Dandenong Ranges walks: the 1000 Steps, lyrebirds and Sherbrooke Forest

A genuine mountain forest, an hour from the city

It’s easy to forget how close real forest is to Melbourne until you drive the hour east from the Melbourne CBD into the Dandenong Ranges and find yourself under a canopy of towering Mountain Ash eucalypts — among the tallest flowering plants on Earth — with barely a hint of the city left behind. The Dandenong Ranges National Park is free to enter, criss-crossed with walking tracks of varying difficulty, and built around a handful of distinct forest zones, of which Sherbrooke Forest, home to the famous 1000 Steps walk, is the best known and most heavily visited.

This guide focuses specifically on the walking and wildlife side of a Dandenongs visit — for the region’s other well-known drawcard, the heritage Puffing Billy steam railway, we’ve covered that in its own dedicated guide.

The 1000 Steps: Melbourne’s toughest short walk

The walk most people come for is officially the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk, universally known by its nickname, the 1000 Steps. It starts at Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground on the western edge of the national park and climbs steeply through dense Sherbrooke Forest along a series of steps — originally cut from tree-fern trunks in the early 1900s, since replaced with concrete for durability — gaining significant elevation over roughly 2 kilometres of uphill walking. It’s a genuinely demanding short walk: steep, sustained, and enough to leave most people out of breath by the top, regardless of general fitness level. Most walkers complete the full loop, climbing up the 1000 Steps proper and descending via the gentler Lyrebird Track, in about 1.5 to 2 hours including a rest at the top.

Why it’s called the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk

The walk’s memorial name isn’t incidental branding — it was formally adopted as a memorial site in 1998 by veterans of the actual Kokoda Trail campaign in Papua New Guinea, where Australian soldiers fought a brutal defensive campaign against Japanese forces in 1942. Plaques along the route honour those soldiers and explain the connection between this steep Dandenongs climb and the far longer, far harder original Kokoda Trail, giving the walk a layer of historical weight beyond its physical challenge. Many Melbourne visitors walk the full route as a genuine training exercise for the actual Kokoda Trail trek in Papua New Guinea, and it’s common to see people doing repeat laps carrying weighted packs for exactly that reason.

Completing the loop via the Lyrebird Track

Rather than retracing your steps back down the same 1000 Steps climb, most walkers complete a loop by descending via the Lyrebird Track, a gentler, more gradual path through the same Sherbrooke Forest that eases the impact on knees after the steep climb and gives a second, quieter stretch of forest to walk through. It’s also, as the name suggests, one of the better spots in the park to actually encounter the birds themselves, since the track’s quieter, less-trafficked stretches suit their shy nature better than the busier main steps.

Spotting superb lyrebirds in Sherbrooke Forest

The Dandenong Ranges, and Sherbrooke Forest in particular, are one of the most reliable places anywhere near Melbourne to see or hear a superb lyrebird — a genuinely remarkable bird capable of mimicking an extraordinary range of sounds, from other native birds to, famously, camera shutters, chainsaws and car alarms. Breeding season, roughly June to August (the heart of Melbourne’s winter), is the best time to try, since males become highly vocal during this period as part of their mating display, performing elaborate song-and-dance routines on small earth mounds they build and defend through the forest understory.

Early morning is by far the best time of day — lyrebirds are most active and most willing to perform before the day’s foot traffic builds, and they’re notoriously shy, retreating into dense undergrowth at the first sign of loud voices or heavy footsteps.

If you genuinely want a sighting rather than just a distant call, move slowly, keep conversation to a whisper, and be prepared to simply wait quietly near likely spots along the Lyrebird Track rather than continuously walking.

Other walks in the Dandenong Ranges

Beyond the 1000 Steps, the wider national park and surrounding townships hold a genuinely broad network of walking options for those with more time. Sherbrooke Forest itself has several other, gentler walking tracks beyond the Lyrebird Track, giving quieter alternatives if the main 1000 Steps route feels too crowded or too strenuous for your group. Nearby, the township of Olinda is known for its ornamental gardens — the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden (also called National Rhododendron Garden) among them — offering a gentler, flatter walking option with genuinely spectacular flowering displays in spring (September-November).

If you’re spending a full day in the ranges, pairing a morning 1000 Steps climb with an afternoon wander through Olinda’s gardens makes for a well-balanced mix of strenuous and relaxed walking.

