The Prom’s coastline is a feast for the senses – 130 kilometres of breathtaking views, clear turquoise waters, horseshoe bays, hidden coves, granite headlands, and white sandy beaches. The interior is just as impressive, where coastal heath, giant sand dunes, grey granite ranges, and lush rainforests thick with tree ferns and littered with moss-covered logs is crisscrossed with trails to suit every type of hiker.
Day Hikes in Wilsons Prom
Photo credit: Mark Watson, Visit Victoria
Mount Oberon Summit
Distance: 6.8km return, 2hrs
Grade: Moderate-hard
Start and finish: Telegraph Saddle Carpark
Mt Oberon is the highest point in the national park at 558m and the most popular day hike in Wilsons Prom. It begins at Telegraph Saddle Carpark and follows a wide trail for most of the way to the top. You’ll be rewarded by 360-degree views of the whole peninsula. Steps below the rocky summit lead to picture perfect uninterrupted views over Tidal River, the coast and offershore islands. Be prepared as even in summer months the summit can be windy, cool and clouded.
Big Drift Walk
Distance: 4km return, 1.5 hours
Grade: Easy/Moderate
Start and finish: Stockyard Campsite
Escape the crowds and bask in the grandeur of the vast ‘Big Drift’ hidden in the northern section of Wilsons Prom. Be blown away by a series of ever-changing inland sand dunes, boasting an otherworldly landscape and a unique side to Wilsons Prom. This is the kind of place where it’s very likely that the only footprints in the sand will be your own. Come here to enjoy a peaceful moment and to feel small in the vast expanse of golden sands. Keep eyes peeled for an array of stunning wildlife and take on some adrenaline sand dune surfing. Best enjoyed at sunrise or sunset, when the dunes turn rose gold, take in the views over the Vereker Range in the east and the sea to the west. An ethereal place and a photographer's paradise.
Darby River to Tongue Point
Distance: 10km return, 3-4hours
Grade: Moderate
Start and finish: Darby River Carpark
Walk to what seems like the edge of the world where giant cliff top drop to the deep blue below. A moderate climb through wind swept coast vegetation before a gentle descent into Tongue Point where you’ll marvel at a coastal headland jewelled with stacks of weathered granite. This track offer sweeping views of picturesque mountain ranges and pristine beaches. Don’t miss a short side track just before Darby Saddle where steps lead to the secluded and pristine beach of Fairy Cove, perfect for an afternoon dip.
Sealers Cove
Distance: 19.3km return, 3-4 hours
Grade: Moderate
Start and finish: Telegraph Saddle Carpark
A crowd favourite, the Sealers Cove walk climbs steadily to Windy Saddle and then downhill to lush forests and onto the turquoise water and white sand of Sealers Cove. This Wilsons Prom walk is usually part of an overnight hike in the southern Prom area, but if you’re fit and leave early, you can do this as a day hike. It’s a walk-in only cove with crystal-clear water and a stunning golden sand beach. There is a decent hill before it continues down to the boardwalk over Sealers swamp to the cove. You return the same way. Be prepared for climbs and narrow sections of the track.
Tidal River to Squeaky Beach
Distance: 4.2km return, 2 hours
Grade: Easy
Start and finish: Tidal River Footbridge
This is one of the most spectacular walk in Wilsons Prom as it is home to its most iconic beach where the sand makes a high pitched ‘squeak’ from its fine quartz. Starting from the footbridge North-west of the Visitor Information centre, across the river journeying along the trail over the headland and into paradise of turquoise waters and white sands of Squeaky Beach. A feast for the eyes with large granite boulders and stunning orange rocks that strike magnificently against the clear blue ocean. It also offers some of the best views of Squeaky Beach as you climb over the headland that separates Leonard and Norman Bays.
Vereker Outlook via Millers Landing
Distance: 8.5km return, 2-3hours
Grade: Easy
Start and finish: Five Mile Carpark
Situated in the northern region of Wilson's Prom, marvel at a dramatic change in scenery. Journey through open banksia woodland, scramble amongst granite boulders before reaching Vereker lookout giving spectacular coastal views. On the way down divert off to the right towards Millers Landing and explore the world’s southernmost stand of mangroves.
Lilly Pilly Link Circuit
Distance: 5.8km return, 3hours
Grade: Easy
Start and finish: Lilly Pilly Gully Carpark
Soak up the magic of the rainforest on this walk. Take a glimpse into The Prom’s forested interior, traversing heathland, eucalypt forest and warm temperate rainforest. The walk climbs across the southern face of Mt Bishop through stringybark forest before descending to the lush rainforest of Lilly
The views are even more striking in spring and summer when you can see stunning wildflower displays.
Prom Wildlife Walk
Distance: 2.3km
Grade: 45mins
Start and finish: Prom Wildlife Walk Carpark
As the name suggests, this is one for the animal lovers offering the best opportunity to spot native wildlife. Just meters from the road, get unforgettable close up encounters to the feathered locals including kangaroos, wallabies, emus and wombats along your journey with a glimpse of the bushland of Wilsons Prom.
Ovrenight Hikes in Wilsons Prom
Photo credit: Garry Moore, Visit Victoria
Wilsons Promontory Southern Circuit Walk
Distance: 35.5-52.8km, 3-4 days, depending on route
Grade: Moderate
Start and finish: Telegraph Saddle Carpark
This circuit, also known as the ‘Great Prom Walk’, offers the best of everything at Victoria's most loved national park. A journey that encompasses all the southern sites, to some of the prettiest beaches and hidden coves in the park. Enjoy breathtaking sunsets and sunrise along with a plethora of wildlife from wombats, kangaroos to the marine life of dolphins, seals and southern right whales. From Tidal River the overnight trail takes you through a beautiful ferny glade forest to Sealers Cove. Be captivated by stunning coastal views of Refuge Cove before climbing to the pristine Little Waterloo Bay. For those that hold more energy, extend your trail to the jewel of the park, the historic Wilsons Prom Lighthouse.
The Wilsons Promontory Lighthouse Walk, will make you feel on the edge of the world as you walk to the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland. Here, you’ll experience a remote and windswept coastline with 360-degree view's of the tumultuous Bass Strait. Worth the trek, is staying overnight at a Lightstation Cottage, a unique stay offering a taste of a lightkeepers lifestyle.
Good To Know: Day visitor entry to Wilson Prom is free. For overnight hiking, a permit is required from the Visitors centre in Tidal River. During the summer months and Easter holidays, there is a free shuttle bus that runs between Tidal River and Telegraph Saddle Carpark. The carpark is closed to the public when this bus is operating. The timetable is available at the Visitors Centre.
