grampians national park
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grampians national park
Grampians National Park is part of the Gariwerd Aboriginal cultural landscape. Parks Victoria respects the deep and continuing connection that Traditional Owners have to these lands and waters, and we recognise their ongoing role in caring for Country.
Explore the natural beauty of the Grampians from its world-famous hiking trails. Discover majestic waterfalls, dazzling spring wildflower displays and awe-inspiring mountain panoramas. Cross paths with kangaroos, wallabies, emus and native birds. Heritage-listed for its Aboriginal heritage, animal and plant life, and stunning natural beauty, the Grampians National Park is one of Australia’s most recognisable places. The best way to appreciate it is on one of its many world-class walks or hikes or by taking a scenic drive.
Traditionally known as Gariwerd, this region is home to the largest number of significant and ancient Aboriginal rock art paintings and shelters in southern Australia. A visit to Brambuk – The National Park & Cultural Centre will help you get the most of your trip to these rock shelters.
The Grampians draws walkers from around the world. Hike to the highest peak within the Grampians, Mount William, or explore the plethora of walks around Halls Gap and the Wonderland Range. Views from the Pinnacle are famous, but the steep walk should only be attempted by the fit. If you’re an experienced walker you’ll enjoy the unique challenge of the park’s overnight hikes. Choose from the iconic Grampians Peaks Trail, Major Mitchell Plateau or The Fortress and Mt Thackeray Overnight Hike.
There are more relaxing pursuits to enjoy in the Grampians, too. Go fishing, canoeing or kayaking at Lake Wartook, Lake Bellfield and Moora Moora Reservoir or one of the park’s many other streams and creeks.
What to do?
The park is outstanding for bushwalking, scenic drives, discovering Aboriginal heritage, views, camping, wildflower and wildlife viewing. Plan to stay for several days – it is too large and too far from Melbourne to be suitable for day visits, unless staying nearby.
‘Wonderland’, south and west of Halls Gap, is the most popular part of the park. It features great walks, magnificent views (those from the Pinnacle are a highlight) and waterfalls.
Camping
There are many fantastic campgrounds throughout the Grampians National Park. The scenery and atmosphere changes with each season, so no matter how many times you visit you can always experience something new.
The following campgrounds in The Grampians are free and require no bookings – Plantation Campground, Kalymna Falls Campground and Wannon Crossing Campground. The rest of the campgrounds require bookings/fees, but they are well worth the cost due to their facilities and convenient locations. Campgrounds can be booked from the Parks Victoria website.
The following campgrounds are equipped with bush showers – Stapylton, Jimmy Creek, Smiths Mill and Plantation.
Take a look through the following list of campgrounds within the Grampians National Park and start planning your next Grampians adventure! More amazing locations are regularly added to the website, so be sure to follow the Grampians Guide Facebook page to receive updates directly in your news feed.
National Parks and bush camping
To book a campsite in the Grampians National Park visit Parks Victoria or call 13 19 63.
Visit Brambuk – The National Park and Cultural Centre at Halls Gap for a comprehensive introduction to natural attractions, Aboriginal history, walks and wildlife of the region. The centre’s educational displays will give you an understanding of your national park surroundings. Pick up fact sheets and souvenirs.
Get great advice on the region’s campsites, holiday parks and weather from the Halls Gap Information Centre. Collect maps and plan your onward journey.
Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions visit Parks Victoria or drop in at the Brambuk Centre or Halls Gap Visitor Information Centre, open 9am to 5pm daily. Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. See our bushfire safety section for tips on how to stay safe.
Walks
Indigenous rock art
Hiking in the Grampians provides unique access a number of ancient rock art sights. The region has the largest number of rock art sites in southern Australia and over eighty percent of Victoria’s rock art sites. Five sites are
open to the public, including Billimina, Gulgurn Manja, Manja,
(all in the Grampians National Park) and Bunjil’s in Black Range Reserve near Stawell.
Explore the region’s other parks and reserves, including Little Desert, Mount Arapiles and Mt Buangor, to reach stunning lookouts, waterfalls and internationally renowned climbing sites.
Thousands of years of Gariwerd culture
Our region, known as Gariwerd by local Indigenous people, has been home to the Djab Wurrung and Jardwardjali people for more than 20,000 years.
The Gariwerd Creation Story tells of the Great Ancestor Spirit Bunjil who created the natural world around us. As this ancient story goes, he took the form of Werpil the Eagle as he created Gariwerd’s beautiful sandstone ranges and the waterways, plants and animals within them. Read more about this evocative Dreamtime story here.
