Parks Victoria opened the gates at the end of National Park Road and took locals on tours of Mount Sugarloaf and to Masons Falls to highlight the damage the park sustained and to discuss the enormous amount of work that needs to take place to make these parts of the park safe so they can be permanently reopened to the public.

Ranger in Charge of Kinglake National Park, Ion Maher, said the park is well-loved by members of the local community and he was pleased to be able to give them an opportunity to reconnect with it on the day.

“We are working as fast as we can to make the Masons Falls area safe for visitors so we can reopen it, but it is a huge task and will take many months to do,” Mr Maher said.

“Yesterday was an opportunity for the community, under the guidance of ranger staff, to see first-hand the impact of fire on the visitor sites, infrastructure and the forest and to see the regeneration that is happening.”

Plans for the rebuilding of visitor facilities and concepts for the new park office were also on display for comment.

The Kinglake National Park was severely affected by the Black Saturday bushfires, which destroyed about 98 per cent of the park – including the park office and most visitor facilities.

The Wombelano Falls section of the park has recently been reopened with several walking tracks and a viewing platform where visitors can see the falls. There are also picnic facilities and a barbecue available at the Frank Thomson Reserve.

Public safety and protection of the park's natural environment as it recovers are the most important factors when reopening the Kinglake National Park. Masons Falls, Mount Sugarloaf and the remainder of Kinglake National Park will have to remain closed until they are safe for visitors and the environment is recovering well.

More information on sections of the park reopening will be available via this website or by calling the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963.