The Track to Lookout Rock, Olinda

One of the best walks in the Olinda Section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park is to the Lookout Rock.

I visited this interesting geographical feature on February 21, 2009. My 4.5 km return route was along gated Mathias Rd, starting at the junction with Falls Rd, then into Golf Course Track and to the Rock.

There are glorious views from Golf Course Track and Mathias Rd across the Upper Yarra Valley to the Yarra Ranges.

The Rock, adjacent to the Olinda Golf Course, has been a favourite destination for walkers since the early 1900s. In those years, there were good panoramas from the Rock, but these are now obscured by tall timber regrowth.

The Hamer Arboretum borders Mathias Rd.

See the Photos of my trip, which include two historical images of the Rock as it was in the year 1910!

Lookout Rock Winter Walk, Olinda

On July 6 2008 I re-visited the Lookout Rock, Olinda, in the Dandenong Ranges National Park, about 40 km east of the Melbourne CBD.

My 4.5 km walk took me along Mathias Rd, Rock Track, and Conus Track, on the perimeter of the wonderful Forest Arboretum.

The Rock is adjacent to the Olinda Golf Course, and has been a popular destination for visitors since the late 1800s.

Sadly, there are no longer any views from the Rock itself, due to tall timber regrowth since the disastrous bushfires of the 1970s. In the early 1900s, most of the natural timber had been cut down and removed from the region, and views from the Rock would have been excellent.

However, the views from Rock Track were superb, easterly to the Donna Buang/Victoria/Ben Cairn massif, and northerly to Mts St Leonard, Tanglefoot, and Monda.

I have included some archival photos taken in 1910 of visitors on the Rock - some trees in those photos are still standing in 2008, 92 years later!

More than 300 million years ago, a large volcano erupted through the earth's crust, near the present township of Olinda. The impact of weathering on the volcanic rocks by the water and wind contrasted with the softer sedimentary rocks to form the Dandenong Ranges. Lookout Rock is on the rim of the original crater. The Rock looks much the same, and hasn't changed much in 300 million years...!

See the full set of Photos