The best walks at Wilsons Prom

What are the best walks at Wilsons Prom?

Mount Oberon for the view, the Squeaky Beach walk for the coast, Tongue Point for a wild headland, Lilly Pilly Gully for rainforest. The lighthouse is the big one, but it is an overnight hike.

The table is in the order we would rank them for a first visit. One way means you need a car shuttle or a walk back the same way, which doubles the time.

How hard is the Mount Oberon walk?

Moderate. It is 6.8 km return and about 2 hours on a wide management track that climbs steadily, and the last 100 m is a steep climb of timber and granite steps to the 558 m summit.

Parks Victoria grades it moderate to hard on the day walks page (Grade 4 on the walk page), mostly for the steady gradient. The track winds uphill through tall eucalypts with bench seats along the way, so you can stop as often as you like. Toilets are at the car park. The summit is open granite with unprotected drops, and the rock gets slippery when wet.

The reward is the best view in the park: Tidal River, Norman Bay, the west coast and the offshore islands in one sweep. Sunset is the classic time. If you go up for it, carry a head torch for the walk down, because the descent finishes in the dark.

Can you drive to Telegraph Saddle, or do you need the shuttle?

You can drive up most of the year. The car park closes in the summer school holidays, at Easter and on weekends from November to April, and then a free shuttle bus runs from Tidal River.

Telegraph Saddle is the start of Mount Oberon, the lighthouse hike and the Southern Prom Circuit. Parks Victoria says the shuttle leaves from the Tidal River Visitor Centre car park and the Overnight Hikers car park, and the timetable is posted at each stop and at the visitor centre. Its summer visitor guide gives daily service from 9am to 6pm in the school holidays.

• Right now: it is November, so the weekend closure is in force. On a Saturday or Sunday, park at Tidal River and take the bus.
• Plan backwards: check the last bus down before you set off for a sunset climb, and allow for the walk down.
• Weekdays outside the holidays: you can drive to the saddle. The car park is small, so early is better.

What is the best beach walk at Wilsons Prom?

The coast walk from Norman Beach over Tidal Overlook to Squeaky Beach, Picnic Bay and Whisky Bay: 6 km one way, about 3 hours, easy to moderate. The short version is the 4.2 km return walk to Squeaky Beach.

This is the walk that shows you why people love the Prom: three beaches, each between granite headlands, linked by a track through coastal scrub. Walk it north from Tidal River and arrange a lift back, or turn around at Squeaky Beach. Walking is also the smart way to reach Squeaky Beach, because its car park is small and fills quickly in summer.

Swim at Norman Beach, not at Squeaky. Parks Victoria does not recommend swimming at Squeaky Beach because of persistent rips, and it is not patrolled. Paddle, take photos and listen to the sand.

Pillar Point is the shorter alternative from the same base: 3.6 km return, about 1.5 hours, over the Tidal River footbridge and through a tea-tree tunnel to granite outcrops with views of Squeaky Beach, Norman Bay and Mount Oberon. Watch the unprotected cliffs.

The Squeaky Beach and Tidal River guide covers parking and the campground.

Is the Tongue Point walk worth it?

Yes, for a quieter coastal walk. Darby River to Tongue Point is 3.8 km one way, about 2 hours, moderate, with a detour to Fairy Cove for a swim among the boulders.

The walk starts at the southern end of the Darby River car park, about 18 km (15 minutes) from the park entrance, so it fits well on the way in. The track climbs Darby Hill, an ancient sand dune, then follows the headland through coastal heath and stacks of weathered granite. Look back for the view over Darby Swamp and the Vereker Range. Wallabies are common in the heath.

Fairy Cove is the short side track near the end: a small white beach enclosed by granite, good for a swim or a snorkel on a calm day. The track finishes facing Shellback and Norman Islands across the swell. Go back the same way (about 4 hours in total), or organise a car shuttle and finish at Darby Saddle (the Darby Saddle to Tongue Point walk is 5.6 km, moderate to hard).

What are the easy walks at Wilsons Prom?

Lilly Pilly Gully Nature Walk (5.2 km return, flat, pram-friendly) and the Prom Wildlife Walk (2.3 km loop, about 45 minutes) are the two easiest, with Mount Bishop as the step up.

• Lilly Pilly Gully Nature Walk: about 1.5 hours return through tall forest to a rainforest gully. The 5.8 km circuit version takes about 2 hours. The 1 km Lilly Pilly Link (about 20 minutes each way) joins it to Tidal River.
• Prom Wildlife Walk: Grade 2, flat and easy, across open grassland where kangaroos, wombats, wallabies and emus feed. The nearest toilets are 5 km away at the Darby River car park.
• Mount Bishop: 7.4 km return, about 2.5 hours, from Lilly Pilly Gully. A side track from the circuit to a rocky summit with views of the west coast and islands, and a quieter top than Oberon.

For visitors with limited mobility, Parks Victoria lends a motorised TrailRider and beach wheelchairs free of charge. They are booked through the park information centre.

Pick your own walk: Mount Oberon, Mount Bishop or Lilly Pilly Gully, with transport from Melbourne and park fees included, then Squeaky Beach and wildlife on the way out.

★ 4.8 · 12 hours · from $102

Explore the wilderness day tour → Tour details

Is the Sealers Cove walk open in 2026?

Parks Victoria's day walks page lists it as closed due to storm damage until further notice. Its project page says the rebuilt boardwalk was finished in spring 2026, so check the park page for the reopening before you go.

Sealers Cove is the classic east-coast walk: 9.5 km one way, about 3 hours, climbing from Telegraph Saddle over Windy Saddle and down through forest and a long boardwalk across swamp to a wide, empty beach. Storms and floods in 2021 damaged the old boardwalk beyond repair. Parks Victoria replaced about two kilometres of it, with construction from December 2025.

Until the walk page shows it open, plan on Mount Oberon or the west-coast beaches instead. You can still see the east coast from the water: the whale cruise with lunch from Port Welshpool passes Sealers Cove and Refuge Cove in its mid-July to early November season.

Can you walk to the Wilsons Prom lighthouse in a day?

Not as a return trip. It is 19.1 km one way from Telegraph Saddle (23.8 km from Tidal River via Oberon Bay), 5 to 6 hours of challenging walking, and Parks Victoria says to start at least six hours before sunset.

The lightstation stands on South East Point, the southernmost lighthouse on the mainland: a 19 m granite tower built with convict labour from 1853 and first lit in 1859. It is reachable only on foot. The walk is a one-way day, and you stay overnight in the lightkeepers' cottages, which must be booked ahead (maximum two nights). Bring a sleeping bag or linen and all your food, because there are no supplies there.

Parks Victoria's rule is blunt: all hikers must arrive before dark, and you should think hard about what you can do before you book. On short winter days that leaves little margin. The other way to see it is from the sea: the full-day cruise passes the lighthouse and Skull Rock between February and April.

★★★★★

We were given the option to hike Mount Oberon, Mount Bishop, or Pillar Point, and Locky guided each of us in choosing a hike that suited our individual preferences and abilities. We never felt rushed at any point during the trip.

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