You Yangs Regional Park

The You Yangs are a low granite range about 35 minutes’ drive north of Geelong, protected in You Yangs Regional Park. Entry is free. The main walk climbs about 450 steps from the Turntable car park to Flinders Peak, 319 m high, with views to Geelong and Melbourne. There are also more than 50 km of mountain bike trails, picnic grounds and the Bunjil geoglyph.

Wikipedia gives the peak as 343 m, but the regional tourism body and most walking guides use 319 m.

Getting there and park basics

The park office is at 5 Branch Road, Little River. From central Geelong it’s about 28 km to the Big Rock area, around 35 minutes by car. From Melbourne it’s about 67 km and an hour, and Parks Victoria pitches it as “just an hour away”. There’s no public transport into the park.

What	Detail
Entry	Free
Hours	7 am to 8 pm daily (Parks Victoria)
Main walking car park	Turntable car park, for Flinders Peak
Overflow	Lower Picnic Area car park
Dogs	Allowed on a lead; pick up after them
Fires	In fireplaces only; no collecting firewood
Phone	Parks Victoria, 13 1963

Checked October 2026. Visit Geelong and the Bellarine’s 2026 guide gives earlier closing times (5 pm outside daylight saving, 6 pm in daylight saving), so don’t plan a sunset walk without checking the gate times first.

Install the VicEmergency app for bushfire alerts and check Parks Victoria for closures before you go, as the regional tourism guide advises.

Flinders Peak walk

This is the walk most people come for. It starts at the Turntable car park and climbs a single track of steps to the summit.

• Distance: 3.2 km return.
• Steps: about 450.
• Climb: about 200 m.
• Grade: Parks Victoria calls it a challenging walk with steep sections.

Matthew Flinders climbed the peak on 1 May 1802 with three of his men and called it Station Peak. It was renamed Flinders Peak in 1912. From the top you can see out to both Geelong and Melbourne.

Take water and wear shoes with grip; the steps are steep in places. If the Turntable car park is full, Parks Victoria suggests heading to Big Rock instead.

Other walks

Walk	Length	Time	Notes
Big Rock	100 m from its car park	A few minutes	Easy; view towards Geelong
Big Rock loop from the park office	3 km	Not given	Return the same way
East-West Walk	4.5 km	About 2 hours	Challenging; from the Turntable car park
Branding Yard Trail	5 km	About 2.5 hours return	Mild; wildlife and spring wildflowers
Northern Range Walk	3.5 km one way	About 1 hour	Steep in places

Distances and times from Visit Geelong and the Bellarine’s January 2026 guide.

Volunteers run free guided walks, booked through Eventbrite.

The Bunjil geoglyph

Bunjil is a creator spirit in Aboriginal tradition, shown here as a wedge-tailed eagle. Artist Andrew Rogers laid out the figure in rock for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, and Wikipedia says it was unveiled in March 2006 to honour the local Wathaurong (Wadawurrung) people. It has a wingspan of 100 m and used 1,500 tonnes of rock. You see it from the ground at the Bunjil Geoglyph day visitor area on the Branding Yard Trail.

Mountain biking

The park has more than 50 km of mountain bike trails, designed with Parks Victoria, You Yangs MTB and the Geelong Mountain Bike Club.

• Kurrajong Plantation: about 20 km in three loops through eucalypt plantations. Flatter, and the place for families and newer riders.
• Stockyards (north of the range): flowing single track, steep technical sections, three downhill tracks and cross-country loops for experienced riders.

All trails are signposted with direction and grade.

Wildlife and picnics

More than 200 bird species have been recorded in the park, and about 30 orchid species, including the endangered brittle greenhood. Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and emus are all seen; the quieter Branding Yard Trail is the best bet.

The Lower Picnic Ground has gas barbecues, shelters, tables and toilets under big red gums, and suits groups. Parks Victoria lists nine picnic areas across the park.

Serendip Sanctuary

Serendip Sanctuary is a free Parks Victoria wetland reserve at 100 Windermere Road, Lara, at the foot of the You Yangs and 22 km north of Geelong. Parks Victoria says its wide, flat paths suit manual and electric wheelchairs.

• Hours: 8 am to 4 pm daily; closed Christmas Day and Good Friday.
• Walks: the Wetland, Wader and Farm Dam for Wildlife walks plus an accessible walk. The Nature (Wildlife) walk was closed for upgrades when we checked in October 2026.
• Birds: more than 150 species, including Cape Barren geese, magpie geese, black swans and yellow-billed spoonbills. Bird hides look over the wetlands.
• Animals: eastern grey kangaroos, black wallabies and emus live wild in the reserve. The captive animals are being rehomed under the You Yangs Master Plan.
• Facilities: picnic area and visitor centre. The free barbecues were out of use during construction works, and a new Sensory Garden opened in early 2026.
• No dogs and no bins; take your rubbish home.

Serendip and Flinders Peak fit in the same morning.

Brisbane Ranges and Anakie Gorge

West of the You Yangs, the Brisbane Ranges National Park is about 80 km from Melbourne and roughly 35 km from Geelong. Parks Victoria calls it the state’s richest wildflower habitat, so spring is the season to go.

The Anakie Gorge walk is the easy family option, about 3 km one way, with wallabies and a resident koala. Boar Gully at the northern end has a campground that must be booked online, and it’s the trailhead for the three-day Burchell Trail. Dogs are not allowed anywhere in the national park, and fires are banned on the gorge walk.

Fairy Park is a few kilometres from Anakie Gorge, which makes a good family day: storybook scenes in the morning, a gorge walk after lunch.

Plan the day

From Geelong, a half-day loop works well: Serendip Sanctuary when it opens at 8 am, Flinders Peak before the heat, then lunch at the Lower Picnic Ground. For a gentler river walk closer to town, try Buckley Falls. The Geelong day trip guide has more ideas for a day out from the city.