Parking
Reed Lookout Carpark on Balconies Road; the signed track starts from the carpark.
Overview
About The Balconies Walk
Why go
- Easy access to distinctive sandstone platforms
- Broad Victoria Valley and Victoria Range views
- Generally gentle, formed path
Heads up
- Popular times can feel busy
- Short walk with limited challenge
No dogs (assistance dog requirements are handled separately)
Parkwolf’s verdictRules worth knowingMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Grampians map
Full mapElevation707–766 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
5 active Grampians alerts
- 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
- ClosureMackenzie Falls precinct closed during constructionThe Mackenzie Falls (Migunang wirab) Precinct has no vehicle or visitor access during major construction works expected to finish by the end of 2026.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Grampians Tour Guide
Your drive to The Balconies Walk, 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
Reeds Lookout and the Balconies0:00 / 0:50
“You're nearing the shared car park for Reeds Lookout and the Balconies, with two quite different reasons to get out of the car. Reeds gives you the broad panorama after a short uphill walk.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Grampians Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Grass Tree’s Flowering Spear
- Mafeking’s Brief Gold Rush
- A Quieter Climb Above Halls Gap
- Fish Falls for a Quieter Walk
- 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 The Balconies Walk
The short versionAn easy out-and-back from Reed Lookout Carpark to the Balconies Lookout, with 2.
An easy out-and-back from Reed Lookout Carpark to the Balconies Lookout, with 2.2 km as the total return distance and about an hour of walking. It is graded easy (Australian Grade 1), so it suits walkers of most fitness levels.
The walk itselfFrom the carpark you follow the Balconies path out through native stringybark woodland and…
From the carpark you follow the Balconies path out through native stringybark woodland and rocky ground, crossing a few short timber bridge sections along the way. You return on exactly the same corridor, so there is no route-finding to worry about. The payoff comes at the end: viewing platforms at overhanging sandstone cliffs, looking out over the Victoria Valley and the Victoria Range.
Footing and difficultyThe track is formed gravel or compacted path, generally gentle and fairly level.
The track is formed gravel or compacted path, generally gentle and fairly level. Expect a little undulation rather than any real climbing.
Access nuanceMapping data flags wheelchair access here as limited, so this should not be treated as…
Mapping data flags wheelchair access here as limited, so this should not be treated as universally accessible. If you or someone in your group needs step-free certainty, treat it as likely rather than guaranteed and be ready to turn back at any point.
Cliff safetyThe cliffs at the lookout overhang and are unstable.
The cliffs at the lookout overhang and are unstable. Stay on the viewing platforms and away from unstable cliff edges, and keep hold of children.
Rules worth knowingNo bicycles, horses or vehicles on the walk
- No bicycles, horses or vehicles on the walk
- No camping, fires or generators
- No fishing or firearms
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.
