Parking
Start at the lower car park at Distillery Creek Picnic Ground, reached via Bambra Road and Distillery Creek Road. Toilets are at the upper car park.
Overview
About Ironbark Gorge Circuit Walk
Why go
- A compact loop moves from creekside forest to rocky gorge views.
- Bridge and boardwalk crossings make the creek-bed route clear.
Heads up
- The creek is usually dry, so there may be no flowing water in the gorge.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Otway map
Full mapElevation43–177 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Great Otway alerts
- ClosureWye Road closed after storm and flood damageWye Road is closed until further notice because recent storm and flood damage requires road maintenance and repair works; plan around the closure.Official details
- ClosureLorne-area walking trails closed after flood damageSome walking trails near Lorne are closed for public safety after the January 2026 flash floods washed away or severely damaged bridges and walkways.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Otway Tour Guide
Your drive to Ironbark Gorge Circuit Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Otway 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.
See the Great Otway audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Distillery Creek: A Short Ironbark Walk0:00 / 0:33
“You're nearing Distillery Creek Picnic Area, a pair of picnic grounds in dry ironbark forest. For a short woodland break, start at the lower ground and give the Nature Trail thirty to forty-five minutes.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Otway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Sunnymead Beach and The Shack
- The Seed Head That Rolls Away
- The Crabs That March Forwards
- Five Weeks After the Wreck
- 252 audio storiesacross Great Otway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Koala, Grey Kangaroo, Echidna, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 83 trails, 79 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 Ironbark Gorge Circuit Walk
What the loop isIronbark Gorge Circuit is a 4.
Ironbark Gorge Circuit is a 4.5 km loop from the lower Distillery Creek Picnic Ground, through ironbark forest and along the rocky sides of the gorge. Allow about 1.5 hours. It suits a half-day plan when you want a real walk and a few open views across the gully without taking on a long route. The creek is often dry, so come for the rock walls and forest rather than flowing water.
Follow the signed circuitFrom the lower car park, walk north through the picnic area for a couple of minutes and turn…
From the lower car park, walk north through the picnic area for a couple of minutes and turn left at the Ironbark Gorge Track sign. The narrow creekside track climbs the southwest side of the gorge. Rocky stretches open views across the gully and back down the creek. At the gorge head, cross the bridge marked 8WT, then descend downstream on the opposite side. Several bridges or boardwalks cross the creek bed. Near the end, pass the left turn for Currawong Falls and follow the Picnic Ground 500 m sign back to the start; taking the falls track makes a different, longer walk.
A moderate walk with rocky footingThe track changes from close, shaded creek walking to rockier ground on the gorge sides.
The track changes from close, shaded creek walking to rockier ground on the gorge sides. It climbs to the head of the gorge and descends the other bank, so it feels more involved than a stroll around the picnic area. Published grades range from easy to moderate to medium-difficult; moderate is a fair expectation. Slow down over the rock and at the creek crossings.
Forest plants and birdsFriends of Eastern Otways lists Common Correa, Narrow-leaf Bitter-pea, Rusty Pomaderris,…
Friends of Eastern Otways lists Common Correa, Narrow-leaf Bitter-pea, Rusty Pomaderris, violets, Cut-leaf Daisy and Tall Greenhoods along this walk, including a particularly fine stand of Rusty Pomaderris. Narrow-leaf Bitter-pea can flower in late September. The local bird guide also features calls of New Holland Honeyeater, Red Wattlebird and Pied Currawong, and says bird calls are often abundant here.
At the picnic groundThe lower car park is the walk’s starting point.
The lower car park is the walk’s starting point. Picnic tables and wood-fired barbecues are available at the lower and upper picnic areas; bring your own firewood. Toilets are at the upper car park. Dogs are allowed on the Ironbark Gorge track on lead; the separate Distillery Creek Nature Trail has a different dog rule.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Otway
204 sightingsKoalaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
35 sightingsGrey KangarooMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
109 sightingsEchidnaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
58 sightingsKookaburraMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
97 sightingsSwamp WallabyMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
20 sightingsBrushtail PossumMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Otway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
