Werribee Gorge retains a wild, rugged natural beauty. The park offers spectacular views and great opportunities for bushwalking and rock climbing.

There are a variety of walks in the park. A popular walk follows the Werribee River from Meikles Point picnic area, offering impressive view of both the river and the cliff faces of the gorge. It leads to popular swimming holes, historic sites and other park features.

Things to do
- The Bacchus Marsh district acquired world-wide fame last century as one of the earliest known occurrences of ancient glacial deposits and Werribee Gorge State Park is still a place where many interesting geological features can be seen. These point to a remarkably varied geological history.
- A variety of walking experiences is available in the park. A popular walk follows the Werribee River from Meikles Point picnic area. This walk gives visitors an impressive view of both the river and the cliff faces of the gorge. It leads to popular swimming holes, historic sites and other park features. The track is difficult in places and requires a reasonable degree of fitness.
- A longer day walk can be made by completing the Circuit Walk up the hill from Meikles Point Picnic Area and returning along the River Walk. Tracks are generally well marked but the degree of difficulty, length and time required for completion are not currently shown.

Before you go
Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions, please visit the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website.

Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. Refer to the Bushfire Safety section on the Parks Victoria website for tips on how to stay safe.

Local directions

Werribee Gorge State Park is about 8 km west of Bacchus Marsh and can be approached by two routes. The first is via the Western Freeway and the Pentland Hills Road to Myers Road, a gravel road steep in places. This provides access to the Gorge itself. The second is via Ironbark Road (the Ballan-Infliston Road) which is approached from the Bacchus Marsh-Anakie Road.

Facilities

Activities

Additional business information

Heritage
Five hundred million years of geological history - from ancient folded sea-bed sediments through glacial material to relatively recent lava flows - have been revealed in the Gorge by the down cutting action of the Werribee River, accelerated in the past million years by the formation of the Port Phillip sunkland along the Rowsley Fault. The name Werribee (originally spelt "Wearibi") is thought to derive from an Aboriginal word meaning either "swimming place" or "backbone", the latter perhaps referring to the river's snake like bends. By the 1880s several geological surveys had been carried out in the Gorge, and its geological importance was appreciated. In 1907, it was reserved under the Land Act as a public park and for the preservation of geological features. Walking tracks and shelter sheds were built and a caretaker appointed. Prospecting and timber cutting occurred on a small scale during the 1930s depression and a water race was built in 1928 to carry water to Bacchus Marsh. Over many years, field naturalists called for increased protection for the Gorge. It came under the National Parks Service management as 'Werribee Gorge State Park' in 1975 as a result of a Land Conservation Council recommendation. The park has since been enlarged by the purchase of adjoining freehold land.