Arapiles, whilst a beautiful place to wander around, offers limited bushwalking potential. There are two trails up gullies to the summits, Central Gully and Pharos Gully. There is a marked walk of 16kms around the mountain. One should be careful if leaving marked walks as there is a real danger of hidden drops.
The other part of the park, however, the Tooan Scrub, offers good walking through a variety of bush. The park is criss-crossed by sandy roads and you can either follow these or head of on your own into the scrub. Tooan is most easily reached by taking the road to the golfcourse (the next turn right on the Edenhope road after the turn into the mountain.) This will take you through to St Mary's Lake (dry in 1999). The scrub on the other side of this is Tooan and can be reached by driving around the lake.
North of Natimuk is the Little Desert National Park which can be accessed from the southern edge. There is a four day marked discovery trail (with watered campsites) starting and ending at Dimboola (35km North of Natimuk) and again there is a network of sandy tracks throughout the park. It is a desert and water is scarce so walkers planning trips into the Little Desert should be well prepared.
North again is the excellent Wyperfeld and Big Desert National Parks which offer similar walking.
Fifty kilometres east of Natimuk is the Northern edge of the rugged Grampians National Park, one of the best bushwalking areas in Australia, offering walk from very easy to quite hard.
The other part of the park, however, the Tooan Scrub, offers good walking through a variety of bush. The park is criss-crossed by sandy roads and you can either follow these or head of on your own into the scrub. Tooan is most easily reached by taking the road to the golfcourse (the next turn right on the Edenhope road after the turn into the mountain.) This will take you through to St Mary's Lake (dry in 1999). The scrub on the other side of this is Tooan and can be reached by driving around the lake.
North of Natimuk is the Little Desert National Park which can be accessed from the southern edge. There is a four day marked discovery trail (with watered campsites) starting and ending at Dimboola (35km North of Natimuk) and again there is a network of sandy tracks throughout the park. It is a desert and water is scarce so walkers planning trips into the Little Desert should be well prepared.
North again is the excellent Wyperfeld and Big Desert National Parks which offer similar walking.
Fifty kilometres east of Natimuk is the Northern edge of the rugged Grampians National Park, one of the best bushwalking areas in Australia, offering walk from very easy to quite hard.
