Bush Walking

The walking trails around Bright and Camp Crusty are among the most varied and beautiful in Victoria's Alpine region. From gentle riverside strolls to challenging mountain ascents, there's a walk for every fitness level and every season.

Directly from Camp Crusty, you can pick up the Canyon Walk, a stunning 3-kilometre loop that follows Morse Creek through a narrow gorge lined with ferns, mosses, and ancient rock formations. The trail crosses the creek several times via stepping stones and small bridges, passing through dense forest where shafts of sunlight filter through the canopy. It's an easy walk suitable for families and is particularly magical in the morning mist.

For something more ambitious, the walk to the summit of Mount Porepunkah (5km return) offers panoramic views over the Ovens Valley and across to the Alpine peaks. The trail climbs steadily through dry eucalyptus forest before emerging onto exposed rocky sections near the summit, where on a clear day you can see Mount Feathertop, Mount Buffalo, and the distant peaks of the Bogong High Plains.

Mount Buffalo National Park, a 30-minute drive from camp, offers an extensive network of walks including the popular Gorge Trail, the dramatic cliff-top walk to the Horn, and the gentle stroll to Lake Catani. The park's unique granite plateau landscape feels like another world, with enormous boulders, wildflower meadows, and views that will leave you breathless.

Spring brings wildflowers, summer offers long daylight hours for extended walks, autumn transforms the deciduous trees along the river into a blaze of gold and crimson, and winter reveals the stark beauty of the bare canopy against snow-capped peaks. Every season brings a different character to these walks.