Just beyond Warrnambool, at the western end of the Great Ocean Road, lies an under-visited nature lover’s paradise – Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve.
One of the largest dormant volcano maars in the world, it was the source of one of Victoria’s largest ever eruptions. Around this time, several scoria cones were also formed inside Tower Hill’s crater, making it a spectacular landscape to visit – a magical hidden forest
You’re pretty much guaranteed to get up close and personal with some wildlife at Tower Hill, but that’s not the only attraction. The park is well laid out with walking tracks to suit all abilities, and if you don’t want to walk there are beautiful picnic areas to enjoy. The Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre has food and (most importantly) coffee, and there are tours you can take from there to learn about the geological, European and indigenous history of this special place.
Indigenous people lived here even before the volcano’s most recent eruption, around 32 thousand years ago. Not only have they watched the landscape completely change with the eruption but many generations later they watched the area logged and farmed, used as a quarry, and parts of it even turned into a rubbish dump.
Fortunately, Tower Hill was declared a state reserve in 1961 and hundreds of thousands of trees were replanted. The wildlife was so badly depleted that some species had to be reintroduced. It’s amazing to see what happens when you leave nature alone to do her thing for 60 years.
Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve Walks
Peak Climb
Need to know
Length: 1.5 km
Time: 30 min
Grade: Moderate / Grade 4 (according to the Australian Walking Track Grading System).
Style: Return
Access: All tracks start from Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Path Taken: See the map below, where this walk is highlighted in pale green.
Wagon Bay Loop
Need to know
Length: 1.5 km
Time: 30 mins
Grade: Easy / Grade 3 (according to the Australian Walking Track Grading System).
Style Circuit.
Access: All tracks start from Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Path Taken: See the map below, where this walk is highlighted in orange.
Lava Tongue Boardwalk
Need to know
Length: 1.6 km
Time: 30 min
Grade: Easy / Grade 2 (according to the Australian Walking Track Grading System).
Style: Circuit
Access: All tracks start from Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Path Taken: See the map below, where this walk is highlighted in purple.
Journey to the Last Volcano
This moderately strenuous 2.2-kilometre walk has a few good ups and downs, allowing for some magnificent views. You’ll even see straight into one of the volcano’s cones and at one point, there are views across the crater lake and out to the Southern Ocean.
As with most of the walks at Tower Hill, there are opportunities to spot kangaroos, emus and abundant birdlife.
You might notice on the signs and brochures available at the park that there’s a suggested shortcut that cuts off about 300 metres and skips the trail around the cone. I don’t suggest this unless you’re short on time, as you would miss the best part of the trail.
Need to know
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Grade: Moderate / Grade 3 (according to the Australian Walking Track Grading System).
Style: Circuit
Access: All tracks start from Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Path Taken: See the map below, where this walk is highlighted in red.
Tower Hill Circuit Walk
The majority of the trail follows the banks of Tower Hill Lake, which will provide excellent wildlife spotting but may not be ideal if you like some hills on your hike. If this is you, there’ll be plenty of time left in the day to add the Peak Climb and/or Journey to the Last Volcano walks for a proper workout.
Need to know
Length: 8 km
Time: 3 hrs
Grade: Moderate / Grade 3 (according to the Australian Walking Track Grading System).
Style: Circuit
Access: All tracks start from Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Path Taken: See the map below, where this walk is highlighted in yellow.
Guided Tours at Tower Hill
Tower Hill Opening Hours
Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve Map
Tower Hill Accommodation
We picked the closest accommodation provider we could find to Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve – Harmony at Tower Hill. We weren’t at all dissuaded by the price and we didn’t regret our choice one bit. It’s pretty basic but it’s clean, self-contained (the kitchen has a microwave and stovetop), and ideally located, just 2.5 kilometres from the Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre. Not to mention it’s only about 15 minutes from both Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
If that’s not for you, check out what Booking.com has to offer in the vicinity.
Food near Tower Hill
The Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre does offer minimal food but we didn’t try them so I can’t comment. The nearby towns of Warrnambool and Port Fairy are your go-to place for all your meals (unless you’re staying somewhere self-contained). I’m not going to outline all your food options here but I can make two solid recommendations, both of them in Warrnambool. You absolutely must try breakfast at Bohemia Café and dinner at Bojangles Pizza.
Other things to do near Tower Hill Wilderness Reserve
- Check out historic Port Fairy, just 15 minutes west of Tower Hill. While you’re there, take a walk around Griffiths Island.
- Take in a sunset at Thunder Point Coastal Reserve in Warrnambool.
- The spectacular Hopkins Falls is just outside Warrnambool.
- Make a road trip of it and spend some time exploring the Great Ocean Road region.
- If you’re keen on volcanoes, there are a bunch of others in Western Victoria, like Mount Leura in Camperdown.
Further Info
Getting there: The well-signed entry to Tower Hill Wilderness Reserve is on the Princes Highway, 14km west of Warrnambool.
Price: Entry to the park is free of charge. Guided tours are available at an extra cost.
Facilities: The park is equipped with electric BBQs, toilets and picnic tables, all near the Worn Gundidj Visitor Centre.
Tips: The park does get quite busy and although you’re almost guaranteed some good wildlife sightings, you’ll increase your chances significantly by setting off on your walks before everyone else does. Having said that, we started walking at about 9:30am and were the only ones on the trail, so you don’t have to be a seriously early riser.
Contact:
p: 03 5569 9202
m: 0448 509 522
e: mkoroit@wgenterprises.org.au
Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small percentage of any sales made when visitors click through.
Have you been to Tower Hill? Got any questions, comments, updates or corrections? Let us know by commenting below.
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Really appreciate this clearly set out site. Helps in planning, have never been in this area, but fascinated by Australia’s volcanics.
Hopefully this is better appreciated than my home area of the Monaro Lava Flow Plains, – its small cones and extrusions are being decimated by quarrying for scoria (around all the tourist sites in Canberra – for example, the Glass works at Kingston).
Thanks for the kind words Marg. I think Tower Hill’s protections will remain in place but you never know. Always sad when such significant places get destroyed.