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The Grampians is one of the best regions to visit in Victoria, for a long weekend of embracing the great outdoors. The best things to do in the Grampians include visiting the best lookouts & waterfalls in Grampians National Park (Gariwerd), spotting kangaroos & emus, discovering the Grampians wine region and more!

I’ve visited The Grampians three times on long weekends from Melbourne, spending 3-4 days in the region each time. There’s always more to discover!

Located in western Victoria, and a 3-hour drive from Melbourne, The Grampians is named for Grampians National Park (Gariwerd), which is the main drawcard to the region.

One of the best things about visiting The Grampians is that so many of the best lookouts are very accessible, either directly from the carpark or after a short, easy walk. While there are lots of longer hikes available, I love that the park offers spectacular views & nature experiences to the widest range of visitors.

Most items on this list are in the Central Grampians, around Halls Gap, but a few are in the Southern Grampians, near Dunkeld.

The Grampians is one of the largest regions in Victoria, so planning your trip in advance will ensure you’re staying in the right part of the region to get the most out of your trip. 

For first time visitors, I recommend staying in Halls Gap. On my most recent trip, I stayed at the incredible DULC Cabins in Halls Gap, which was heaven! It was totally private, tranquil and we saw emus and wallabies from our back deck. It’s easily the best place to stay in Halls Gap for an adults-only stay.

1. Boroka Lookout

The Boroka Lookout is the best lookout in Grampians National Park (Gariwerd), and it is one of the most easily accessible in the park. From the Boroka Lookout, you’ll get a sweeping panoramic view over the eastern Grampians, including Lake Bellfield and towards Halls Gap, with a backdrop of the Wonderland and Mt William mountain ranges.

Located a 15km drive from Halls Gap, there’s a short boardwalk from the car park to the lookout.

When we visited, we arrived at around 8am, and there was only one other couple at the lookout. It gets much busier later in the day, and the misty morning fog made for a beautiful view – however it was very windy, and quite cold!

If you only do one thing in The Grampians, make it the Boroka Lookout! However, if you’re in this part of the park, you’re already near the carpark for the Reid Lookout & the Balconies Lookout, so you may as well visit these too!

2. The Balconies & Reed Lookout

The next best thing to do in The Grampians are The Balconies & Reed Lookout, which can be accessed from the same carpark. 

Reed Lookout offers a beautiful panoramic view over the Grampians, across the Victoria Valley, Victoria Range, Serra Range, Lake Wartook and the Mt Difficult Range. While the lookout is immediately adjacent to the carpark, due to rock formations at the edge of the lookout itself, it’s not directly wheelchair accessible. However, you can get some really nice views towards Lake Bellfield, from the other side of the carpark.

The Balconies is one of the most rewarding short walks in The Grampians. There’s a 2km walk along a relatively flat trail, to a lookout over the Victoria Valley. The view from the Balconies is one of the “postcard” Grampians views!

3. Mackenzie Falls

Access to Mackenzie Falls is currently closed due to recent flooding.

Mackenzie Falls is one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls in the Grampians, and one of the most popular to visit in the national park. The carpark for Mackenzie Falls is a 40-minute drive from Halls Gap, and you have the option of taking the 1km path to the viewing platform, which is wheelchair accessible, or taking the steep trail to the base of the falls (approx 30 mins one-way). 

It’s the only waterfall that flows in the Grampians year-round, and is one of the largest waterfalls in Victoria. When I visited, it had much more water, and was much more impressive, than Silverband Falls, which at the time was more of a trickle.

4. Spot Australian Wildlife (Kangaroos & Emus)

The Grampians is full of native Australian wildlife, and is a great spot to see iconic Australian animals like kangaroos, wallabies and emus in the wild. The best spot to see kangaroos, wallabies & emus in the Grampians is around Halls Gap.

There are some large fields near the Halls Gap Hotel, which are regularly filled with eastern grey kangaroos and emus, but you’ll also be surprised where you run into Aussie wildlife!

