The first time I attempted this walk it defeated me.

There is a scramble at the very end, which I just didn’t feel comfortable with. But after spending the last couple of months hiking in the USA, taking on some of the famous and fairly scrambly southwest hikes, I knew I wanted to try again. Luckily the US served me well, and on attempt two I loved this hike!

If you’re looking for something a bit different to the average bush walk, with a little touch of adventure, then the Chatauqua Peak Loop should be a must do on your Grampians hikes list.

Hiking the Chatauqua Peak Loop

Chatauqua Peak Loop stats

Distance: 5.3 km (3.3 miles)
Elevation: 210 m
Difficulty: Moderate

Starting the trail

It’s a loop trail, so you can start in either direction, but we went with the way the signs were posted, which meant heading straight into the bush.

It’s a lovely section of the trail which is really peaceful and we even saw a few wallabies the first time we did this walk.

You will start going immediately uphill, but it’s so gentle and doesn’t feel at all steep through the bushy section.

*The beginning of the trail, through the bush*

After winding your way up through the bush you’ll reach a wide ridge where you begin getting some great views of Halls Gap and the surrounding mountains.

The trail becomes quite exposed for the most part now you’ve left the bush, so on a hot day it feels a bit harder than it otherwise would.

The ridge does have a drop to one side, but the trail is wide and doesn’t feel vertigo inducing.

From this point you’ll start going up a series of stairs and this is when it gets steeper and you do feel like you’re climbing. It’s never too steep or relentless but it’s not gentle like the bush track.

On to Chatauqua Peak

After you’ve made your way up the series of steps you will hit the rock, and then you will be walking on rock until you reach the peak.

The arrows guide the way, although for the most part it is quite obvious which the easiest route is.

The first part walking on rock is not too difficult: it’s either flat or sloped, and only very short sections feel in any way exposed.

The rock is good and grippy in dry weather, but I personally wouldn’t risk it in wet conditions.

You now begin getting views to your righthand side, which you haven’t seen up to this point and it’s really beautiful.

Apart from the curve of the road - which in itself looks quite pretty - you’ll just see hundreds of trees and of course those iconic craggy mountains.

The scramble

It won’t be long before you reach the part that had me stumped all those years ago.

It requires climbing up a bit of a rock face, where the rock has become fairly smooth from use over the years. There is a bit of a ledge to get a foot hold on, but I thought it was too high and slippery last time.

This time I could see that it just required two steps and you were up, and it really wasn’t too difficult, I think a lot of my trouble was mental last time, believing I might slip and I couldn’t do it.

With more experience, I realised that it is actually nothing to worry about and this next section became my favourite of the walk.

If you don’t like scrambles, bring someone with you and they can probably get you up without too much difficulty.

Once you’re up this bit there is a bit more scrambling to go. The steepest bit doesn’t really have drops either side, but does require a bit of a leg stretch.

Second part of the scramble at Chataqua Peak in the Grampians

After this, the trail flattens out and you continue to walk on rock, but there aren’t any tricky bits. It does get more exposed with drops on either side but it’s very wide and I didn’t think it felt precarious.

The peak itself is a bit further than I thought but when you get there, there is a lot of space to sit and take in the views.

We sat up here for ages admiring the scenery and it felt pretty satisfying to complete a walk that I’d previously failed.

Incidentally, if you don’t like the final section to the peak you can still get lovely views on this walk without doing any scrambling. It’s only the last few hundred metres which aren’t on either formed trail or fairly flat rock.

Completing the loop

After you’ve come back from the peak you can either take the same route down or take the other path on your left to make it a circuit.

I always pick the circuit if there is one because it’s more interesting than walking the same way back. I’d definitely recommend it in this instance too because it’s a really lovely route.

It’s easy all the way as it’s all downhill and almost all on well formed track. You’ll be back in shady forest again and it’s incredibly beautiful with lots of tree ferns and lush greenery.

You’ll then hit the Halls Gap Botanic Garden which is pretty. It’s not manicured in the same way many are but I still thought it made a lovely addition to the trail. We saw kangaroos here the first time we did this walk.

Once through the garden you have a very short section along the pavement back to your car. I’m not normally a fan of this but it’s a short amount of time and Halls Gap is not full of traffic so you’re still likely to see more cockatoos than cars!

All in all this walk is one of the most varied in the area and has a little bit of everything.

Packing suggestions for the walk

Having the right gear can make a huge difference. Here’s what we pack and have relied upon for years:

Sunscreen: Cancer Council Active. With a high SPF, but not the greasy feel of other sunscreens. Makes a big difference when you’re working up a sweat on a sunny day! Check it out on Amazon
Good Rain Jacket: North Face This is an essential item we always pack in our bag! This jacket from North Face is designed to keep you dry but also comfortably warm (many rain jackets will make you feel like you’re in a sauna). Check it out on Amazon
Day Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). Check on Amazon or direct with Osprey
Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Check them out on Amazon
Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. Check them out on Amazon.
Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic. Check them out on Amazon

Essential information about the Chatauqua Peak Loop

Getting to Chatauqua Peak

The start of trail for Chataqua Peak is at the car park by the oval in Halls Gap. The loop finishes in the Botanic Gardens in Halls Gap, which is a 5-10 minute walk from the oval.

Chatauqua Peak difficulty

The majority of this walk isn’t difficult: you do have to walk uphill for a few kilometres, but only a little of this is steep.

There is some rock scrambling involved if you want to get to the peak itself. Most hikers won’t have a problem, but if you are a bit nervous like me first time round, it would be good to go with someone who can help you out.

If you don’t want to do any rock walking you can still enjoy the vast majority of this trail which is on well formed track.

The route is never difficult to find, even on the rock as you are following a series of arrows which are pretty frequent.

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