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Parks & Reserves

Get outdoors in our parks and reserves

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Macedon Ranges parks & reserves

Get outdoors in the Macedon Ranges. Enjoy hiking, birdwatching, wild funghi-spotting, marshmallow-toasting and picnics in our beautiful parks and reserves.

Want to go on a walk? Check out our guide to short walks, hikes and trail runs in the Macedon Ranges.

Visit our nature reserves

There are a number of nature reserves you should explore in the Macedon Ranges. The most well-known reserve is Hanging Rock – a much-loved, iconic Australian tourist attraction.

Hanging Rock Reserve

Hanging Rock Reserve’s shady picnic grounds and wide expanses of lawn, plus the iconic ‘Rock’ itself, are perfect for get-togethers of all sizes, from small family outings to large gatherings.

You’ll find multiple walking trails to enjoy throughout the reserve, plus plenty of wild kangaroos and an abundance of birdlife and native Australian animals.

Most visitors plan a hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, where they’ll pass through fascinating rock formations and enjoy beautiful vistas to surrounding countryside. There is also an on-site licensed cafe if you want to enjoy a coffee or lunch after your hike.

Learn more about Hanging Rock admission fees, opening hours and visitor information

hanging rock sunset

Black Hill Reserve

Black Hill Reserve consists of 260 acres of rare bushland and amazing granite rock formations approximately 5km north of Kyneton. There are a number of well-defined walking tracks for visitors to explore and enjoy, and Kyneton Ridge Winery‘s cellar door can be reached easily from the reserve whether on foot or by car.

The reserve is home to a variety of wildlife, including many bird species, wallabies, kangaroos, echidnas, phascogales and sugar glider possums.

Learn more about Black Hill Reserve

Bald Hill Reserve

Located on the outskirts of Kyneton, this 96-hectare forest, woodland and grassland reserve is an ecologically, geologically and culturally significant location. The reserve is perfect for bird watching, bushwalkers, photographers and naturalists. There’s something to offer for anyone with an interest in native plants (in particular wildflowers), frogs, birds, reptiles and other creepy crawlies, native animals including the phascogale, sugar gliders and much more.

Learn more about Bald Hill Reserve

Conglomerate Gully Flora Reserve

Located in Riddells Creek, Conglomerate Gully Flora Reserve is known for its conglomerate rock formations and a small seasonal waterfall. Here you can enjoy a 2.9km walk through healthy dry forest and grassy dry forest vegetation types.

Learn more about Conglomerate Gully Flora Reserve

Conglomerate Gully Reserve, Riddells Creek

Visit our beautiful parks

Each village in the Macedon Ranges has beautiful parks to enjoy a picnic or barbecue with friends and family. Nature lovers and folk into hiking, trail running and bushwalks will love Macedon Regional Park – one of the natural jewels of the Macedon Ranges.

Macedon Regional Park

For bushwalks and bush barbecues, your ultimate destination is Macedon Regional Park. Visitors can choose from 30km of connected trails that weave throughout the park. You can easily return again and again to try out different hikes and trail runs.

If you want to have a barbecue or picnic after your hike, drive towards the summit of Mt Macedon. Here you'll find six picnic grounds spread out along the ridge of the range. All picnic grounds are easily accessed by roads and connecting walking tracks.

Harbison Picnic Ground has free electric barbecues, shelters and toilet facilities. Days Picnic Ground is also a popular site on the mountain for daytrippers, linking to bush walks and offering wood-fuel barbecues and toilet amenities. Visitors hiking the eco-trail at Sanatorium Lake often use Sanatorium Lake Picnic Ground for a wood-fuel barbecue post-hike.

Download a Parks Victoria Macedon Regional Park Visitor Guide

Check out the Parks Victoria website

Days Picnic Ground, Macedon Regional Park

Macedon and Woodend parks

Macedon parks

Centennial Park, at the base of Mount Macedon, is a lovely grassy spot with plenty of shade, toilet facilities and an undercover barbecue area.