A brief history of the ranges

Long before European settlement, the Dandenong Ranges were part of the traditional Country of the Wurundjeri people, who used the forested hills for hunting, gathering and cultural practice for tens of thousands of years — a connection to the land that predates the Kokoda memorial history by an immense margin, and worth remembering as context when you’re walking through what feels, today, like a purely recreational forest.

European settlement from the mid-19th century brought a substantial timber industry to the ranges, logging much of the original old-growth Mountain Ash forest for Melbourne’s rapid urban expansion, before conservation efforts through the 20th century gradually protected the remaining forest and allowed significant regrowth — the tall trees you walk beneath on the 1000 Steps today are largely regrowth rather than untouched original-growth forest, though no less impressive for it, given how quickly Mountain Ash can reach extraordinary heights.

Picnic areas and facilities

Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground, the starting point for the 1000 Steps, has toilets, picnic tables and a car park, making it a straightforward base for a half-day visit even if you’re not planning the full climb. If you’d rather picnic somewhere gentler after the walk, Sherbrooke Forest and the broader national park have several other picnic areas scattered through the ranges, and the township of Olinda has cafés and a more curated garden setting if you’d prefer a sit-down meal over a packed lunch. None of these require bookings or entry fees — just turn up, though weekend and school-holiday parking at the busiest spots, Ferntree Gully included, can fill by mid-morning.

Photography tips

The forest’s dense canopy creates dramatic, filtered light through the Mountain Ash trunks, especially in the first couple of hours after sunrise, when shafts of light cut through the morning mist that commonly settles over the ranges — genuinely striking conditions for photography if you’re an early starter. The steepest sections of the 1000 Steps themselves, viewed from partway up looking back down, give a good sense of scale against the towering tree trunks; wider, more open shots are harder to compose given how enclosed the forest canopy keeps most of the walk.

If lyrebird spotting is a priority, patience matters more than gear — a modest zoom lens and a willingness to wait quietly near likely spots on the Lyrebird Track will get you further than expensive equipment used impatiently.

Family suitability

The 1000 Steps itself is a tough call for families with young children — the sustained climb is genuinely demanding even for many adults, and it’s not uncommon to see children struggling or needing to be carried on the steeper middle sections. Families with primary-school-age children and reasonable general fitness can usually manage it with regular rest stops, but it’s not a walk to attempt with toddlers or as a casual first outing.

If you’re travelling with younger children specifically, the gentler garden walks around Olinda, or a Puffing Billy ride without the accompanying forest climb, make for a more comfortable family day in the same general area — see our dedicated Puffing Billy railway guide for that lower-effort alternative.

Difficulty levels and who should attempt what

The 1000 Steps loop is best suited to reasonably fit adults and older children comfortable with a sustained uphill climb — it’s not recommended for young children, anyone with significant knee or mobility issues, or those looking for a casual, flat stroll. If that describes your group, the gentler garden walks around Olinda, or shorter sections of Sherbrooke Forest’s other tracks, are a better fit. For fit, motivated walkers, the 1000 Steps genuinely delivers — locals use it as a regular fitness circuit, and it’s popular enough that you’ll rarely be alone on the main steps, particularly on weekend mornings.

What to wear and bring

Proper walking or trail shoes make a real difference here — the steps and connecting track sections can be uneven, and root-covered or slippery underfoot after rain, and thin-soled sneakers or sandals aren’t up to the job. Bring water; the climb is short but genuinely strenuous, and the forest canopy, while keeping you cooler than open ground even in summer, doesn’t eliminate the need to stay hydrated. A light extra layer is worth carrying regardless of season, since temperatures under the dense Mountain Ash canopy run noticeably cooler than the surrounding open countryside. Insect repellent is a sensible addition in the warmer months.

Getting there without a car

Reaching the Dandenong Ranges without your own car takes more planning than most of Melbourne’s inner attractions. The Belgrave train line connects to Upper Ferntree Gully and Belgrave stations, both within range of the national park’s walking tracks and the Puffing Billy railway, though local bus connections from the stations into the forest itself are limited and infrequent.

For most visitors without a car, the simpler and more reliable option is an organised day tour from Melbourne — several combine a guided walk through the Dandenongs’ forest with a ride on the heritage Puffing Billy steam train through the Dandenong Ranges, covering both the walking and rail side of a Dandenongs visit in a single organised day without needing to navigate trains and buses yourself.

