Grampians Peaks Trail
Access & Comfort
To help you work out which of our tours is for you, we use two ratings scales (ACCESS and COMFORT) to give you a good idea of what is involved with each tour.
ACCESS RATINGS
Access relates to the level of physical and technical challenge you will experience during the day based on the trail conditions, elevation and sometimes distance. Essentially “how hard is the walking”. To grade these in a way that can be compared nationally, we use the Australian Walking Track Grading System:
Grade 1: No bushwalking experience required. Flat, even surface with no steps or steep sections. Suitable for assisted wheelchair users.
Grade 2: No bushwalking experience required. A hardened or compacted surface which may have gentle hill sections or occasional steps. Walks up to 10km.
Grade 3: Suitable for most ages and fitness levels. Tracks may have short steep sections, a rough surface and many steps. Walks up to 20km.
Grade 4: Bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Directional signage may be limited.
Grade 5: Very experienced bushwalkers with specialised skills, including navigation and emergency first aid. Tracks likely to be very rough, very steep and unmarked.
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
COMFORT RATINGS
Our comfort scale indicates the level of facilities you may find in the evening on each of our itineraries. These facilities relate directly to how comfortable your camping (or not camping!) experience will be. This rating also gives you an indication of what you may need to carry during the day.
Very comfortable: Private ‘off park’ accommodation, shared bathrooms, high-quality home-cooked meals. Guests carrying daypack only.
Basic comforts: On trail, campsite accommodation in 4-bed huts with comfortable mattresses, composting ‘drop’ toilets, enclosed dining huts for meals, and high-quality, fresh, trail-cooked meals. Guests carrying an overnight pack with clothing, toiletries and sleeping bag.
Comfortable camping: Tent-based camping with access to enclosed dining huts for meals and composting ‘drop’ toilets. Guests carrying an overnight pack with clothing, toiletries and sleeping bag and mattress.
Expedition camping: Tent-based camping with composting ‘drop’ toilets and minimal to no additional infrastructure. Experience at camp can be heavily dictated by weather conditions. Guests carrying an overnight/multi-day pack with clothing, toiletries and sleeping bag and mattress.
‘Think of the glory’: Tent-based camping with potentially no additional infrastructure. Experience at camp is expected to be heavily dictated by environmental and weather conditions. Guests carrying a heavy overnight/multi-day pack with clothing, toiletries and sleeping bag, mattress and potentially a share of a tent, food or other group equipment. The environment can also impact pack weight (e.g. very cold conditions will require more clothing and heavier sleeping bags etc).
Very
Comfortable
Basic
Comforts
Comfortable Camping
Expedition Camping
ACCESS and COMFORT tour gradings:
SPECIFIC ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS
Mobility
While the Grampians Peaks Trail in its entirety is not suitable for wheelchair access, there are a number of day walk sections that can be accessed through use of the TrailRider all-terrain wheelchair and volunteers. Parks Victoria has two TrailRiders available for visitors and both of these chairs are fitted with electric motors to assist operators on steeper sections of track. Passengers must wear a helmet.
The TrailRider all-terrain wheelchair and Volunteer service is free of charge, however, please book a week in advance. To book the TrailRider please contact the Parks Victoria Volunteer Coordinator on (03) 8427 3541 or [email protected]
Vision and other needs
Assistance dogs are welcome in Parks Victoria parks and reserves. Entry requirements apply for parks and reserves that are usually dog prohibited, such as the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park.
For any other access needs on the Grampians Peaks Trail, feel free to call and speak to the Grampians Peaks Walking Co. team about what you need for us to help you explore and connect with the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park.