Black Spur Forest in Yarra Ranges National Park

The Yarra Valley is a wine-growing region near Melbourne in Victoria, known for its cool-climate wines, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It sits about an hour’s drive from Melbourne CBD via the Eastern Freeway (M3) and Maroondah Highway (B360), which runs through the centre of the valley. Many of the region’s more than 80 wineries are signposted and easily accessible from the highway. The Yarra Valley also offers local produce, art galleries, walking trails, and wildlife experiences, making it a popular day trip or weekend getaway.

Cities

• 1 Healesville – its museum has a wonderful collection of early Modernist Australian paintings with sweeping views of the TarraWarra vineyards
• 2MISSING WIKILINK Warburton
• 3 Yarra Glen – home to some of Victoria's best-known wine
• 4 Kinglake

Outer Melbourne

• 5 Belgrave – a quaint exurb of Melbourne on the foothills of the Sherbrooke Forest, including Tecoma
• 6 Boronia – an outer-eastern suburb of Melbourne
• 7 Hurstbridge – known for its annual Wattle Festival in August or September, and its large park with walking trails
• 8MISSING WIKILINK Kallista – has a picturesque natural setting, many heritage and luxury houses and gardens, and country atmosphere
• 9 Sassafras – a beautiful town in the forest

Other destinations

• 1 Dandenong Ranges — these beautiful ranges offer world class gardens and picturesque villages
• 2 Yarra Ranges National Park – home to the incredible Black Spur Forest

Understand

The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River. The river originates approximately 240 km east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley is used in reference to the upper regions surrounding the Yarra River and generally does not encompass the lower regions including the city and suburban areas, where the topography flattens out, or the upper reaches which are in inaccessible bushland. Included in the Yarra Valley is the sub-region of the Upper Yarra Valley which encompasses the towns of the former Shire of Upper Yarra in the catchment area upstream of and including Woori Yallock.

The Yarra Valley is a popular day-trip and tourist area, featuring a range of natural features and agricultural produce, as well as the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail.

The Yarra Valley is host to a thriving wine-growing industry. The area's relatively cool climate makes it particularly suited to the production of high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sparkling wine.

Get in

By car

The easiest way to get in to the Yarra Valley from Melbourne is by using the M3 Eastlink and the B360 Maroondah Highway. The B360 runs right through the middle of the Yarra Valley for most of the accessible bits.

By train

Belgrave and Hurstbridge stations are the terminus of the namesake lines from the city. You can also take the train to Lilydale and continue by bicycle on the rail trail (see below).

To get further afield to Healesville, you can take a train from the centre of Melbourne to Lilydale, and then there is the regular bus service 685 (operated by McKenzies) which runs to Healesville Sanctuary via Coldstream, Yarra Glen, the TarraWarra Museum of Art, and Healesville town centre. Night bus 965 connects Healesville with Lilydale and operates on Friday nights and Saturday nights. Bus route 684 between Ringwood (in the Eastern suburbs), Lilydale and Alexandra stops in Healesville, however due to its infrequent operation may be less useful.

Although it is not directly connected to Melbourne, for public transport purposes Healesville is considered part of 'Zone Two', which was Zone Three until zone reorganization, the outer-eastern transport zone, and it only costs around $10 for an all-day zone 1 and 2 rail and bus ticket.

Get around

By cycling

The Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail (40 km) is a great way to explore Yarra Valley.

• Ride Time Bikes offers bike rental from $30/day. Pickup from Lilydale (next to train station) or Yarra Junctions. Reservations required.

• Great cycling country all around the Yarra Valley; catch the train to Hurstbridge then climb up to Kinglake via St.Andrews (great Saturday market) then along the ridge to Toolangi; down to Healesville for lunch. Great food at Healesville; fine coffee at Yarra Glen.
• Or try the mountain bike routes through Smiths Gully (fine coffee and cake at the store) and Sugarloaf areas; or climb up past Mt Everard to Kinglake (steep in places) and then down into Dixons Creek and then onto Yarra Glen.

See

In Healesville, you can visit the Healesville Sanctuary, a world-renowned wildlife park. The sanctuary provides rehabilitation facilities for injured wildlife, breeding programs for several endangered species, and aims to educate the public about the unique and beautiful wildlife of Australia. The TarraWarra Museum of Art has a wonderful collection of early Modernist Australian paintings and changing contemporary works in a location with sweeping views of the adjoining TarraWarra vineyards.

Near Kinglake, Kinglake National Park is on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. From the picnic area, you can take the 700-m walk to the waterfall lookout platform. The 500-m Lyrebird Circuit Walk, which also leaves from the picnic area, passes some of the oldest trees in the park and is designed for people with limited mobility. From the waterfall lookout, there's the 7.8-km Running Creek walk, which is more challenging and goes through gullies and new native bush. Wombelano Falls is a stunning hidden gem just north of Kinglake. It's not much of a walk to get here, and the walk is pretty easy.