Combining a walk with Puffing Billy

Puffing Billy, the heritage steam railway that runs from nearby Belgrave through the forested hills of the Dandenongs, is one of Victoria’s most iconic experiences and a natural pairing with a morning spent on the 1000 Steps or a gentler forest walk.

We’ve covered the railway itself in detail in our dedicated Puffing Billy railway guide; if you’d rather not self-drive and coordinate both experiences independently, a combined rainforest walk and Puffing Billy tour handles the logistics for you, while a Puffing Billy tour with a wildlife-spotting focus leans more toward the nature side of a Dandenongs day, useful if lyrebirds and native wildlife are your main interest alongside the train ride itself.

Weather and seasonal notes

The Dandenong Ranges sit at higher elevation than Melbourne’s CBD and are noticeably cooler and wetter, especially in winter (June-August), when misty, damp conditions are common under the dense forest canopy — atmospheric for a walk, but worth dressing for genuinely cool, humid conditions rather than assuming Melbourne’s city-centre forecast applies unchanged up in the hills. Summer (December-February) brings a real fire-risk dimension to the ranges; check total fire ban conditions before visiting on hot, dry, high-wind days, since track access can be restricted on days of extreme fire danger.

Autumn (March-May) and spring (September-November) are generally the most comfortable seasons for a full day of walking, with milder temperatures and lower fire-risk closures.

Wildlife beyond lyrebirds

Superb lyrebirds are the headline attraction, but the Dandenongs’ forest also supports a genuine range of other native wildlife, including crimson rosellas and other native parrots commonly seen (and heard) around picnic areas, and, less visibly, native mammals active mostly at dawn and dusk. If wildlife spotting more broadly is a priority for your Victoria trip, our wildlife and nature 4-day itinerary covers the Dandenongs alongside other key wildlife stops around Melbourne and the state, and our Melbourne free things to do guide rounds up other no-cost nature stops if you’re building a budget-conscious regional Victoria itinerary.

Honest planning notes

The 1000 Steps genuinely lives up to its reputation as one of the toughest short walks near Melbourne, and it’s worth taking that seriously rather than assuming “it’s just a park walk near the city” — pace yourself, and don’t be embarrassed about stopping to catch your breath on the steeper middle section, since plenty of regular walkers do the same. On the flip side, don’t let the difficulty put you off if you’re reasonably fit; the sense of genuine forest immersion this close to a major city is rare, and the Kokoda memorial context adds a layer of meaning that a purely scenic walk wouldn’t have.

If you’re deciding between a self-drive visit and an organised tour, weigh up whether you also want to ride Puffing Billy on the same day — if so, an organised combined tour is often simpler and only modestly more expensive than arranging parking, entry and timing everything yourself.

For a broader honest look at which Melbourne-area excursions are worth the time versus which are overrated, see our Melbourne tourist traps guide — the Dandenongs, done properly with a real walk rather than a drive-through, are firmly in the “worth it” category.

Timing a full day in the ranges

A well-paced full day in the Dandenongs might start with an early climb of the 1000 Steps before the car park fills and before the day’s foot traffic pushes the lyrebirds deeper into cover, followed by a mid-morning coffee and rest in Olinda or nearby Sassafras, an early-afternoon ride on Puffing Billy from Belgrave, and a late-afternoon drive back to Melbourne before peak commuter traffic builds on the approach roads. If you have an extra day, the neighbouring Yarra Valley wine region is close enough to combine into a single regional Victoria loop rather than two separate trips from the city.

This kind of itinerary comfortably fills a day without feeling rushed, and works equally well as a self-drive plan or as the backbone of an organised day tour if you’ve booked one of the combined Puffing Billy and forest-walk options above.

If you’re short on time, prioritise the 1000 Steps and Puffing Billy over the gardens — the walk and the railway are the two experiences genuinely unique to this part of Victoria, while ornamental gardens, however pleasant, can be found in other forms closer to central Melbourne.

Getting there by car

Self-driving is the simplest option: it’s roughly an hour from the Melbourne CBD via the Monash Freeway and Burwood Highway, or the EastLink and Ferntree Gully Road route, depending on your starting point. Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground has a car park at the base of the 1000 Steps, though it fills on weekends and during school holidays, so an early start is worth planning if you want a straightforward parking spot rather than circling for a space. The Dandenong Ranges region also connects easily on the same day to nearby Olinda’s gardens and the Belgrave end of the Puffing Billy line, making a full loop of walking, wildlife and the steam railway realistic without an overnight stay.

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