Puffing Billy Railway is a preserved steam railway, travelling through the forests and townships of the Dandenong Ranges on a narrow-gauge line opened in 1900. The classic journey begins at Belgrave and crosses the...
Dandenong Ranges Attractions
The Dandenong Ranges are one of Victoria’s classic day-trip and weekend destinations, combining towering mountain ash forests, historic attractions, cool-climate gardens, scenic villages and some of Melbourne’s best-known walking tracks. The current Dandenong Ranges Point inventory includes Puffing Billy Railway, Dandenong Ranges National Park, the 1000 Steps, Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, Sherbrooke Falls, Emerald Lake Park and attractions across Belgrave, Olinda, Sassafras, Emerald and the surrounding hills.
The region’s appeal comes from that mix of nature and heritage. Visitors can ride a steam train through fern gullies, walk beneath huge mountain ash trees, explore landscaped gardens, enjoy panoramic lookouts or spend time browsing the cafes and shops of the mountain villages.
Explore Dandenong Ranges Attractions
- Puffing Billy Railway – Ride the historic steam railway through forests, fern gullies and hill towns between Belgrave, Emerald and Gembrook.
- National park and forest walks – Explore Dandenong Ranges National Park, Sherbrooke Forest, the 1000 Steps and numerous shorter walking tracks.
- Gardens and seasonal colour – Visit Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens and other cool-climate gardens throughout the hills.
- Lookouts and mountain scenery – Take in broad views from SkyHigh Mount Dandenong and other elevated points across the ranges.
- Villages and family attractions – Explore Belgrave, Olinda, Sassafras, Emerald and Gembrook for cafes, shops, playgrounds, museums and family-friendly experiences.
Browse the listings below to discover Dandenong Ranges attractions, gardens, walks, villages and places to visit across the hills east of Melbourne.
Puffing Billy
Belgrave, VIC
Dandenong Ranges National Park
Belgrave, VICDandenong Ranges National Park protects tall Mountain Ash forest, fern-filled gullies, waterfalls and steep volcanic hills on Melbourne’s eastern edge. Its walking tracks, picnic grounds and wildlife make it one...
1000 Steps
Upper Ferntree Gully, VICThe 1000 Steps is the popular name for the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk in the Ferntree Gully section of Dandenong Ranges National Park. It is one of Melbourne’s best-known fitness walks, climbing steeply through...
Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden
Olinda, VICDandenong Ranges Botanic Garden is a free, 50-hectare garden in Olinda, where cool-climate plant collections grow among tall native trees. Formerly known as the National Rhododendron Gardens, it combines colourful...
SkyHigh Mount Dandenong
Mount Dandenong, VICSkyHigh Mount Dandenong combines a broad Melbourne panorama with landscaped gardens, a hedge maze, picnic areas and a daytime bistro. The lookout is the main draw on a clear day, but the grounds make a longer outing...
Sherbrooke Falls
Sherbrooke, VICSherbrooke Falls is a small cascade deep in Sherbrooke Forest, reached on walking tracks through mountain ash and fern gullies. The forest is the main attraction: tall trunks, dense understorey and the sound of the...
William Ricketts Sanctuary
Mount Dandenong, VICWilliam Ricketts Sanctuary is an outdoor sculpture setting in Mount Dandenong, where ceramic figures emerge from rocks, tree roots and fern-filled forest. Created over decades by Victorian artist William Ricketts, it...
Olinda Falls
Mount Dandenong, VICOlinda Falls is a small forest cascade reached by a short walk from Falls Road in Dandenong Ranges National Park. Tall mountain ash, fern gullies and the changing flow of Olinda Creek make the walk as much a part of the...
Lysterfield Park
Lysterfield, VICLysterfield Park combines a recreational lake, native woodland, walking routes and a substantial mountain-bike network on the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. Visitors can make a short circuit walk the main...
Treetops Adventure Belgrave
Belgrave, VICTreetops Adventure Belgrave is a forest ropes-course park where visitors balance, climb and zip between platforms in the Dandenong Ranges. Set near Puffing Billy in the Glen Harrow gardens, it combines the wooded...
