The jewel in the crown of the Grampians National Park, the Pinnacle Circuit is the one trail in the area that is incredibly accessible.
Similar to the nearby Boronia Peak, it has everything from gravel paths, rocky terrain, amazing lookouts, a ‘cool chamber’, some staircases, and everything else in between.
Day Walks Victoria suggests that you go in a clockwise direction, however, I typically hike this trail in an anti-clockwise direction and start off heading towards the Venus Baths.
The trail we took began on a fairly flat, well-formed path at the back of the Grampians Caravan Park near the local tennis court.
Fairly quickly, the trail changed quite quickly and I found myself walking on slightly rocky terrain.
One feature in the early part of the Pinnacle Circuit is the Elephant’s Hide. It’s part of a steep rocky path that kind of resembles an elephant’s arse.
This rocky terrain continues for the rest of the Pinnacle Circuit as it continues to climb all the way to the Pinnacle Lookout.
Along the way, you can visit places such as Splitters Falls (although there was little water rushing), take a side trip to Boroka Lookout, sit inside the Cool Chamber and walk through the Silent Street section.
Now, what is the Cool Chamber you ask?
It’s this semi-cave that you can sit underneath and, as the name suggests, cool off.
From here, it’s about another kilometre to the Silent Street section which is a short, relatively narrow corridor including steep steps.
It is narrow as a result of gradual water erosion of the surrounding sandstone.
After this section, it is a 30-metre walk to the Pinnacle Lookout perched on top of a thin, rocky platform.
Given the expansive area of the lookout, this makes for a great place to stop for lunch or an extended break.
I would recommend the Pinnacle Circuit to most people who have a reasonable level of fitness and are up for a bit of an adventure (and who isn’t?!)
On weekends during spring and summer, you’ll find plenty of people doing this hike whether they be keen hikers or weekend wanderers.
This speaks to not only its popularity but also its accessibility to any type of walker.
And best of all, there are several ways you can do the Pinnacle Circuit depending on how much time you have to do it.
It is a well-signed track so losing sight of the trail can be difficult, but it’s always a good idea to carry a map with you.
Nine kilometres probably doesn’t sound like much, but it’s the constant hills that make you feel like you’ve done more.
As always, if you’d like to download the Pinnacle Circuit, you can download it here via my WikiLoc account.
The Stats – The Pinnacle Circuit, Grampians
Length (km): 9.36km (according to WikiLoc)
Time: 4hr 5 mins
Moving Time: 3hr 31 mins
Average Speed: 2.28 km/h
Difficulty: Medium
Maximum Elevation: 721m
Accum. elev. uphill: 498m
Accum. elev. downhill: 498m
Return/Circuit/One Way: Circuit
