The Dandenong Ranges start 40 kilometres east of Melbourne and feel like another climate entirely. Mountain ash and tree fern forest, lyrebirds calling in the early morning, a steam railway that’s been running since 1900, and a village main street that still has a proper bakery.
Most people don’t go far enough. They ride Puffing Billy and turn around. This guide covers everything worth your time, in the sequence that makes geographic sense.
Distance from Melbourne CBD: 40–55 km east depending on destination
Drive time: 45–60 minutes
Best days: Tuesday–Thursday in autumn and winter. Summer weekends are crowded; Sunday mornings on Puffing Billy require early booking.
Use the AI trip planner to sequence your stops based on your preferred arrival time.
Quick Verdict
One full day covers everything. Start at Sherbrooke Forest at 7 am for lyrebirds, ride Puffing Billy mid-morning, eat lunch in Olinda, do William Ricketts Sanctuary in the afternoon, and finish at SkyHigh for the city lights at dusk. Budget A$120–$150 per adult for the full day including train and entry fees.
Getting There
By car: Eastern Freeway to Ringwood, then the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road east toward Belgrave or Olinda. Book a hire car with DiscoverCars if you’re visiting from interstate.
By train and Puffing Billy: Belgrave train line from Melbourne’s Flinders Street Station to Belgrave (75 minutes, A$8.60 with Myki). Puffing Billy departs from Belgrave Station.
Full Day Checklist — Recommended Sequence
7:00 am — Sherbrooke Forest Lyrebird Walk
Entry: Free | Duration: 45–90 minutes | Best time: 7–9 am
Sherbrooke Forest is a 1,500-hectare mountain ash and manna gum forest in the heart of the Dandenongs. The superb lyrebird — one of Australia’s most extraordinary birds — lives here in numbers. The male calls throughout the year but is most active in late autumn and winter (April–August).
- Park at the Sherbrooke Picnic Ground off Sherbrooke Road, Sherbrooke (free, opens 8 am officially but gate is often open earlier)
- Take the Lyrebird Walk (2.5 km loop, 45 minutes) — marked signage from the picnic area
- Listen first — the lyrebird’s call is a complex mimicry of other birds. It sounds like an orchestra of 15 different species simultaneously. Stop walking and listen.
- Move slowly and stay on the track. Lyrebirds forage on the forest floor and will walk within 3 metres if you’re still and quiet.
- Best sightings: the fern gully section near the creek crossings. Look for a large pheasant-sized bird scratching in the leaf litter.
- Bring a jacket — the forest retains cold air even in summer
Wildlife note: Echidnas are occasionally seen on this walk. Wallabies graze at the picnic area edges at dawn.
9:00 am — Grants Picnic Ground (Crimson Rosella Feeding)
Entry: Free | Seed bags: A$2 | Duration: 20–30 minutes
Grants Picnic Ground is 10 minutes drive from Sherbrooke. It’s been a local tradition since the 1920s: buy a 50-cent paper bag of sunflower seeds from the kiosk, hold out your hand, and within 60 seconds a crimson rosella will land on your finger.
- Buy seed bags from the kiosk (opens 9 am)
- Hold seed flat on an open palm — let the birds come to you
- Crimson rosellas (brilliant red and blue, the size of a small parrot) land on hands, shoulders, heads
- Sulphur-crested cockatoos also attend — large, loud, sometimes aggressive. Hold your coffee securely.
- King parrots (green and red) are the most beautiful. They’re more cautious than rosellas.
- Check the canopy above the picnic tables for kookaburras waiting for dropped food
Practical note: The kiosk also does hot drinks and basic snacks. The outdoor fireplace at the picnic ground is lit in winter — warm up here before continuing.
10:00 am — Puffing Billy Steam Railway
Price: A$65 adult return (Belgrave–Gembrook) | A$35 adult (Belgrave–Menzies Creek one-way)
Book: puffingbilly.com.au — book online to guarantee a seat, especially weekends
Duration: Full return journey (Belgrave to Gembrook) takes approximately 3 hours each way — most visitors do Belgrave to Menzies Creek or Belgrave to Lakeside
Puffing Billy is a narrow-gauge steam railway operating since 1900 through the Dandenong Ranges. The trains are original 1900s carriages with open windows — you sit with your legs dangling out the side through the forest and over timber trestle bridges.
- Which route to choose: Belgrave to Menzies Creek (20 minutes) for a quick experience; Belgrave to Lakeside (45 minutes) for the best value; Belgrave to Gembrook (full line, 3 hours one way) if you have a full day and want the whole experience
- Sit on the right side of the carriage going from Belgrave — you get the trestle bridge view over Monbulk Creek
- Legs out the window is the traditional position and is encouraged (hold children firmly)
- The steam whistle sounds at every level crossing — 22 crossings on the full line
- Bring a small bag — the carriages have no luggage storage
- The locomotive takes on water at Lakeside — a 10-minute stop that lets you walk around and photograph the engine
Photography: The best photo is from any trestle bridge with the locomotive in frame. Position yourself on the bridge platform before boarding for an exterior shot.