Cardinia Reservoir
Narre Warren East, VICCardinia Reservoir is one of Melbourne’s major drinking-water storages, set in the hills near Emerald and Narre Warren East. The broad water surface, dam wall and surrounding grassland make it a distinctive place...
Sherbrooke Forest
Sherbrooke, VICSherbrooke Forest is the largest section of Dandenong Ranges National Park, known for tall Mountain Ash, shaded fern gullies and walking tracks beneath the canopy. Its main experience is the forest itself: a slower walk...
Grants Picnic Ground
Kallista, VICGrants Picnic Ground is a picnic and walking hub in the Sherbrooke section of Dandenong Ranges National Park, on Monbulk Road near Kallista. Visitors come for forest walks, picnic facilities and the chance to watch...
Emerald Lake
Emerald, VICEmerald Lake Park combines lakeside walks, picnic lawns, playgrounds and heritage railway activity in Emerald. Lake Treganowan and Lake Nobelius sit within a larger landscape of gardens and bushland, so the park can...
Bunyip State Park
Gembrook, VICBunyip State Park is a large bushland destination east of Melbourne, with forest walks, basic camping, horse trails and designated routes for four-wheel driving and trail bikes. Its mix of tall forest and lower...
Tea Leaves
Olinda, VICTea Leaves is a specialty tea and teaware shop at 29 Olinda-Monbulk Road in Olinda. More than 300 teas and infusions sit alongside teapots, cups and brewing accessories, making it a colourful stop for tea drinkers and...
Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens
Sherbrooke, VICAlfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens is a historic hillside garden in Sherbrooke, known for its ornamental lake, small boathouse, mature trees and terraced landscape. The paths draw visitors downhill through a mixture of...
Cardinia Reservoir Park
Narre Warren East, VICCardinia Reservoir Park surrounds one of Melbourne’s largest and most important drinking-water storages. Located near Emerald and Narre Warren East, around 50 kilometres east of central Melbourne, the park is...
Cameo Cinema
Belgrave, VICCameo Cinema brings films, an Art Deco auditorium and a seasonal outdoor screen to the centre of Belgrave. Its program ranges from mainstream releases to independent cinema, retrospective screenings and special film...
Warratina Lavender Farm
Wandin North, VICWarratina Lavender Farm is a small family-run property in Wandin Yallock, near the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. Established in 1991, the farm grows, harvests, and processes lavender for its own body-care products...
Geppetto’s Workshop
Sassafras, VICGeppetto’s Workshop is a toy and puppet shop in Sassafras, filled with wooden toys, storybook characters and objects made for imaginative play. The current store is at 371 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, among the...
RJ Hamer Arboretum
Olinda, VICRJ Hamer Arboretum spreads across the hills above the Yarra Valley at Olinda, combining forest walks with an open lookout and picnic facilities. Its planted tree collections form patches of woodland rather than...
Tim Neville Arboretum
Ferntree Gully, VICTim Neville Arboretum is a garden and recreation reserve on Dorset Road in Ferntree Gully. Its lake, wetland paths, picnic spaces and playground make it a useful family outing without needing to drive into the mountain...
Eastwood Golf Club
Kilsyth, VICEastwood Golf Club offers an 18-hole round in Kilsyth, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. Its par-72 course combines a wooded setting with strategic holes, while practice facilities and a bistro allow visitors to...
The Wall
Monbulk, VICThe Wall is a road-cycling climb from Monbulk towards Olinda on Olinda-Monbulk Road. Two steeper sections interrupt a more varied gradient, giving the climb its name and making pacing more important than the average...
Ferntree Gully Quarry Reserve
Ferntree Gully, VICFerntree Gully Quarry Reserve is a distinctive local park built around a former quarry and its deep lake. Located below the surrounding streets, the reserve combines dramatic rock walls and water views with walking...
Cloudehill Gardens
Olinda, VICCloudehill Gardens is a cool-climate garden in Olinda where clipped hedges, stone terraces and mature trees frame changing displays of flowers. Its sequence of garden rooms creates a different view at each turn, from...
