Plenty Gorge Park: Walking Trails and Parklands to Explore

Plenty Gorge Park is an excellent place to explore with walking trails, parklands and viewpoints galore! There are loads of different areas to discover and you could spend a whole load of time wandering through the different areas of the park.

This is a beautiful location for children and families to enjoy and it’s an easy 45-minute drive northeast of Melbourne.

Moreover, this is an awesome spot for a couple of hours of hiking, or you could spend some time cycling along some of the trails. Besides, this is a great way to exercise and enjoy some time in nature.

So, let’s dive into everything you need to know before visiting this incredible Melbourne park.

Where Is Plenty Gorge Park?

Plenty Gorge Park is around a 45-minute drive northeast of Melbourne. Moreover, it borders the suburbs of Plenty, South Morang and Mill Park. It’s an absolute hit with the locals and loads of other residents heading to the park to enjoy some time outside.

This park boasts a massive 1,350 hectares of outdoor space. Including, wetlands, lakes, viewpoints, creeks, bushland and walking trails to enjoy. And, there is loads of wildlife that live within the park, so keep your eyes peeled!

How to Get To Plenty Gorge Park

There are a number of ways in which you can reach Plenty Gorge Park, but the best is obviously by car. Moreover, there is a heap of car parks surrounding the entire parkland so you can head to the closest in the direction you’re travelling.

However, before visiting, I recommend deciding on which area of the park you want to visit, and then heading to the closest car park. You can seriously spend hours upon hours wandering this massive area and find it difficult to reach all of the places you want to visit.

Finally, the best car park that’s central to everything is the Plenty Gorge MTB Car Parking. This spot has an awesome central location and you can reach the best bits of the parkland from here quite easily.

Information on the Parklands

This Melbourne park is a massive space with loads of great activities to enjoy. However, there are a few things you should keep in mind prior to visiting this parkland.

Toilets: Yes
Playgrounds: Yes (Red Gum Picnic Area) – Further north of the parklands
Shelters and Barbeques: Yes
Dog Friendly: Yes, parts of the park are dog friendly

For more updated information on the parkland, feel free to check out this website here for park closures and other details.

Best Time of Year to Visit

In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t recommend visiting this park during school holidays or weekends as it can become extremely busy. And, it will usually be a fair bit busier during the warmer months.

Nonetheless, I think the best time of year to visit is anywhere from November to February. Moreover, this is when the weather is warm enough and most consistent. Also, try to visit during the weekdays, there will likely be much fewer people and you should be able to get a better car park.

Additionally, mid-morning around 10 AM is an excellent time to visit. You’ll miss the morning rush of early go-getters and you’ll avoid the afternoon post-school rush.

The stunning teal shade of the blue lake from above

Things to Do When Visiting

Explore the Walking Trails

You can practically enter Plenty Gorge Park wherever you wish and wander along any of the trails. Moreover, this is your chance to cater for the length of the trail you’d like to complete.

You could quite easily walk for hours, or you could do a short loop around a nice area. Ultimately, it’s up to you and your fitness levels!

I recommend taking the trails around Yellow Gum Park and blue lake. This is a great loop that is around 2km in length and should only take about an hour.

Visit the Wetlands

There is a couple of different wetlands to explore when taking a wander around Plenty Gorge Park. Firstly, I recommend checking out the Janefield Wetlands as there is a beautifully curved boardwalk that takes you around the pond where you may see heaps of ducks and native birds.

Also, this location is an excellent entry point to the parkland. From here you can wander in and do some walking and exploring.

Further north, you’ll come upon the Tanunda Wetlands. This is a stunning spot to see wildlife and enjoy a majestically scenic area; It’s a really beautiful spot to hang out!

Janefield Wetlands boardwalk and wattle tree

Visit Blue Lake

One of the most popular attractions in this Melbourne park is the blue lake. Moreover, this lake is in the central north of the park and is a beautiful spot to visit.

Oftentimes people will swim here, or use kayaks to enjoy a float in the water. Its likely the most visited spot in the parkland and for good reason.

At certain times of the year, the lake will go an incredible electric blue colour. Other times, it may just be a greenish shade or brown. I was lucky enough to enjoy it when it was blue!

Feel free to wander around the lake or dip your toes into the water. It’s definitely one of the best spots to visit in the park!

Plenty Gorge Lookout

Far up north is the Plenty Gorge Lookout. And, this is an excellent spot to enjoy the sunset. You can also enjoy views over the river and surrounding bushland. I think this is a great spot to start or finish your walk.

Nonetheless, there are a number of other great viewpoints that you may want to explore. Otherwise, you’ll be sure to get some magnificent views simply by wandering around the park.

Yellow Gum Park

This is the main area that visitors tend to hang around. There are wide, rocky trails to walk along, awesome views over the park and its surrounds and numerous spots to explore.

I recommend jumping on a trail along here or finding a nice area of grass to set up a picnic while enjoying the incredible views over the area.

Plenty River and views from Yellow Gum Park

Wildlife

An excellent way to entertain children (and yourself) is to keep an eye out for wildlife. Regularly, there are loads of kangaroos, lizards, echidnas, birds and snakes that can be seen within the park.

Additionally, there are lots of native birds to see including kookaburras and rainbow lorikeets. This is a beautiful spot to enjoy such wildlife, so I highly recommend visiting!

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, this Melbourne park is an absolute must-visit if you’re a local or nearby resident. There’s loads to enjoy within this beautiful area and plenty of ways to entertain yourself.

Besides, you can attend the park for a relaxing picnic, or get some activity in with some hiking trails or cycling. There are plenty of ways to enjoy this beautiful space, and I think everyone needs to visit at least once!

Finally, be sure to allow at least a few hours to enjoy this blissful parkland so that you can explore as much of it as possible.

Additionally, if you’d like to discover more from Victoria, feel free to check out this section of my blog where I upload loads of travel content. There are heaps of travel guides, places to visit, travel recommendations and so much more. Happy reading!