Mount Tassie Loop: Balook to the Mount Tassie lookout and back
18.3 km loop · about 6.5 hours · Easy to medium · Start and finish: Balook
Check track conditions before you set out
Sections close for storm damage, harvesting and roadworks. See the latest track conditions on the homepage.
A comfortable day’s walk for the moderately fit. The Mount Tassie Loop runs from Balook, in Tarra-Bulga National Park, to the Mount Tassie picnic area and lookout, with 360-degree views from Wilsons Promontory to the Great Dividing Range. It goes out one way and back another, through Blackwood forest, fire regrowth and past two small waterfalls.
The route
The loop starts and finishes at the Tarra-Bulga National Park Visitor Centre car park in Balook. Take Link Track (behind the barbecue shelter) and a 50 m stretch of Grand Ridge Road to the start of Telecom Track on the west side of the road.
| Section | Distance |
|---|---|
| Balook to Mount Tassie picnic area, via Drysdale Road, West Face Track and Pine Trail Track | 9.8 km |
| Mount Tassie picnic area to Balook, via the Duff Sawmill Heritage Trail | 8.3 km |
Which way? Walk the loop clockwise, so you go down Drysdale Road, which is quite steep. Near the end of West Face Track, watch for the turn onto the short, steep Pine Trail Track.
Worth the detour: the Corrigan Suspension Bridge and Scenic Track, which take in the biggest trees in the park.
Elevation profiles
These charts come from an earlier edition of our maps, so their distances differ slightly from the table above.
What you’ll see
- Mount Tassie, at 754 m the highest point in the range. The lookout and picnic area have 360-degree views from Wilsons Promontory to the Great Dividing Range, and there is a stone cairn and a bushfire memorial.
- The historic Morningside Grange Homestead site, then sweeping views over the valley as Drysdale Road drops through plantations replanted after the 2009 fire.
- West Face Track: a gradual climb on a good 4WD track through the most dramatically steep terrain in the range, with views across Traralgon Creek, past two small waterfalls (West Face Falls and Forget-me-not Falls). Forget-me-not Falls is a nice spot for morning tea.
- The Duff Sawmill Heritage Trail: an enchanting Blackwood forest with mosses and fungi, remnant old growth eucalypts, historic tree stumps, and signs telling the area’s settlement and sawmilling story.
- A regeneration area that is part of the 8,000 hectare Cores and Links Reserve.
Shorter option: the Duff Trail
The Duff Trail route to Mount Tassie is one of the easiest walks on the track, and one of the most scenic. It’s 8.3 km one way from Balook to the Mount Tassie picnic area, which has a car park, so you can arrange a pick-up. Or walk back the same way, or return via West Face Track to make the full loop.
Just want the heritage trail? The trail itself is 3.7 km one way, about 1.5 hours, with parking at both ends. See the Duff Sawmill Heritage Trail guide for the history, the signs and where to park.
Is it for you?
Easy to medium, with some steep sections along the western half of the loop (Drysdale Road, West Face Track and the short, steep Pine Trail Track).
The Grand Strzelecki Track as a whole is a Class 4 track: narrow in places, with minimal facilities, so you’ll need to be self-sufficient and able to navigate. Winters are cold, it rains a lot, and it gets colder as you climb. See Before you go for the weather and what to pack, and read the Track Protocols.
Walkers’ stories
Read how others found it: Kevin’s walk (2017), Deb’s walk (2017), Richard and Jane’s walk in reverse (2020) and Matt’s walk (2012). For a shorter taste of this loop and the Tarra Valley Loop, read Richard’s 11 km walk on Goombala Road, West Face Track and Drysdale Road.
Stories describe the track at the time. Check the homepage for current conditions before you go.
Facilities
- Tarra-Bulga National Park Visitor Centre (Balook): public toilets and water, electric barbecues, picnic tables and a shelter.
- Mount Tassie: a car park, picnic area and the lookout.
- Morningside and Forget-me-not Falls rest areas: a picnic table at each. No toilets or water.
- Pattison Rest Area (Balook): a free rest area for walkers with swags or small tents, with a toilet, small shelter and water tank (treat the water before drinking). Camp on the western edge of the clearing and keep off private property.
- More places to stay are in Where to stay and camp.
If you need to cut the walk short: the loop crosses the Traralgon–Balook Road on Mount Tassie and near the entrance to Tarra-Bulga National Park, and joins Callignee South Road south-east of Mount Tassie.
Track rules: no wood fires anywhere on the track (use a fuel stove). No cats, dogs, horses, firearms or generators in Tarra-Bulga and Morwell National Parks (Parks Victoria policy).
Getting there
Balook is about 2.5 hours from Melbourne. Take the Princes Highway to the Yarram / Loy Yang exit, turn right at the traffic lights just before Loy Yang Power Station, then follow the brown tourist signs to Tarra-Bulga National Park and Balook. The Traralgon–Balook Road from Loy Yang is sealed.
From Yarram, follow the signs north through Tarra Valley to Balook. More options, including public transport, are on Plan your hike.
Get the maps
This page gives you a feel for the walk. For the route, marker posts and track junctions, use the maps.
- Printed Topographic Map 4: Mount Tassie Loop
- East loop walks map (digital, for the Avenza Maps app; covers all three loops)
- Printed Topographic Map Set of 6 (the whole track)