The Dandenong Ranges

For over 100 years the Dandenong Ranges have been an idyllic retreat for Melbournians wanting to take the mountain air and escape the bustle of city life. This mountain range shares with New South Wales’ Blue Mountains the natural phenomenon of a blue haze rising from forests of gum trees. On a clear day, you can even see them from the centre of Melbourne, with Mt Dandenong culminating at 633m.
The hills are about 35km or an hour’s drive east of the city and boast quaint villages, fine old houses, beautiful flowering gardens, shady forests of eucalypts and tree ferns. From there, you can admire spectacular panoramic views of the Yarra Valley and distant ranges.

The Dandenong Ranges is also a great place to come to watch the sunset over the city.

How to get there?

The Met’s suburban trains run on the Belgrave line to the foothills of the Dandenongs. From Upper Ferntree Gully train station it’s a 10min walk to the start of the Ferntree Gully section of the national park. Belgrave station is the last stop on the line and the starting point for Puffing Billy train station, and it’s a 15min walk from the station to Sherbrooke Forest.

You really need your own transport to explore the Dandenongs properly. From the city, take the Eastern Freeway to the Springvale Road exit, turn right on to Springvale Road and then left at Canterbury Road and follow to Montrose. Turn right at the Montrose roundabout and follow the Mt Dandenong Tourist Road to Olinda.

• Dandenong Ranges National Park: easy bushwalks start from Ferntree Gully, accessible by train or by car via the Burwood Highway.
• National Rhododendron Gardens: beautiful gardens including over 15,000 rhododendrons, 12,000 azaleas, and giant eucalypts tower over colourful flower beds - The Georgian Road, Olinda)
• The Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens: Sherbrooke Road, Sherbrooke
• The William Ricketts Sanctuary: Mt Dandenong tourist Road, Mt Dandenong
  Mt Dandenong Lookout
• Lake Emerald: good for water activities
• Olinda: Spend a relaxing afternoon browsing through the many art, antique and handicraft galleries and sampling a famous Dandenong Ranges Devonshire cream tea.
• Puffing Billy: Australia’s oldest steam railway, through thick forests, fern-filled gullies and past gorgeous villages with poetic names like Belgrave, Gembrook and Emerald.