Parks & Reserves

Open spaces

Look around and breathe deeply. The landscape throughout the region allows visitors to reconnect with nature. Bring your walking shoes to Hanging Rock Reserve, where you can walk up or around the six-million-year-old volcanic formation.

Those who love staring out from a great height should explore the walking and cycling trails, scenic drives and lookouts at Macedon Regional Park, Black Hill Reserve, Paddys Ranges State Park, Mount Beckworth Scenic Reserve and Mount Alexander Regional Park. All provide natural habitats for flora and fauna, from native orchids to ant-hunting echidnas.

Mount Franklin has a popular campground, as well as excellent walks on the forested slopes of an extinct volcano. There’s a variety of trails at Creswick Regional Park, including the two-kilometre La Gerche Forest Walk and part of the 240-kilometre-long Goldfields Track. Wildflowers cover the landscape in spring, there’s a lake, and relics from the goldmining days can be found throughout the park.

If you find this era of the region’s history fascinating, spend the day at Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park, where a scenic drive or heritage walk will reveal historical sites, from old houses to puddling machines. There’s good birdwatching, too.