Parking
Start at Mount Zero Picnic Area, the named northern access with parking and toilets. Arrange transport separately for the Dunkeld finish.
Overview
About Grampians Peaks Trail
Why go
- Long ridge walking with panoramic views
- A complete north-to-south traverse of the ranges
Heads up
- Thirteen days and twelve nights of sustained multi-day effort
- Rocky footing, repeated climbs and a finish-transfer problem
Walk it if you have solid multi-day experience, are comfortable with rocky and exposed ground, and can carry food and water for consecutive long days. Skip the full traverse if you are new to overnight hiking, unsure on rock or heights, travelling with a dog, or short on time.
Parkwolf’s verdictWho should walk it, and who should notMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Grampians map
Full mapElevation240–1,045 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Grampians alerts
- CautionTemporary GPT closures for helicopter operationsMentions this trailExpect temporary closures and approximately 15-minute holds along the Grampians Peaks Trail during helicopter air-lift operations from 13–14 October 2026.Official details
- ClosureBushfire-damaged walks and picnic area remain closedThe Fortress, Red Gum, Billimina, Chimney Pots and Brownings Loop walks, plus Mafeking Picnic Area, remain closed because of track or site damage from the 2024/25 summer bushfires.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grampians Tour Guide
Your drive to Grampians Peaks Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Grampians National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Mount Zero and Stapylton: Pick Your Climb0:00 / 1:04
“Up ahead is the Mount Zero Picnic Area, the starting point for Mount Stapylton and Mount Zero, with a shorter option that's well worth knowing about.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Grampians Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Hollow Mountain and Gulgurn Manja
- The View That Changed the Route
- The Bird That Plants Mistletoe
- The Trail Starts at Mount Zero
- 233 audio storiesacross Grampians’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Short-beaked Echidna, Powerful Owl, Wedge-tailed Eagle, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 81 trails, 62 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Grampians Peaks Trail
The route in one lineThe Grampians Peaks Trail is a 164 km point-to-point walk from Mount Zero in the north to…
The Grampians Peaks Trail is a 164 km point-to-point walk from Mount Zero in the north to Dunkeld in the south. That distance is one way, not a loop, and the full traverse is planned as a 13 day, 12 night hike with nights spent at hike-in campgrounds along the way.
What you walk throughThe trail strings the ranges together in sequence, working south from the northern sandstone…
The trail strings the ranges together in sequence, working south from the northern sandstone country over Gar (Mt Difficult), past Redman Bluff, up to Duwil (Mount William) and across the Major Mitchell Plateau, then out to Signal Peak and finally Mt Abrupt and Mt Sturgeon above Dunkeld. The payoff is the accumulation: days of rugged rocky ridgelines and long panoramic views over the valleys and plains.
How hard it really isThis is graded a challenging Grade 4 hike, and the grade is honest.
This is graded a challenging Grade 4 hike, and the grade is honest. The profile is a repeated pattern of major climbs and descents rather than a gentle traverse. Expect uneven dirt and unpaved tread, compacted and rocky footing, sandstone steps, exposed ridge travel, and full days carrying a multi-day pack.
Planning and logisticsWalk it south from Mount Zero and finish at Dunkeld, in the one way north to south direction.
- Walk it south from Mount Zero and finish at Dunkeld, in the one way north to south direction.
- Book your on-trail hike-in campgrounds before you start. These are the hike-in campgrounds that must be booked for the multi-day route.
- Carry your own food and water, plus maps and safety devices.
- Stay on the trail. Campfires are not permitted, and pets, drones and loud music should be left at home.
- The finish is at Dunkeld rather than the start point, so work out your transport arrangement before you set off rather than hoping to solve it at the end.
A shorter optionThe official trail information also presents shorter three day sections as an option for people…
The official trail information also presents shorter three day sections as an option for people who cannot commit to the full traverse. You still get ridgelines, climbs and views over a smaller number of days.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Grampians
157 sightingsShort-beaked EchidnaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
37 sightingsPowerful OwlMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
59 sightingsWedge-tailed EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
24 sightingsEastern Brown SnakeMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
10 sightingsTiger SnakeMost seen around noonSighting map
29 sightingsRed-bellied Black SnakeMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Grampians. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
