Hike at a glance

6,849

Quick overview: The You Yangs Peaks Circuit is a 12.8 km trail that demands solid navigation skills and a head for heights. Starting from the Turntable car park, the route takes you peak-to-peak, requiring rock hopping and scrambling over uneven terrain. The trail is classified as grade 4, with sections that may challenge those less experienced. Along the way, you'll encounter views of the You Yangs and the surrounding plains, making it a worthwhile trek for capable hikers.

Length

12.8km

Duration

4 hrs

Difficulty

Grade 4 (Hard)

Trail type

Circuit

Trail details

Max elevation: 332m
Min elevation: 70m
Total Ascent: 713m

Start: Turntable Carpark

End: Turntable Carpark

Location: You Yangs Regional Park

State: Victoria

Nearest town: Lara

State capital distance: 62km

Latitude: -37.95898772329478

Longitude: 144.42647337913516

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 and conditions 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.

About the trail

Difficulty

Route map

Preparation

Getting there

Photos

The region

Weather

About this trail

Important information

This hike involves sections of off-trail navigation and exposes fragile ecosystems to damage. Due to the risk of environmental impact, this hike is strongly discouraged. Hikers are urged to respect the park and choose from the many established trails available.

Route in detail

The You Yangs Peaks Circuit is a 12.8 km, grade 4 hike in You Yangs Regional Park, Victoria, typically completed in 4 hours. This circuit is ideal for hikers seeking to enhance their off-trail navigation skills, as a significant portion of the trail bypasses formed paths and proceeds peak-to-peak. While the main trails at You Yangs are graded as level 3, this circuit's grade 4 rating is solely due to its off-trail navigation requirement. Navigation is straightforward as long as you maintain a course towards the peaks, minimising the risk of getting lost. It's advisable to attempt this hike only if you're confident navigating without formed trails.

Starting at Turntable car park, the You Yangs Peaks Circuit ascends 450 steps to Flinders Peak, offering expansive views of the You Yangs and the surrounding plains. From here, the trail continues off-trail, progressing peak-to-peak before reconnecting with the Northern Range Circuit following the final ascent of a granite tor. Along this route, hikers can navigate through overhanging rocks and encounter numerous opportunities for rock hopping, scrambling, and some unassisted climbing. Alternate routes are available for those uncomfortable with heights, ensuring accessibility across all sections of the hike.

You Yangs Regional Park is open daily from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm, including weekends and public holidays. Please note that the front gate is closed to vehicles each night.

Trail difficulty

Grade 4 (hard) badge

Grade 4 (Hard)

For experienced bushwalkers

Grade 4 walks may be long, rough or very steep, and directional signage may be limited. Bushwalking experience is recommended, along with the ability to be self-reliant and manage navigation, weather and emergencies. Walks may exceed 20km.

Good to know: Not every Grade 4 characteristic will apply to every walk, so check the route description for the specific challenges of this hike.

Map and GPX file

You Yangs Peaks Circuit Hike (12.8km)

You Yangs Peaks Circuit (return via East Walk) | 12.8km

This circuit returns you to the trail head via East Walk.

Map of the route “You Yangs Peaks Circuit Hike (12.8km)”: 12.72 km, 713 m of climbing and 716 m of descent, elevation between 70 m and 330 m, time 00:31:56. It is a loop that starts and ends at -37.95885, 144.42662 (latitude, longitude).

Total distance: 12.76 km
Max elevation: 332 m
Min elevation: 70 m
Total climbing: 713 m
Total descent: 716 m

GPX files, maps and content are copyright Trail Hiking Australia. Not to be copied, redistributed or uploaded to other platforms including AllTrails.

You Yangs Peaks Circuit (return via West Walk) | 13km

This slight variation returns you to the trail head via West Walk rather than East Walk as per the hike above.

Map of the route “You Yangs Peaks Circuit Hike (12.8km)”: 13.03 km, 718 m of climbing and 721 m of descent, elevation between 70 m and 330 m, time 00:31:56. It is a loop that starts and ends at -37.95885, 144.42662 (latitude, longitude).

Total distance: 13.04 km
Max elevation: 332 m
Min elevation: 70 m
Total climbing: 718 m
Total descent: 721 m

GPX files, maps and content are copyright Trail Hiking Australia. Not to be copied, redistributed or uploaded to other platforms including AllTrails.

