French Island National Park is a true paradise. Accessible only by a 30 minute passenger ferry ride, French Island is a haven of peace and serenity, home to a diverse range of wildlife and containing environments ranging from mangrove saltmarsh areas to open woodlands.

Explore the park at leisure by bus, bike or on foot, using the network of public roads and management tracks. There are whole day, half day and shorter walks and rides starting at Tankerton Foreshore Reserve.

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

Take the passenger ferry from Stony Point across to French Island. (Bookings (03) 9585 5730). The trip takes 10-12 minutes, and delivers you to Tankerton jetty on French Island. The Ranger Station is next to the pier (Melway ref: 612 P9).

Facilities

Additional business information

Heritage
Boats from the French expedition ship, Le Naturaliste, sailed into Western Port in April 1802 and spent a week checking the maps of George Bass. M Brevedant circumnavigated the island and called it 'Ile De Francoise'. There is no official record of European settlement on the island prior to 1842. The first island pastoral run was leased in 1850. Chicory growing began in the 1890s and the industry thrived for more than 60 years. McLeod Prison Farm was established on the island in 1916. Long term prisoners served their final years there. About 70 permanent residents, many of them descendants of the first settlers, have made the fertile soils in the southern half of the Island productive farm land, but the less disturbed northern part has now been declared French Island National Park, covering about two-thirds of the island.