Parking
Piccaninny Carpark on Victoria Valley Road / Grampians Tourist Road near Dunkeld; the walk starts and finishes there.
Overview
About The Piccaninny (Bainggug) Walk
Why go
- Summit panorama of Mud-dadjug and Dunkeld
- Short, well-defined woodland route
Heads up
- Uneven footing and slippery rocks
- Main payoff is concentrated at the summit
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Grampians map
Full mapElevation291–415 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 Piccaninny (Bainggug) 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
The Piccaninny: A Summit in an Hour0:00 / 0:42
“Up ahead is the car park for the Piccaninny, also called Bainggug, a rewarding choice if you'd like a summit view in about an hour.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Grampians Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Mount Sturgeon: Beyond the False Summit
- Mount Abrupt: Above the Southern Plains
- Cassidy Gap: The Mud-Dadjug Overnight Hike
- The Art on Gariwerd's Walls
- 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 Piccaninny (Bainggug) Walk
The short versionAn out-and-back walk of about 2.4 km return, which is the full round trip of roughly 1.
An out-and-back walk of about 2.4 km return, which is the full round trip of roughly 1.2 km each way. Most people take about an hour, or up to 1.5 hours with photo stops at the top.
The routeFrom Piccaninny Carpark the track climbs gradually through open woodland to the Bainggug summit…
From Piccaninny Carpark the track climbs gradually through open woodland to the Bainggug summit viewpoint, then you return by exactly the same path. The path is well defined and easy to follow, so route finding is not the challenge here.
Difficulty and footingModerate, Australian Grade 3.
Moderate, Australian Grade 3. The climb is steady rather than steep, with route elevations running roughly 291 to 415 m and around 126 m of ascent reported for the walk. Expect uneven, rough ground in places, but no technical scrambling. Solid shoes with grip make the difference, especially on the descent.
What you getThe walk passes through open woodland country with Hakea, Grevillea and Banksia, and the summit…
The walk passes through open woodland country with Hakea, Grevillea and Banksia, and the summit opens out to a panorama across to Mud-dadjug (Mount Abrupt), down to Dunkeld and over the surrounding pastoral landscape. Spring brings wildflowers, and there are native plants and animals to notice along the way.
Hazards and rulesRocks can be slippery, cliff edges near the top are unstable, and limbs or whole trees can come…
Rocks can be slippery, cliff edges near the top are unstable, and limbs or whole trees can come down in the bush, so keep back from drops and watch where you stand. No camping, fires, horses, bicycles, firearms, vehicles or generators. Ordinary dogs are not allowed in the park; assistance dogs are handled under separate requirements.
Being honest about itThis is a quick hit rather than a big day out, and the reward is concentrated at the summit…
This is a quick hit rather than a big day out, and the reward is concentrated at the summit rather than spread along the way. If you want something longer and considerably harder from the same area, the Mount Sturgeon (Wurgarri) walks are a different level of effort.
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.
