Cathedral Range State Park

Scenic site. Suitable for camping. Very quite and serene. Public toilets available. Camping site with fire pit in multiple camping sites. You can choose to go on hikes based on your level of fitness. Be careful of going off the grid since there’s no mobile coverage. Nearest grocery store is around 15 minutes away to stock up food and water. Probably not suitable for families with kids younger than 6 years since there are no playgrounds to entertain them.

What a special place, the Cathedral Gorge. Hiked through the middle, then to the northern side of the Gorge. What a big achievement it was to complete that. It was so nice to dip the feet into the cool river. It's worth the drive.

spectacular view and exciting climbs. Make sure to bring a lot of water and supplies and prepare adequately in accordance to the time you spend there. Lots of beautiful places and areas to camp.

Awesome, great sunrise, though the cave way was extremely exposed and steep

Big day but great hike for an awesome view.

There are different ways to get to the top
We chose the hardest way it involves cave climbing and bouldering
Just to make it more adventurous
But don't go if you have no experience in hikes or going with children you need the right gear
Choose the easy path it's still challenging but doable

Proceed with caution and safety if doing the harder trails

Loved this hike, it is challenging but well worth it! Did the grade 5 Sugarloaf to Farm yard camping ground hike. Bring plenty of water & snacks. Hiking boots make scrambling a lot easier too.

A gem of a place. The hiking views at the top are splendidly unique. And you'll find tranquil water steams, beautiful scenery and intriguing wildlife on the way.

Enjoyed a short walk there, the river trail. Was surprised by some kangaroos at the turn around spot. Little track inside the forest which then brings you to a gorgeous view of the hills. About 1h30 return walk from car park.

One of the most amazing forest parks in Victoria. Peaceful and relaxing, with hikes for all and amazing views. Camping here is a must for me too!

Beautiful Mountain views. Camping is available. Must reserve a spot. Unsealed roads. Best to go in the warmer months unless you have a 4wd .

Beautiful state park. Please bring along plenty of drink and snacks, if you are a beginner it may take you 3 hours round trip hike but depending which peaks/stops you are heading to and back. Please be careful especially your hands and arms because there are plenty of spiky shrubs/bushes when you heading down from the peaks.

Cathedral Range offers some quite difficult trails which are truly special and rewarding. Some portions of the trek demand rock climbing and scrambling abilities which can be challenging and feel potentially dangerous if you’re afraid of heights.

There’s plenty of trail variations to choose from for different experiences. I started from Cooks Mill and completed the South Circuit in 4.5 hours via Canyon Track (instead of Wells Cave). It’s generally recommended that only confident rock climbers enter Wells Cave due to the difficulty level.

11.4km South Circuit (652m elevation gain) : Cooks Mill - Messmate Track - Sugarloaf Saddle - Sugarloaf Peak via Canyon Track - Razorback Track - Farmyard - South Jawbone - Jawbone Carpark - St Bernard Track - Cooks Mill

The path is well signed and marked regularly but there are still plenty of chances to stray off track, so if you haven’t seen an orange marking in 100m it’s best to trace back and reassess.

Be sure to bring plenty of water, it gets really exposed at the ridge especially on a hot day! Also you may see lots of lizards at the rocky bits, potentially some snakes too but they usually hide deep in the cracks where it’s cooling. Also you might be accompanied by some persistent March flies on a hot summer day, it hurts when they sting! Consider staying away from black / dark blue clothings so you’re not inadvertently attracting too many of them…

Beautiful park. We hiked from neds saddle. Two bathrooms at the car park. Campsite appeared to be a field (not super private) but everyone enjoying it seemed to be quietly enjoying the outdoors. We stayed on the north side for hiking. Was harder than anticipated. Very uphill and scrambles all over. We loved it just bring water. And don’t expect an easy hike!

We did it the North Ridge loop 🤩
We started from the Cooks Mill camp ground, went clockwise and that was a good decision for us. Don’t remember much the way up, maybe because we still had lots of energy and had seen many similar places. We decided to go to Jawbone North Peak. The Peak itself is not impressive as too many trees around. BUT we walked a bit further to the edges … what a breathtaking views. There is one looking to the park side, and another looking to the Sugarloaf and Jawbone South peaks Wonderful to have lunch there.
Then the Ridge!!! What a fun to walk about 2 km on bunches of cute rocks which sometimes look like gigantic chicken nuggets The view to the farm side is speechless. Some red leaves started showing …
We tried to go a bit further to Cathedral peak, but found it not much impressive. Didn’t have enough energy to go further to the Little Cathedral.
The way back was hard, a bit slippery although it was dry (luckily!) very hot and we ran low of water Just had to keep going …
Lucky that the walk from Neds Gully and Cooks Mill is rather flat and easy to walk for very tiring, thirsty and hungry people like us.
Then we found an access to the Little River. What a blessing feeling when dipping ourselves to the cool and clean water to recover from about 7 hours walking and wandering…
Will be back to tackle the South loop 💪

We only came here for the easy 'Friends Nature Walk' but it was lovely! Lots of trees and bushes and crossing the river was nice. There also seem to be a lot of butterflies! The walk took less than the hour it said it would, but it was all flat and there were markers along the track so you could ensure you were going the right direction.
There were also signs telling you to look 9ut for certain animals. We didn't see any koalas, but we heard one!
This walk would be great for friends or family, or just something nice to do if you want to get out! Nobody else was here on the day I went.

When reading about the different walks here, I found most were harder levels, so if you are experienced, you could spend a long time here doing the hikes and camping (there were spots to set up your tent) and park. I would definitely recommend this place, and I will be back tackle the harder tracks!

Cathedral Range State Park is a wonderful escape from day to day life only 1 hour and 40 min drive. We stay at the Cooks Mill Campground as access to the river to cool off after a day of hiking. Fantastic walks in the ranges but definitely for those with a decent level of fitness. Climb is challenging and then the razorback walk is quite technical in parts. Amazing views. Take lots of drinking water as no access as soon as you start a walk.

Tidy park, clean drop toilet, spectacular views and a difficulty advisory that actually comes pretty close to reality.

Give it a go, the view is absolutely worth any near heart attack you may experience.
Yesterday was a big day, so I had to ascend and descend at a forestry worker's pace and not my "me in 20 years from now" pace, I didn't do the Little Cathedral track but I probably should have, for in doubling back I probably spent more of my time budget than had I'd just kept on walking, alas I'm glad I did, my 1.5 hour workout was a good dopamine top up for breaking what turned out to be an epically long drive indeed.

I did encounter a quartet of relaxed people older and wiser than I, significantly so. They took their time, made a good day out of it.

One day when I'm wiser, I'll come back and pitch a tent and unwind a little.

Be careful!!! It's truly beautiful. We had a group of us (4 men between 58 and 65). The grades on these hikes require skill and patience. Anything 4 or 5 are not for rookies or anyone out of shape. Whatever you do make sure you have TWO LITRES of water PER person. It's important (to a point of health ) that you realize the further you travel the more you go back. It was really worth it for me ... but I wish I had stretched more and hydrated more

National park's entrrance is closed off - Whole of Park closure. (As of 19/02/2023). Please check Park's availability before visiting.

ー＞Re-opened. Campsites accessible. (Checked 26th June, 2023)

From Cooks mill through jawbone car pack to sugarloaf car park took a group of 8 relatively fit and young people approximately 4 hours to complete. Recommend having a car at both ends because the Razorback trail requires some rock climbing. Definitely worth it. The views are incredible.