Preparation and safety

Trail tips

The You Yangs is a great location for the family.
Be careful on some trails as they are often used by walkers, hikers, trail runners and mountain bike riders.
You Yangs Regional Park is open daily from 7:00am to 8:00pm, including weekends and public holidays. Please note that the front gate is closed to vehicles each night.
There are nine picnic areas throughout the park, many with tables and accessible toilet facilities. The main picnic areas provide free gas barbecues on a first come basis. There are plenty of places to set up your own gas barbecue.
Drinking water is available from the Visitor Centre drinking fountain.
Please take all rubbish away for disposal or recycling.

Plan and prepare

Australian conditions can turn a small oversight into a serious situation faster than most walkers expect. For a day hike, that means the right gear, weather-appropriate layers, enough food and water, and allowing time to finish in daylight. The day hike planning guide walks you through it.

The Hiking Safety Systems and planning calculators help you understand and close the gaps before you leave home. The Interactive Safety Scenarios show how small gaps turn into real incidents. If you’re new to planning hikes, start with the hike preparation guide.

Download the free 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.

Let someone know

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.

Let someone know your plans →

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

Getting there and where to stay

Directions

Located just over 50 kilometres southwest of Melbourne in Little River, Victoria, You Yangs Regional Park is easily accessible by car. Follow the Princes Freeway (M1) for roughly an hour, with clear signage guiding you to the park entrance at 5 Branch Road. For those coming from Geelong, the park is a convenient 30-minute drive, approximately 25 kilometres away. The park itself is open every day for public enjoyment, but keep in mind closing times vary depending on daylight saving time.

Access conditions

2WD Access
Bitumen Road
Large Car Park
Public Toilets
Picnic Table

Get there with Google Maps

Accommodation nearby

Search accommodation in nearby towns: Anakie, Bannockburn, Curlewis, Drysdale, Geelong, Lara, Leopold, Portarlington

Find somewhere to stay near the trailhead. Click the button below to open an interactive map automatically centred on this hike's location.

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Travel arrangements

Whether you are travelling from across Australia or exploring closer to home, these options can help you organise your journey to the trail and make the most of your visit.

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Photo gallery

You Yangs Peaks Circuit Hike (12.8km)

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Explore the region

About the region

Rising abruptly from the Western Volcanic Plains, the granite hills of You Yangs Regional Park feel strikingly out of scale with the country around them. The low, rugged range sits between Melbourne and Geelong, and its exposed rock, open woodland and broad outlooks make it one of the most distinctive landscapes on this side of Victoria. Despite the name, the You Yangs are not volcanic at all. They are far older granite uplands that stand above the newer basalt plains, which helps explain the park's unusual contrast of rocky outcrops, shallow soils and dry bushland.

The park lies on Wadawurrung Country, and the name is derived from a Wadawurrung word recorded as meaning big hill or big mountain. That cultural context matters here because these hills are not an isolated scenic landmark but part of a much older Aboriginal cultural landscape. The range has long been a prominent feature in the surrounding plain, visible from a great distance and closely tied to the broader geography of Wurdi Youang and the country stretching towards the coast and inland plains.

Ecologically, the You Yangs pack a great deal into a relatively compact area. Tall manna gums, yellow gums and river red gums grow through parts of the park, with wattles, she-oaks and a more open understorey around the granite slopes and lower plains. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here, which reflects the mix of rocky hill habitat, woodland and nearby plain-country environments. Koalas are among the better known animals in the park, but the setting also supports kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, possums and a range of reptiles.

That combination of geology, culture and wildlife gives the park a character quite different from the wetter forests many walkers associate with southern Victoria. The You Yangs are drier, more open and more immediate, with stone and sky always close at hand. Even on shorter outings, the broader region is hard to ignore: west lies the sweep of the volcanic plain, while to the south and east the range forms a natural landmark between inland Victoria, Port Phillip and the surf coast hinterland.

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Weather on the trail

The map shows the rain forecast for the trail area. Use the toggle in the top right corner to switch layers, including wind, temperature, UV index, thunderstorms, fire danger and weather warnings. Windy is a forecast model, not an official warning service. Check the Bureau of Meteorology for current warnings before you go.

Trail reviews

9 Reviews on “You Yangs Peaks Circuit Hike (12.8km)”

Overall rating

Rez Rez

It’s in my back yard and I am there often.
Lately I am picking up dog crap, people’s rubbish and roo bodies off the road.
People are traipsing off trail and destroying natural habitats and flora.
It’s not a big park and there is not a lot of space for animals to hide so they run onto surrounding roads.
Stick to the trails there are many.

