The Victorian Walking festival starts on April 1 and goes until May 8.

You can choose walks by date, theme or region. There are walks in Melbourne and regional VIC plus lots of specialised themes like night walking, food culture, natural history, etc.

The following information comes from the organiser, Stephen Ingrouille

In Victoria there are currently a number of Local Councils, community groups, associations and commercial operators organising occasional walks both guided and self-guided. Across the state there are many bush walking clubs with walks available on most days of the year.

What is a Walking Festival?

A Walking Festival brings together in one program various walks from different sectors – urban walks, historical walks, food walks, bush walks, etc – for a set period, in this case the whole month of April and the first week May, when the weather in Victoria is relatively benign.

Walking Festivals are popular in Europe and New Zealand but strangely, so far, there is no equivalent that we know of in Australia. This provides a splendid opportunity for Melbourne city, the many wonderful Melbourne municipalities and Victorian regional towns to showcase themselves. And of course Victoria is blessed with fabulous parks and bushlands – The Prom, The Otways, The Grampians, The Cathedral Range, The Brisbane Ranges, and the Victorian Alps to name just a few.

Why walk?

There are positive physical, mental and social reasons for getting involved with walking. Organised events encourage walking and in turn allow for the discovery of new and interesting places. Walks can be city strolls or serious bush walks. If you are new to walking, start with the easier walks. Generally the more walking you do the better it is for your health and for our community.

How to join a walk

See the Walks Program page and download the pdf with the full program. If you want to join a walk contact directly the group organising the walk and book with them. Some walks a free while others have a fee.

Note that particularly the bush walking clubs will have an induction process for visitors. You may need to contact them up to a week before the walk. They will also have a visitor’s fee – usually less than $10 – to cover basic insurance.

Most walks will have a maximum number of participants and these could be filled as we get closer to the event so the sooner you contact the organisation the better.

Walks in the program range from ambles to fairly hard bush walks and hill climbs. It is essential that you discuss the degree of difficulty of the walk and your capabilities with the organisation sponsoring the walk. (Do not rely on the grading in the program. It’s just there as an indication – what for some would be an easy walk might be difficult for others). Likewise check if children, dogs, prams or wheelchairs are appropriate for the walk.