Close to Melbourne, the Macedon Ranges Walking Track is a great day hike if you can slog it out for around 20KM. A scenic walk via Memorial Cross, Major Mitchell Lookout, Camels Hump, Sanatorium Lake and Mt. Towrong. The walk should take you around 5 hours, however stopping for lunch, photos and an explore will see this walk completed in 6 hours. Parks Victoria Notes
To view the GPS track information and elevation, please see here. You can download your own copy and take it with you. The first section of the walk will get you wondering why you even wanted to do this hike. The steep 1.5KM trail at the start will wind its way up to Memorial Cross. With plenty of stops to catch my breath on the way, it’s a relief getting to the top and checking out the panoramic views.
From Memorial Cross, it’s a smooth walk to Camels Hump, passing through different types of vegetation, tracks and plenty of spots to take photos and explore. Camels Hump famous for rock climbing provides great views and is a small detour from the main Macedon Ranges Walking Track.
Frome here it’s off to the Sanatorium Lake Forest Eco-Tourism Trail. Gaiters come in handy as plenty of snakes in the area on hot days. This is a great spot to stop and have a rest or a spot of lunch before heading downhill to Mt Towrong.
It’s an easy walk on the Zig Zag Track to the base of Mt Towrong. After a short uphill section, you will reach the summit of Mt Towrong. You will find a cairn on top of the summit. (Word for the Day: Cairn. I always referred to it as a pile of rocks)
The descent from Mt Towrong has some of the best views of Mount Macedon. A windy an open section, the trail winds its way down back to the main road. Walking poles are very handy in this section. The downhill is knee jarring and in wet conditions can be very slippery.
This is the third time I’ve done this walk. Doing it in different seasons is also a great way to see the natural beauty of Macedon as well as experiencing the many different locations. By far spring time is the best season for this walk. I completed this walk in December when it was hot and carrying around 3 Litres of water with an additional Sawyer Squeeze if needed.
Check out the short movie from the recent walk. The direct YouTube link can be found here.