When we stayed at DULC Cabins, wallabies and emus approached our cabin, which was a big surprise! I didn’t expect to see them up so close, but it was so exciting when we did. Of course, these are wild animals, so we kept our distance (and in the case of the emus, watched them from behind our glass balcony door and kitchen window).

On our last morning in town, we were sitting at a picnic table alongside Coola’s ice cream shop, and a large grey kangaroo bounded across the lawn, circling before hopping away.

The abundance of wildlife in the Grampians is amazing, but it also means you need to be really careful driving at dawn, dusk or nighttime. Kangaroos get confused by headlights and jump into oncoming traffic, which is deadly for the kangaroo, and extremely dangerous for the driver, passengers and any other traffic. 

5. Lakeview Lookout

The Lakeview Lookout is another one of the Grampian’s easy walks with a great payoff for relatively little effort.  

The Lakeview Loop is a 1.8km circuit along a sandy trail, to the Lakeview Lookout. It starts at the Sundial Carpark, and rewards walkers with a stunning view towards Lake Bellfield and across the Mt William Range.

6. Wine Tasting in The Grampians Wine Region

There’s more to The Grampians than the great outdoors! The Grampians wine region is dotted with warm & welcoming cellar doors. The Grampians wine region has a warm, mediterranean climate, and their best wines tend to be reds, like shiraz.

You’ll find a few wineries clustered around the town of Great Western, including Seppelt and Best’s. Pomonal Estate in Pomonal is a must-visit, and offers the best restaurant in the Central Grampians region – a must-visit if you’re staying in Halls Gap or Stawell.

On the way towards Ararat, Mt Langhi Ghiran is an excellent winery & cellar door, and it has beautiful mountain views.

7. Hike Mt Sturgeon

Located in the Southern Grampians, Mt Sturgeon looms over the plains surrounding Dunkeld. The 7km hike to the summit of Mt Sturgeon is a strenuous walk, but is rewarding the views across the surrounding plains. This is totally different scenery to inside the Grampians National Park!

After you return to sea level, reward yourself at one of the cafes in Dunkeld – you’ll have worked up an appetite!

8. Dine at The Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld

The Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld is one of the best regional restaurants in Australia, and has put the tiny town of Dunkeld on the gourmet traveller’s map. The majority of the produce on the menu at the Royal Mail is sourced from the hotel’s 1.2 hectare kitchen garden, creating a truly farm-to-table experience.

The main attraction at the Royal Mail Hotel is Wickens, a degustation menu that changes daily and starts from 310per person. If you’re after something more casual, the second restaurant, Parker St Project, offers a la carte dining. We dined at Parker St Project when we visited, and it was lovely! 

The Royal Mail Hotel also has luxurious on-site accommodation, including rooms, suites and cabins. If you’re dining at Wickens, staying at the on-site accommodation will mean you can enjoy the wine list or a beverage pairing, and get the full experience!

9. Halls Gap Zoo

Halls Gap Zoo is the largest, privately owned zoo in regional Victoria, and is a fun day (or half-day) out for the whole family. There are more than 120 animal species at the zoo, you can feed deer, wallabies and several other animals (only the deer and wallabies are free-ranging – but the wallabies tend to stay within their enclosure as they are quite shy).

While it’s not as flashy as Melbourne Zoo, there’s an impressive range of animals you can see. There is one food van at the zoo, which was swamped when we visited, so you might want to bring your own lunch (or drive to the Halls Gap Hotel for lunch afterwards, like we did).

10. Silverband Falls

Silverband Falls is a pretty waterfall in the Grampians, accessible from a relatively easy, 1.4km walk, with a rock crossing at the end to reach the base of the falls.

Silverband Falls is a seasonal waterfall, so the flow varies throughout the year. Find the trailhead from Silverband carpark, which is a 10-minute drive from Halls Gap.

Further reading

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