14/07/2024, 10:55

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1. Trail Hiking Australia
  
  Rez Rez oh that’s a very good point. I wrote up this hike many years ago when that park was not popular and I was practicing my off-trail navigation. So the impact was low and people were mindful. Will have to consider removing this one from my site as I’d hate the environment to be impacted.
  
  14/07/2024, 11:21
  
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2. Darren Edwards
  
  Rez Rez I have added this note to the walk: This hike involves significant off-trail navigation and exposes fragile ecosystems to damage. Due to the risk of environmental impact, this hike is strongly discouraged. I urge hikers to respect the park and choose from the many established trails available. I will still consider removing it from my site but I know it is available on other platforms, so I hope the note encourages people to keep the the established tracks.
  
  14/07/2024, 11:34
  
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3. Rez Rez
  
  Darren Edwards thank you so very much.
  
  14/07/2024, 13:23
  
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4. Trail Hiking Australia
  
  Rez Rez my pleasure. Certainly didn’t want to encourage adverse impact on the environment
  
  14/07/2024, 13:49
  
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Koonung Bushwalking Club

Mani Andreetta Joan VB Steven Parker Muriel Pepper Peter Ho

13/07/2024, 18:39

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1. Muriel Pepper
  
  Koonung Bushwalking Club this part of the circuit I do when I am out there. I try making it a bit different and longer every time.
  
  13/07/2024, 21:24
  
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2. Trail Hiking Australia
  
  Muriel Pepper there’s so many possibilities for variation. Fun park to explore.
  
  14/07/2024, 10:41
  
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3. Muriel Pepper
  
  Trail Hiking Australia lots of possibilities using various modes: hiking, cycling, horseriding ….
  
  14/07/2024, 16:07
  
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Trail Hiking Australia

Fun little hike this one. Half of it is offtrail so it’s been good for practicing map and compass navigation. Good features for taking bearing from and to.

12/07/2024, 22:32

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Darren Edwards Trail Author

Live this one. Great little off trail hike. Perfect for some navigation practice.

11/09/2023, 17:02

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Lorelle Baylee

Where on the trail is that overhanging rock? I go to the You Yang’s at least once or twice a month and I’ve never been able to find it.

24/03/2022, 05:17

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1. Darren Edwards Trail Author
  
  The overhanging rock (cave) is not in any of the known trails. You’d have to be following this walk and you can find the cave on the eastern side of the valley. I can’t share a pic here so it’s a hit hard to explain.
  
  11/09/2023, 17:01
  
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Richmond Matt Bayliss

Tony Bayliss

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Brad Dyson

Melissa Mathews Shane Mathews

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Nicole Kate

Nicki Lowther

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Abhilasha Jha

Stephanie

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Michelle Betsarkis

Stephanie Louise Betsarkis this sounds like a good starting hike.

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Eileen Cole

Sandra Coutts Karen Millard Louise Cooke

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Brian Sushames

Kim Mc Donald

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Matt Girdler

Larissa Machado Tobias

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Marnye Lockwood

Lawrence Lockwood

24/03/2022, 05:17

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Pamela Evers

Cristina Almada let’s do this

24/03/2022, 05:16

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Scott Hartog

Angela

24/03/2022, 05:16

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Acknowledgement of Country

You yangs peaks circuit hike (12. 8km) - 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.

Curated by: Darren Edwards | Trail Hiking Australia

Last checked:

August 12, 2026

Hike at a glance

Trail details

About this trail

Important information

Route in detail

Trail difficulty

Grade 4 (Hard)

Map and GPX file

You Yangs Peaks Circuit (return via East Walk) | 12.8km

You Yangs Peaks Circuit (return via West Walk) | 13km

Preparation and safety

Trail tips

Plan and prepare

Let someone know

Getting there and where to stay

Directions

Access conditions

Accommodation nearby

Travel arrangements

Photo gallery

Explore the region

About the region

Discover activities

More hikes nearby

Big Rock via Rockwell Road Walk (3.2km)

Northern Range Circuit (8km)

Branding Yard Trail (5km)

East West Walk (4.2km)

Explore hikes by town

Weather on the trail

Trail reviews

9 Reviews on “You Yangs Peaks Circuit Hike (12.8km)”

Leave a Review. Cancel reply

Notice something different about this trail?

Acknowledgement of Country

Curated by: Darren Edwards | Trail Hiking Australia

Last checked:

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