Do

Things to do

• Hot air balloon flights
• Vineyard hopping
• Browse the Yarra Glen Sunday market, one of the local farmer's markets or the Healesville car boot markets behind the main street shops on the first Sunday of each month.
• Play golf at one of the quality courses
• Lilydale Airfield offers light plane sightseeing trips, flying experience, and flying lessons.
• Nearby Coldstream Airfield, operated by Yarra Valley Flight Training, offers similar services.
• Take a ride on the Yarra Valley Tourist Railway from Healesville
• Have a BBQ at Sugarloaf Reservoir
• At Healesville Glass Blowing Studio in Healesville, you can watch the glass blowers at work, take a lesson or buy some of their finished product.
• Blue Lotus Water Garden near Yarra Junction features an assortment of specially bred lilies, lotus flowers and other water plants. Includes a cafe, giftshop and nursery.
• Donna Buang Rainforest Gallery and Skywalk. Near Warburton, at the foot of Donna Buang, a short walk that loops through the rainforest and a skywalk allowing you to stand metres in the air, still only halfway up the mammoth trees.
• Puffing Billy Railway: ride this historic railway from Belgrave to Emerald, Lakeside and Gembrook.
• Lysterfield Lake
• Helicopter to Yarra Valley, ☏ +61 3 9063 3440. Fly by helicopter to the Yarra Valley. Helicopter tours include a private landing at your winery of choice, wine tasting and degustation lunch. Destinations include Balgownie Estate, Levantine Hill, Hubert Estate, Zonzo Estate and Meletos Restaurant. (updated Jul 2023)
• Shepherds Track near Kinglake includes steep gradients and obstacles, and is only suitable for Downhill or Enduro bikes.
• Yarra Valley Railway is a tourist railway that operates from Healesville on weekends and public holidays.
• Maroondah Reservoir Park is about 5 km east of Healesville town centre.

Eat

• Great coffee and muffins/croissants (or real hamburgers) at Smiths Gully store.
• A must for a little alternate, healthy eating is the Bodhi Tree Cafe on the far side of the township, opposite the Giant Steps Winery. Usually on Friday and Saturday nights this eatery hosts live music with local artists. Worth the effort!

Drink

• Helen's Hill Winery: A family-owned vineyard producing fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. You can sample their wines in a Cellar Door that attaches itself via massive glass panes overlooking the Barrel Room. The wines are excellent value and high quality. Onsite is also a superb restaurant with one of the best views over the entrance to the Yarra Valley. Kid-friendly, too.
• Oakridge Wines, 864 Maroondah Highway, Coldstream +61 39738 9900: beginning as a family company Oakridge makes wine from grapes grown on the rich, red, volcanic soils of the valley. A small restaurant with views across the estate serves meals adapted for the seasons and local produce.
• Tokar Estate: further along Maroondah Highway towards Healesville is this Spanish-inspired complex which features an excellent restaurant that regularly hosts Gourmet and Degustation events. The wine is fruit driven and the show piece Syrah Reserve and Aria are particularly delicious. Friendly and inviting, this is one of the better Valley destinations.
• Whispering Hills on the Warburton side of the valley has a quaint Cellar Door to a vineyard which produces a tantalising Reisling amongst its range of wines. Grown above the township of Seville, its rich soils are spring-fed and produce lively wines. Coffee shop attached and friendly folk, open on weekends and extended opening during holiday periods. A favourite during the area's ShedFest events.
• Hubert Estate: The latest venture from businessman Gerry Ryan. If you’ve been to Mitchelton Winery in the Nagambie, the Hubert Estate, reopened in 2022, is rather similar. It includes cellar door featuring St Hubert’s wines, wine store, Quarters restaurant serving modern-Australia cuisine, event space Harriet, an art gallery and they’re building an 80-room hotel and wellness centre.
• Four Pillars Gin Distillery in Healesville

Sleep

For those wanting to stay in the area overnight there are also plenty of guesthouses.

Stay safe

Crime in Yarra Valley is almost non-existent, but care should still be taken such as lock your car doors and make sure that valuables inside the car are not visible to outside. If you follow these precautions, everything should be fine and your day would be an enjoyable one.

Since you are likely to be on a wine tasting tour, it is advisable to be aware of how high your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) if you are driving. The legal limit is 0.05%. Police regularly set up check points around Yarra Valley to test the motorists' alcohol level (often referred by locals and police alike as the "Booze Bus" due to the use of a police bus to detain the drivers over the BAC limit), make sure you are not over the limit, or the police will issue you a large fine and ban you from driving in Australia.

When driving, be careful of wildlife during sunset, as this is the time that animals like kangaroos tend to be active during this period.

Go next

• The Gippsland region is your next primary destination