km mark requiring some serious jungle gym action.
Adding some further information here on rest points along the way..
From the Big Pats Creek end, Starlings Gap camp area is at the 10km mark. Here there are fire places, picnic tables, a long-drop toilet and a short scenic walk. Area gets very busy as it is 2WD accessible so don’t expect to have the place to yourself, and arrive early if you plan on stopping here.
From there, 10-12km will find you at the Federal Mill camp area, involving a 2km detour off the route to the finish (there’s a 4-way intersection with starlings gap behind you, the high lead (the way out) to the right, the camp ground straight ahead and the historic mill area to the left) . Vehicle access is limited here so the area is quite often unoccupied. It is about 3km further to the Ada Tree carpark where the nearest long drop toilet is, which keeps the casual campers away! No other facilities are present apart from designated firepits
No other facilities are present along the route after that until you reach Powelltown. There are very limited places to resupply water along the first sections, but a few good running sources of water along the lower sections after the High Lead descent (although purification is still recommended)
The second section (Starlings to the High Lead Junction/Ada mill area) was the worst section. A lot of the timber foot bridges are in serious decay, requiring careful footing for traction and fear of falling through. It was probably also the section with the most downed trees- i wouldnt hesitate to number it close to 50 in total. That said, the actual trail was still in good condition, no washed out sections or major detours required.
The section from the Ada tree carpark-high lead Junction (the detour section if you need the long-drop) was in fairly reasonable condition, the federal mill camp-site was in good nick, and not too many downed trees through there.
The high-lead Junction to the high lead carpark was pretty good. Quite a few downed trees between the Junction and the start of the descent, but none on the critically steep sections fortunately. The trail was also in really good condition there, with metal bridges replacing a lot of the dodgy timber ones. You would do well to have a warning about the high-lead descent though; in wet conditions it can be treacherous without a trekking pole/stick. The walk out from there to the carpark was fairly incident free, just a lot of spider webs.
The high lead carpark- Powelltown section was pretty good. There was one section where confusion can happen (can’t remember the exact kilometres but it was only a few into that section) where the path peels off to the left but a game trail continues straight- we caught on fairly quickly but we are seasoned hunters and hikers, so the less experienced may fall victim. There were a few sections where the bush forced single-file once more, and there are some serious steep climbs in and out of a few small gorges with lots of steps-hell on knees that are already 40km into a walk! There is also a section where the trail appears to just end at a road, less than 5km out from Powelltown. There is no signage to indicate, but you need to turn left down the road and follow it to the T-intersection at the end, where the trail resumes on the other side.
That all being said, we managed the whole trail in a day. 11.5hrs walking time from memory, 15.5hrs overall. It is a pretty, ever-changing landscape with good conditions under foot for 90% of the time
I just did part of this with my 8 year old son. First overnight backpacking trip.
Think I might have been a bit ambitious. We started at High Lead carpark and things went OK until High Lead ascent. Walking up was a lot of not fun! Lots of stops on the way up. I can’t imagine walking down it, the suggested way. one fall and you’d roll to the bottom.
We then walked on to Ada 2 Mill camp for a break. Talked to some people camping there and I grabbed some water from the Ada river to treat and filter (probably overkill, but new to this) and saw some Lyrebirds scratching around. No toilets at this camp.
Then on to Starling’s gap with lots of breaks because High Lead had pretty much wrecked us. We camped there for the night. Nice camp place, long drop toilets, no water.
Then we walked down from Big Pats picnic area. That’s a nice walk, downhill all the way.