Pirianda Gardens
Olinda, VICPirianda Gardens is an 11-hectare woodland garden in Olinda, where rare trees, terraced lawns and stone walls descend towards a fern gully. Developed largely by Harvey and Gillian Ansell, it rewards visitors who enjoy...
Sherbrooke Picnic Ground
Sherbrooke, VICSherbrooke Picnic Ground is a forest picnic spot and walking-track entrance on Sherbrooke Road, within Dandenong Ranges National Park. Tall trees and tree ferns give it a sheltered woodland setting, with Sherbrooke...
Silvan Reservoir Park
Silvan, VICSilvan Reservoir Park is a landscaped picnic park beside one of Melbourne’s water-supply reservoirs. Open lawns, gardens and a reservoir lookout make it a relaxed daytime stop, with nearby forest trails available...
Kurth Kiln Regional Park
Gembrook, VICKurth Kiln Regional Park combines forest walks, basic bush camping and a distinctive piece of wartime industrial history near Gembrook. The old charcoal kiln gives the park its name, while creekside paths and separate...
Kuranga Native Nursery
Mount Evelyn, VICKuranga Native Nursery is a destination for Australian native plants, garden inspiration and a meal at Paperbark Cafe in Mount Evelyn. Visitors can browse the growing collection, ask for planting advice and explore the...
The Motorist Distillery
Gembrook, VICThe Motorist Distillery is a bar and small distillery in Gembrook’s former motor garage at 77 Main Street. It occupies the previous Motorist Museum site, bringing regional drinks, potato vodka and a social beer...
Birdsland Reserve
Belgrave Heights, VICBirdsland Reserve is a 75-hectare community bushland reserve in Belgrave Heights, between the southern Dandenong Ranges and Lysterfield. Lakes, wetlands and surrounding hills give it a different character from the tall...
Australian Rainbow Trout Farm
Macclesfield, VICAustralian Rainbow Trout Farm is a catch-your-own fishing destination in Macclesfield, a short drive from Emerald. Stocked ponds, a larger challenge lake and picnic facilities let visitors combine fishing with an...
Burrinja Cultural Centre
Upwey, VICBurrinja Cultural Centre is the Dandenong Ranges’ arts hub in Upwey, bringing together contemporary exhibitions, live performance, artist studios and creative activities. A visit can be a relaxed gallery-and-cafe...
King Henry’s Restaurant
Sassafras, VICKing Henry’s Restaurant, formerly known as King Henry Arts Cafe, operates at the same Sassafras address, 320 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road. Set in a former guest house dating from 1902, it combines a Henry VIII...
Belgrave Lake Park
Belgrave, VICBelgrave Lake Park is a local recreation reserve with an updated playground, picnic facilities, walking paths and a designated dog off-lead area. It surrounds a former reservoir and offers a quieter outdoor stop away...
Kalorama Park
Kalorama, VICKalorama Park combines views over Silvan Reservoir with picnic grounds, sloping parkland and a land-art installation on the eastern side of the Dandenong Ranges. It can be a short lookout stop or a longer outing with a...
Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve
Belgrave South, VICBaluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve is a native woodland reserve in Belgrave South, valued for its orchids and other indigenous plants. Its appeal lies in looking closely at the forest floor and understorey, rather...
What are the top attractions in the Dandenong Ranges?
Popular attractions include Puffing Billy Railway, Dandenong Ranges National Park, the 1000 Steps, Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden and SkyHigh Mount Dandenong.
What are the best Dandenong Ranges attractions for families?
Family-friendly choices include Puffing Billy, SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, Emerald Lake Park, playgrounds, picnic areas and easy forest walks around the main villages.
What can you do for free in the Dandenong Ranges?
Popular free attractions include Dandenong Ranges National Park, the 1000 Steps, Sherbrooke Forest, Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens and many public walking tracks, picnic grounds and lookouts.
Which towns are best to visit in the Dandenong Ranges?
Belgrave, Olinda, Sassafras, Emerald, Gembrook and Mount Dandenong are among the main visitor areas, each offering a different mix of attractions, gardens, cafes, shops and outdoor experiences.