If you have ever wondered where the best place in Victoria to go for a day hike is, you can’t go past the Cathedral Ranges.
More specifically, the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit is a must-do for any hiking enthusiast.
Located in Taggerty, some 120 kilometres from Melbourne, the Cathedral Ranges is home to some of the most spectacular views and terrain you will encounter here in Victoria.
Having done the Northern Circuit already, I finally got around to hiking the Southern Circuit. Often considered the more challenging of the two, it didn’t take long to work out why.
Starting from the popular Cooks Mill campsite, I started hiking up the almost never-ending Messmate Track. I like smashing out hills as much as the next person, but this section of the hike hit me like a brick wall.
There are very few flat sections and 90% of it is uphill to the Sugarloaf Saddle car park.
Once you reach the car park, take a left and shortly afterwards this is where the fun begins – the start of the climb to Sugarloaf Peak (920m).
You have two options to get to the top: via Wells Cave Track or Canyon Track.
On this occasion, I decided to take Wells Cave Track as my research suggested that most people who had done this before seemed to think this was the more exciting way to get to the top.
Exciting might have been an understatement. It was absolutely incredible and sometimes a little scary.
You are literally climbing ropeless up some sections of rocks where one little slip would mean the end of you.
If there is one recommendation I would make to Parks Victoria for this section it would be to include a few more signs to make it easier to get to the top.
There are times when you will find yourself guessing which way you should go to get to the top.
However, once you are there, the views are nothing short of amazing. Much like its counterpart, the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit offers you 360-degree views of popular hiking areas such as Marysville, and other tourist areas such as Buxton and Kinglake.
Once at the top, I headed north on the Razorback Track while rock hopping all the way.
Personally, rock hopping is what I absolutely love most about the entire Cathedral Ranges.
There is no path as such but you somehow are able to find your way to where you need to go, and in this case, it was the Farmyard.
The Farmyard is a grassy area that lies exactly in the middle of the Northern and Southern Circuit and is also a place to camp.
From here, I made my way down the rocky steps of the Jawbone Creek Track, up to the Jawbone car park and back to Cooks Mill.
In short, and as mentioned before, the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit is a must-do for any hiking enthusiast who has good experience
I will say that if you aren’t too good with heights or aren’t used to rock scrambling, then you might find the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit a little confronting.
At least, the Wells Cave Track/Canyon Track section anyway. But, if you are up for a challenge, then this is the track for you.
Please ensure you have at least 3 litres of water with you when you are doing this circuit or the Northern Circuit.
Apart from an unsigned spring near the Farmyard, there is nowhere to get water from once you are up on the Razorback Track.
As always, if you wish to follow my recording of the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit and you have WikiLoc, download the file from my account here.
Where is the Cathedral Ranges State Park?
It’s located in northeast Victoria near the towns of Buxton and Marysville.
How hard is the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit hike?
Out of the two hikes in the area, the Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit is easily the hardest of two simply due to the unassisted rock scrambling section heading up to Sugarloaf Peak.
Are dogs allowed in the Cathedral Ranges State Park?
Similar to Werribee Gorge, dogs aren’t allowed in the Cathedral Ranges State Park unless they are an assistance dog, and as such you’re able to apply for a permit for them.
The Stats – Cathedral Ranges Southern Circuit
Length (km): 10.6km (according to WikiLoc)
Time: 4hr 55 mins
Moving Time: 4hr 23 mins
Average Speed: 2.15km/h
Difficulty: Difficult
Maximum Elevation: 963m
Accum. elev. uphill: 611m
Accum. elev. downhill: 611m
Return/Circuit/One Way: Circuit