12:30 pm — Olinda Village Lunch
Drive from Belgrave to Olinda: 20 minutes
Olinda is the Dandenong Ranges’ most charming village — a single main street (Mt Dandenong Tourist Road) with galleries, bookshops, plant nurseries and several good restaurants.
- Miss Marple’s Tea Room — A$22–$28 for a proper Devonshire tea (scones, jam, cream, tea or coffee). Heritage interior, wood fire in winter. Book on weekends.
- Cuckoo Restaurant — German-style smorgasbord, Dandenong institution since 1958. A$75 per person for the full menu. Worth it once.
- Ranges Bakehouse — Pies and pastries, A$8–$12. Best value lunch on the mountain.
- Tabu Restaurant — Modern Australian, more contemporary than the other options. A$35–$48 mains.
- RJ Gallery and surrounding galleries on the main street — many artists live in the Dandenongs and show here. Free to browse.
2:00 pm — William Ricketts Sanctuary
Entry: A$16 adult | A$8 child | Open daily 10 am–4:30 pm
Duration: 45–60 minutes
William Ricketts (1906–1993) was an Australian artist who spent 60 years creating clay sculptures of Aboriginal Australians integrated into the forest at his property in Mount Dandenong. The result is deeply unusual: hundreds of human faces and figures emerging from tree roots, embedded in rocks, and submerged in creek beds throughout a 6-acre fern forest.
- Enter from the car park off Mount Dandenong Tourist Road
- Walk slowly — the sculptures are hidden throughout the path and many require looking carefully
- The central waterfall area contains the most concentrated collection
- Look at root systems of the large mountain ash — figures are incorporated into the wood itself
- The sanctuary has the most ambient atmosphere of any attraction in the Dandenongs — plan to linger
Note: William Ricketts was a controversial figure in Australian cultural history, with complex relationships to the Aboriginal communities whose images he depicted. The sanctuary’s own signage engages with this complexity.
3:30 pm — Emerald Lake Park
Entry: Free | Duration: 30–45 minutes
A landscaped park around a lake, 10 minutes south of Olinda. Free paddle boats (seasonal), walking paths around the lake, model railway (scale replica of the Puffing Billy — kids love it, A$5 for a short ride), and a good café.
- Paddle around the lake if the boats are operating (summer–autumn)
- Walk the full lake circuit (1.5 km, 20 minutes) for the fern gully on the north side
- Model railway exhibit — open weekends and school holidays
5:00 pm — SkyHigh Mount Dandenong
Entry: Free (parking A$8)
Maze: A$12 adult
Hours: Daily 9 am–10 pm (restaurant and viewing area)
The summit of Mount Dandenong (633 metres) is accessible by road and has a formal viewing area operated by SkyHigh. On clear days, the view extends across Melbourne CBD (35 km distant), Port Phillip Bay, the Dandenong Ranges foothills, and the You Yangs.
- The best time is at dusk and just after dark — Melbourne’s skyline lights up over a span of 30 minutes as the sun sets. The coloured glass of the Arts Centre spire is visible with binoculars.
- Giant Maze (A$12) — good for families; the outer maze section is genuinely confusing
- The SkyHigh café and restaurant is overpriced for the food, but the deck view is free with parking payment. Bring your own wine and snacks for a sunset picnic (permitted).
- Bring warm layers — the summit is consistently 5–8°C colder than Melbourne CBD
At-a-Glance Day Schedule
| Time | Activity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00–8:30 am | Sherbrooke Forest lyrebird walk | Free |
| 9:00–9:30 am | Grants Picnic Ground bird feeding | A$2 |
| 10:00 am–12:00 pm | Puffing Billy (Belgrave–Lakeside return) | A$65 |
| 12:30–1:30 pm | Lunch in Olinda | A$20–$28 |
| 2:00–3:00 pm | William Ricketts Sanctuary | A$16 |
| 3:30–4:15 pm | Emerald Lake Park | Free |
| 5:00–7:00 pm | SkyHigh Mount Dandenong at dusk | A$8 parking |
Total cost per adult (approximate): A$115–$125 excluding meals
Extending to an Overnight Stay
If you want to stay the night:
- Ranges@Olinda — Boutique B&B on the main street, A$220–$280 per night
- Kariba Mountain Retreat, Mount Dandenong — Self-contained cabins, A$280–$380 per night
- Marysville — 45 minutes east, extends the trip into the Upper Yarra region
Find accommodation in the Dandenong Ranges.
Compare travel insurance for your Victorian trip.
Book tours and experiences for guided photography walks in Sherbrooke Forest — small group tours run at dawn specifically for lyrebird watching, with an experienced wildlife guide.
Prices and hours current as of 2026. Always verify before visiting.
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