Woodend parks

The Woodend Children's Park is a popular park set back behind High Street, with adventure play equipment, undercover barbecues and seating facilities.

Woodend Children's Park

Kyneton and Malmsbury parks

Kyneton parks

For a wonderful day outdoors, head to the Kyneton Botanic Garden and Community Park, where you can also take a peaceful stroll along the Campaspe River Walk.

The Kyneton Community Park is a beautifully landscaped children's adventure playground with an undercover barbecue and toilet facilities. It's a picturesque spot for all ages to enjoy a picnic with friends and family.

Quarry Reserve, at the end of Kyneton's historic Piper Street, is a little park set along the Campaspe River that offers barbecues and seating underneath a rotunda. In addition to its proximity to shops and cafes along Piper Street, you can also access the Campaspe River Walk from this location.

Head a little further past this park in late August or early September you'll be treated to Kyneton's 'Golden Mile' - a two-metre wide, one-mile long golden stretch of daffodils along the Old Calder Highway on the Bendigo side (now Burton Avenue).

Also along Burton Avenue, on the way to Malmsbury, you'll find another lovely park - Kyneton Mineral Springs Reserve. Here you can tap into the promise of natural rejuvenation, picnic under the rotunda and use the old pump to sample the famed mineral water.

For water lovers, you may want to consider visiting Lauriston Reservoir - a popular family spot for barbecues, fishing and kayaking.

Malmsbury parks

The Malmsbury Botanic Garden and Malmsbury Common (across from the botanic gardens) are both wonderful parks to visit. An old bluestone viaduct bridge on the edge of the botanic gardens is a highlight of a visit to Malmsbury. Pick up pies from the wonderful Malmsbury Bakery and picnic under the willows.

Malmsbury Botanic Garden

Romsey and Lancefield parks

Romsey parks

Due for completion midway through 2022, the Romsey Ecotherapy Park is designed for the nourishment of one’s physical and mental wellbeing. This park is for all ages and includes an Active Nature Space aimed at younger kids, huge climbing forest for big kids, a Sensory Therapeutic Space, Arts Culture Space and Woodland Ramble.

The Sensory Therapeutic Space will be a valuable nature-based resource for the elderly, those recovering from illness, or those merely wanting respite from daily life.

Lancefield parks

The Lancefield Park Recreation Reserve incorporates a playground for kids, a brilliant skatepark and facilities for barbecues including picnic tables and plenty of shady trees.

Kyneton Mineral Springs Reserve

Did you know eighty five percent of Australia’s natural mineral springs are found in the wider Daylesford and Macedon Ranges region?

In days gone by, it was the allure of gold that drew people to the region. Today, it’s the elixir of life. Water. Or more specifically, the underground network of natural mineral aquifers.

To tap into this promise of natural rejuvenation, picnic under the rotunda at Kyneton Mineral Springs Reserve and use the old pump free of charge to sample the famed mineral water – the locals’ secret to good health. We recommend mixing it with cordial for a delicious taste.

Located at 200 Burton Avenue, Kyneton.

Kyneton Mineral springs reserve

Wombat State Forest

Deep in the Wombat State Forest is a moss-covered wonderland, with sleek rock and fern fronds dripping with fresh water. Located between Woodend and Daylesford, the Wombat State Forest covers approximately 70,000 hectares of virgin bushland. If you’re lucky you’ll spot wildlife such as grey kangaroos, wombats, wallabies, echidnas, koalas and 150 species of birds.

The forest attracts visitors for outdoor activities such as four-wheel-driving, bush-walking, picnicking, horse-riding and bird-watching. It has also gained a reputation for being one of the best places in Victoria to ride a mountain bike, with more than 100km of single track just waiting to be discovered. For more information, call the Macedon Ranges Visitor Information Centres on 1800 244 711 and they’ll send you a copy of the Macedon Ranges Ride Guide, featuring detailed maps of off-road trails that are suitable for cyclists of all abilities.

Meanwhile, check out our Bikes, Beers and Burgers itinerary for mountain bike enthusiasts.

Mountain Biking Wombat Forest