With more than 80% of Victoria’s Aboriginal rock art to be found in the Grampians, around 200 sites have been recorded in the Grampians National Park, most of them open to the public when restrictions ease. Learn more about our Aboriginal rock art sites and the Grampians Rock Art Trail here.
The stories of Gariwerd, its culture and its people are told in a wonderfully immersive way at Brambuk: The National Park and Cultural Centre.
An inspirational landscape
Famous for beautiful landscapes of rugged sandstone escarpments,
high rocky plateaus and sheltered gullies, the Grampians have inspired works by Australian writers, poets, photographers and painters such as Arthur Streeton,
Arthur Boyd and Eugene von Guerard.
This unique landscape also supports an abundant array of fauna and flora, with the wide variety of rock and soil types supporting high levels of biodiversity.
As the majority of the western Victoria plains have been cleared for agriculture,
the remnant bushland in the Grampians National Park has become a refuge for native plants and animals. The Grampians support over 975 native plant species, including more than 75 orchid species,
representing one third of the total Victorian flora. Many of these species are only found in the Grampians.
The Grampians is also home to the Grampians pincushion lily (Borya mirabilis)—one of the rarest native lilies in
Australia. Nationally threatened animals recorded in the park include the endangered red-tailed black cockatoo and smoky mouse.
European settlement in the region
Major Thomas Mitchell named the mountains after scaling Mt Duwil (Mt William), the highest peak in the Grampians, with a small group of explorers in 1836. He chose ‘the Grampians’ after the rugged region in his native Scotland. European settlers arrived after hearing his favourable reports of potential grazing areas.
The Grampians soon became a centre for farming, mining and timber production, and a source of water for surrounding farmland. The Grampians were designated as state forest in 1872 and declared a national park in 1984. More than 800,000 people visit the Grampians each year.
20,000 years of human history
Indigenous people have been living in the Grampians area, known to them as Gariwerd, for more than 20,000 years.moreover, The Grampians contain about 80% of all known Aboriginal rock art sites in Victoria. Motifs painted in numerous caves include depictions of humans, human hands, animal tracks and birds. Brambuk, the National Park and Cultural Centre, continues to keep alive the culture of the Djab Wurrung and Jardwadjali, the traditional peoples of Gariwerd and the region.
Friends indeed – Friends of Grampians Gariwerd
In 1984 the VNPA helped form the Friends of Grampians Gariwerd (FOGG),
the first president being Halls Gap resident Val Hastings, an active worker for the establishment of the national park.
With a membership of about 80, the group’s activities include flora and fauna monitoring,
weedingand working to help locals and visitors to enjoy, understand and appreciate the Park.
Members of FOGG successfully opposed the reopening of the Heatherlie quarry and the privatisation of the visitor centre in the 1990’s. Members of the group have also served on the park Advisory Committee, and established the accessible Red Gum Walk in the Victoria Valley.
Important safety update
Please note the following into consideration when planning your hike:
- N2 – Gar Trailhead: Water levels are low at Gar hike-in campground. Fill with enough water at Gar Trailhead (Roses Gap Road) to get you through to Mt Difficult Road crossing, just north of Werdug hike-in campground.
- N4 – Lake Wartook Lookout: Water tank not installed yet. To get your through to Halls Gap, fill up at Mt Difficult Road crossing.
- C4 – Mt William Carpark: Water tank not installed yet. Fill with extra water at either: Redman Bluff Road crossing/Mt William Road; or Duwul Hike-in Campground to get you through to Durd Durd Hike-in Campground (14km).
- S1 – Yarram Hike-in Campground: Water tank at campground currently empty. Fill with extra water at Jimmy Creek Road prior to walking this section. Next available water is at Yarram Gap Road crossing.
- S3 – Mud-Dadjug Hike-in Campground: Water tank at campground currently empty. Fill up with extra water at Djardji-djawara hike in campground prior to undertaking this section. Next available water is at the Dunkeld Reservoir road crossing south of Mt Abrupt (Mud-Dadjug).
Before setting off, read the important Plan and Prepare Guide and visit Brambuk – The National Park and Cultural
Centre in Halls Gap for topographic maps and speak to knowledgeable staff for the latest park information. You can now order Grampians Peaks Trail topographic maps over the phone from Brambuk, call 8427 2058 (open 9am-5pm daily; except Christmas Day).
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