Be Bushfire Smart

• Explore the park by foot, car or bicycle using the extensive and well-signposted network of gravel roads. Note that some of these roads are steep and unsuitable for conventional two wheel drive vehicles.
• A nature walk in the McDonald Park section wanders through red stringy bark and long-leaf box forests.
• Drive the sealed One Tree Hill Road to Pioneer Lookout and enjoy the magnificent views of the Grampians, Mount Langi Ghiran, the Mount Cole plateau and beyond.
• Picnic at Bridal Hill or Blackie Reserve.
• See the beautiful wildflowers in spring.

The park provides picnic tables, lookouts and walking tracks. There are no toilets available in the park.

Prior to European settlement, the Ararat region was occupied by Aboriginal people of Parn Balug clan. This was one of over 40 clans comprising the Djab Wurrung language group whose territory covered a large part of south-west Victoria, including portions of the Grampians. With the arrival of the first squatters and their flocks in the early 1840s, the Parn balug's traditional lifestyle, social and cultural structures were severely affected by disease and conflict and their numbers rapidly declined.

Gold was discovered at Ararat in 1857. The park contains numerous relics of gold mining activity including shallow mine shafts, a mining dam and water races.

Proclaimed 'Ararat Regional Park' in October 2002, the area includes the former Ararat Hills Regional Park and Dunneworthy State Forest directly north of Ararat. It's 3,670 hectares contain a number of large old tree sites and numerous Aboriginal sites.

Aboriginal Traditional Owners

Parks Victoria acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, Aboriginal people maintain their connection to their ancestral lands and waters.
Further information is available from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria AAV and Native Title Services Victoria

The natural environments of the Ararat Hills provide food, shelter and breeding sites for a variety of native wildlife species. Grey kangaroos, Swamp Wallabies and echidnas are commonly seen residents of the park. Brush-tailed Possums and Sugar Gliders are active at night. Bird life includes rowdy flocks of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, beautiful Rainbow Birds, Long-billed Corellas and Galahs, the majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle and the ground feeding Common Bronzewing and Red-rumped Parrot.

The park contains over 200 native plant species including 34 species of delicately flowered orchids. Eucalypt trees dominate the vegetation, with Red Stringybark and Long-leaf Box predominant in the hilly areas and Yellow Gum and Yellow Box occupying the flats.

On the park's main ridge at One tree Hill, a stand of very old, large Messmate Stringybark trees are of botanical interest. In springtime, flowers of the Golden Wattle swathe the hills in gold.

• All plants, animals, archaeological sites and geographic features are protected by law. Please do not disturb them in any way.
• Dogs and other pets are permitted but must be restrained at all times.
• Firewood may be collected only for use within the park for cooking or for warmth.
• Fires must be less than one metre in size, clear for three metres around and never left unattended.
• No fires, including gas or fuel stoves or barbecues, may be lit on days of Total Fire Ban. Ararat Hills Regional Park is in the South Western Total Fire Ban District.
• Please take your rubbish with you for recycling and disposal.
• Keep to designated walking tracks.
• Vehicles, including motorcycles, must not be driven off open formed roads. All vehicles must be registered and drivers licensed.

Ararat Hills Regional Park is accessible from the Western Highway just north of Ararator via Banfield Street, McDonald or One Tree Hill Track.

• Deep Lead Flora and Fauna Reserve
• Grampians National Park
• Langi Ghiran State Park
• Mount Buangor State Park