The Grampians has made it’s way up to the top of my list as one of my favourite places in Australia. The rugged landscapes, cultural significance, and abundant wildlife, make this area so beautiful.
If you’re planning a three day trip here, or looking for some trails, I hope you find some inspiration!
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- Where to stay
- How to get there
- Day 1: Travel to Hall’s Gap and Hike the Grand Canyon and The Pinnacle.
- Day 2: Zumsteins, Mackenzie Falls, Fish Falls, The Balconies, Boroka Lookout
- Day 3: Venus Baths and Travel Home
Where to stay
We stayed in Halls Gap, which is the main tourist town for the Grampians. There are plenty of cafe’s, shops, and accommodation.
We stayed at the Hall’s Gap Motel, and had a lovely warm welcome by the owners. The room was well equipped with everything we needed to base ourselves here. The view from the motel with the kangaroos and mountains in the distance was just unreal.
How to get there
Hall’s Gap is around three hours drive from Melbourne, but would take a lot longer to access by public transport. We hired a car from SIXT, but you can compare the different offers available for rental cars.
Day 1: Travel to Hall’s Gap and Hike the Grand Canyon and The Pinnacle.
After a smooth three hour journey, we checked into our motel slightly earlier than advertised (yay!). We had lunch from Coola’s Icecreamery, and sat by the Stoney Creek surrounded by Cockatoos (and wasps).
Drive to Wonderland Carpark
From here, you can hike both the Grand Canyon (not the American one) and the Pinnacle. Unfortunately, the path with links the Grand Canyon to the Pinnacle was closed when we went, and didn’t look like it would be reopening any time soon. But it’s definitely worth doing both of the hikes.
Hike the Grand Canyon
Our first hike was to the Grand Canyon and back, which was around a 1 hour return walk to and from the Wonderland Carpark.
Hike The Pinnacle
Once you are back at the start, you can make your way up to the Pinnacle. This is a really cool walk, but definitely the most difficult one you’ll do in this area, so bear that in mind! There are some steep sections and rocky terrain, but the effort is worth the breathtaking views.
We even got an ominous warning from a man at the very beginning who told us we were starting too late… It definitely put a pep in my step so we made it back to the car park before sunset.
It took us around two hours return to the Pinnacle and back, but if you aren’t racing against the sunset, you can take your time and enjoy the views. There is a narrow section near the top called ‘Silent Street’, so bare that in mind if you’re a bit wary of tight spaces! It is definitely worth doing though.
Dinner at Paper Rock Scissors Brewery
There are plenty of food options in Hall’s Gap, which is a welcome sight when staying in remote locations. We chose this brewery as we got a good vibe from it and really recommend coming here for some food and drink!
Day 2: Zumsteins, Mackenzie Falls, Fish Falls, The Balconies, Boroka Lookout
You’ll be happy to know that the hardest hikes are out of the way, and today’s hikes get progressively shorter as you go along. P.s. Boroka Lookout doesn’t even involve any walking!
The order I’m going to advise you complete these walks is different to the order we actually did them in, but we made the mistakes so you don’t have to!
Basically we walked from Mackenzie Falls, to Fish Falls, back to Mackenzie Falls, then drove to Zumsteins, to walk back to Fish Falls, and back again… Don’t do this! To be fair this was only because we left our lunches in the car at Mackenzie Falls, so bring a packed lunch with you!
Instead, do this:
Drive to Zumsteins Car Park
Park at Zumsteins, and you can wander around this area to read the interesting history of the family that used to live here and operate a holiday home.
Walk to Fish Falls
There is a gentle walk to Fish Falls from here, which takes less than an hour. Here you’ll find an epic waterfall with views for days.
Hike to Mackenzie Falls
I’ve changed the descriptive word to hike because the route to Mackenzie Falls is a bit more varied and technical It’s completely doable, though, as long as you have sturdy shoes and watch where you’re going.
Lucky for you, once you reach Mackenzie Falls, which should take around 40 minutes, you can enjoy the waterfall without having to walk the extremely steep climb up to the car park like we had to!
Instead, you can head back the way you came to Zumsteins. Overall, this should take 2.5-3 hours return, depending on breaks for lunch etc.
If you just want to visit Mackenzie Falls, you can skip Zumsteins/Fish Falls and access Meckenzie via a steep walk to and from the car park.
Drive to The Balconies
The Balconies is an absolutely stunning area with a short 15-20 minute walk from the Reeds Lookout car park to the viewpoint (2km return).
But you don’t even need to go far to appreciate the view, because it’s right there at the car park too!
You can also take a very short detour to admire the view from the Reeds Lookout Tower.
On our way out of here, we spotted an Eastern Brown Snake on the road (only found out after the fact that the snake was venomous…). So take this as a reminder to be aware of your surroundings!
Head to the Boroka Lookout
Like I said earlier, the Boroka Lookout is a final treat of the day, because you can arrive here and walk a very short distance to the viewing platforms. Admire the view of Halls Gap and Lake Bellfield from here and be smug that you’ve just completed a huuuge 24 hours of hiking!
We went back to the brewery for dinner again, but you can be more adventurous and try one of the many other options the town has in store.
I even researched all the options in the town in order of closest to our motel and saved their menu so you don’t have to!
Spirit of Punjab: Indian, Kookaburra hotel restaurant, pub grub, Halls Gap Tavern pub grub, Raccolto pizza pizza, Paper scissors rock brew pub, The Town Fryer – fish and chips, Livefast cafe, Black Panther Cafe bar, Flame brothers.
Day 3: Venus Baths and Travel Home
Short hike to Venus Baths
Once we checked out of our accommodation, we headed to Venus Baths. You can park in the main town car park, and walk through the Botanic Gardens. Follow the sign post to Venus Baths, and you should get there in around 20 minutes.
The area has some beautiful rock formations and pools, which I can only imagine would be lush to splash around in the warmer months.
If you have time, you can extend your visit here by hiking further into this area.
But unfortunately, we had to return our rental car and head home to Melbourne.
As a lover of the mountains, nature, and a good hike, this spot definitely is up there as one of my favourites. Hopefully I can return one day and explore further into this incredible national park.
Thank you so much for reading ❤
Love, Lydia x
LYD1A KERR 
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