Toolangi State Forest Walking Trails DELWP – Toolangi

February 2015 FS0008

ISSN 1440-2262

Toolangi State Forest Situated about 60 km north east of Melbourne, Toolangi State forest provides excellent opportunities for camping, bushwalking, picnicking, bird watching and fishing. The forest has a number of spectacular walking trails, catering for various skill and fitness levels. These include Tanglefoot Loop, Myrtle Gully Circuit, Wirrawilla Walk and Kalatha Giant Tree Walk.

There is a history of indigenous use in the area by nomadic tribes. The forest was home to the Taungurung people, and the Wurundjeri people to the south.

Location and Access

From Melbourne via the Melba Hwy, Toolangi State forest can be accessed from a number of roads heading east into the forest, or via Sylvia Creek Rd in Toolangi. From the Maroondah Hwy access is from Andersons Lane in Narbethong.

What facilities are provided?

Toilets and picnic tables are located at Wirrawilla carpark, a starting point for Wirrawilla Walk, Tanglefoot Loop and Myrtle Gully Circuit. Toilets, picnic tables and wood-fuelled barbeques are also located at Tanglefoot Picnic Area.

Walking Trails

Toolangi State forest is an area of very high rainfall, and tracks may be waterlogged during periods of heavy rain. Thunderstorms are common in summer and light snowfalls can occur in winter. Wear suitable footwear, carry warm, waterproof clothing and walk with a group if possible.

Wirrawilla Walk Return 500m l 30 minutes Flat l Well formed track Clearly signposted l Suitable for wheelchairs No experience required

Starting at the Wirrawilla carpark on Sylvia Creek Rd, Wirrawilla Walk is an easy but spectacular walk winding through Cool Temperate Rainforest in the headwaters of the Sylvia Creek. The majority of the walk is via a boardwalk and is accessible by wheelchair.

Compared with the surrounding eucalypt forest, the rainforest is cool, moist and shady, with only flecks of sunlight reaching the ground through the dense tree canopy. The dominant trees of this Cool Temperate Rainforest are Myrtle Beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii), Southern Sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum) and Blackwood Wattle (Acacia melanoxylon). Tree Ferns

(Dicksonia antartica) grow luxuriantly below the canopy, surrounded by a dense layer of ground ferns.

Tanglefoot Loop Return 10km l 4 hours Short steep hills l Formed track Signposted l No steps No experience required

Tanglefoot Loop can be accessed from Wirrawilla Carpark or the Monda carpark at the southern end of the walk. The track winds through Mountain Ash forests, mainly regrowth from the 1939 forest fires. There are many older giants in the gullies, some 200 or more years old. The walk is moderately difficult where it descends into the rainforest gullies.

Myrtle Gully Circuit Return 9km l 3 hours Short steep hills l Formed track Signposted l Occasional steps No experience required

Myrtle Gully Circuit can be accessed via Tanglefoot Picnic Area in the north or Wirrawilla carpark on Sylvia Creek Rd. The walk can be done as a single loop or in conjunction with Tanglefoot Loop as a 17km, whole day walk.

Kalatha Giant Tree Walk Return 500m l 30 minutes Gentle hills l Well formed track Clearly signposted l Occasional steps No experience required

Kalatha Giant Tree Walk is a short walk to the enormous and spectacular Kalatha Giant, a Mountain Ash thought to be 300 to 400 years old. A carpark is located on Kalatha Rd, near the junction of Granton Rd.

For more information

The Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) is responsible for managing Victoria's State Forest. For further information contact DELWP's Customer Service Centre 136 186 (If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service on 133 677) or visit DELWP’s website at http://www.delwp.vic.gov.au

This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its officers do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

© State of Victoria, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Page 1

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Toolangi State Forest Walking Trails FS0008

This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.

© State of Victoria, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

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Produced by GIS Unit, Traralgon.September 2014.

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