Toolangi: Forest Art, Trails and Giant Trees

Discover Toolangi through three distinct experiences: artworks in the forest, walks through different forest types and an extraordinary tree. Start planning your trip by asking some specific questions: Would you like to combine cultural history and nature, choose a walking trail or see notable trees? The experiences differ both in theme and in how they’re explored—from an art trail with a story spanning two events to a one-hour walk.

Forest art with a story told in two stages

The Toolangi Sculpture Trail was established in 1996 with 11 artworks as part of an international sculpture event. A further 16 works were added at a follow-up event in 2016. Today, the trail comprises two bushwalking loops featuring unique artworks in the forest. Its development in two stages and its forest setting offer different perspectives: you can appreciate the works as art in the forest while also tracing how the trail began and was later expanded. If you enjoy bringing culture and nature together, you’ll find both an artistic and a historical perspective here.

Compare walking trails by forest character and wayfinding

The Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk is an approximately 700-metre loop through cool temperate rainforest in Toolangi State Forest. Along the Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk, mature myrtle beeches and southern sassafras trees form a dense canopy that shades the understory throughout the year. Around 450 metres of the trail consists of a boardwalk wide enough for wheelchairs. These are two different measures to consider when planning: approximately 700 metres for the full loop and around 450 metres for the section of boardwalk that is wide enough.

The Yea River Walk is an easy, one-hour loop through open forest and mountain ash forest. The details highlighted for it differ from those for the Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk: for Yea River, the focus is on duration and its easy rating; for Wirrawilla, it’s the approximate distance, the cool temperate rainforest and the boardwalk section. This lets you compare the walks for planning your day by asking different questions: How much time do you have for a walk, and which forest character interests you most?

The Yea River Walk is on land gifted to the people of Toolangi. So, in addition to the landscape, a gift to the local community is part of this walk’s story.

Giant trees and forest trails as nature experiences

The Kalatha Giant draws attention to a single tree. It is a mountain ash and Victoria’s seventh-largest tree; a purpose-built path was created to make this natural wonder easier to access. Toolangi National Forest offers numerous trails and viewpoints. These offer two different ways to enjoy nature: a specific, named tree on the one hand, and a wider variety of forest trails and views on the other.

Combine experiences with finding accommodation

Discover more destinations: Pyramid Hill, Lexton, Lalbert, Glenaire, Warranwood, Rushworth, Pirron Yallock, Morwell

Return to the main travel overview: Victoria.