Lerderderg State Park Victoria
How to get there.
Take the Western Freeway from Melbourne to Ballarat. Exit at Bacchus March and travel down the Bacchus Marsh-Gisborne Road for about 6 kilometres. Turn off at the route towards Mackenzie Flat.
The Pros and Cons
Lerderderg is a pretty park marred by poor signage. Sadly Lerderderg's proximity to the city attracts people that aren't environmentally conscious, as is evident from the litter. I did the walk because I wanted a day's outing that wasn't too long a drive from Melbourne. The park has a lot to offer. There are mineral springs and the many interesting features include gold diggings, a spectacular gorge and a lovely river walk.
Despite all these highlights, the experience is somewhat ruined by the large number of plastic drink bottles and food wrappers scattered along the trail. How much effort can it be to take your litter out with you? There are even plenty of examples where recent camp fires contain half burnt litter such as cans that have been left exposed amongst the char.
The signage seriously needs improving. It's not good enough as it is. It would help if the walk names at the information board have the same name as the signage at the start of the walk. The whole thing is confusing and hard to follow and tends detract from the experience. Still, Lerderderg is very picturesque and well worth visiting. You just have to get to know it by trial and error I guess.
The Lerderderg River and Gorge are spectacular. Especially in October when the wildflowers are in bloom. I hoped to do the gorge and the tunnel but the combination of poor signage and half-interested kids made that impossible.
Still a good time was generally had by all. I'm looking forward to getting to know this place better in future. Sometimes I wonder whether its worth taking kids. I find that walking is an acquired taste, especially for kids, whose nature threshold is generally two hours max. After that they I find that, unless they see an Allosaurous or a Woolly Mammoth every ten minutes, its hard to keep em keen. Still, my theory is that even if they hate it now they'll love it later on as they get older. It must work, they're getting keener.
The Pros and Cons
Lerderderg is a pretty park marred by poor signage. Sadly Lerderderg's proximity to the city attracts people that aren't environmentally conscious, as is evident from the litter. I did the walk because I wanted a day's outing that wasn't too long a drive from Melbourne. The park has a lot to offer. There are mineral springs and the many interesting features include gold diggings, a spectacular gorge and a lovely river walk.
Despite all these highlights, the experience is somewhat ruined by the large number of plastic drink bottles and food wrappers scattered along the trail. How much effort can it be to take your litter out with you? There are even plenty of examples where recent camp fires contain half burnt litter such as cans that have been left exposed amongst the char. 
The signage seriously needs improving. It's not good enough as it is. It would help if the walk names at the information board have the same name as the signage at the start of the walk. The whole thing is confusing and hard to follow and tends detract from the experience. Still, Lerderderg is very picturesque and well worth visiting. You just have to get to know it by trial and error I guess.
The Lerderderg River and Gorge are spectacular. Especially in October when the wildflowers are in bloom. I hoped to do the gorge and the tunnel but the combination of poor signage and half-interested kids made that impossible.
Still a good time was generally had by all. I'm looking forward to getting to know this place better in future. Sometimes I wonder whether its worth taking kids. I find that walking is an acquired taste, especially for kids, whose nature threshold is generally two hours max. After that they I find that, unless they see an Allosaurous or a Woolly Mammoth every ten minutes, its hard to keep em keen. Still, my theory is that even if they hate it now they'll love it later on as they get older. It must work, they're getting keener.
Pictures:1. Walking along the Lerdenderg River, 2.The boys at the outset of the walk, 3. Riverwalk . 4. More Riverwalk. 5. Landslide along the Gorge. 6.Quite a nice view
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