Kokoda Track Memorial Walk (1000 Steps)

How to get there

1. By car from Melbourne CBD: typically Eastern Freeway (M3) then Burwood Highway / Mount Dandenong Tourist Road to Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground (~35–40 km; allow traffic buffer).
2. Parking: free at Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground — Parks Victoria notes it is typically full by 10 am on most weekend mornings. Plan B: One Tree Hill Picnic Ground at the top, or train.
3. By train: Belgrave line to Upper Ferntree Gully Station, then about 1.2 km (1200 m) on foot to the base of the steps per Parks Victoria. Check current PTV timetables.
4. Vehicle gates at Ferntree Gully (including 1000 Steps): 6:00 am – 9:00 pm daily on the live Parks Victoria park page when last checked. Do not leave valuables visible in cars.
5. One Tree Hill picnic ground gate hours shorten outside daylight saving (often 6:00 am – 6:00 pm on the park page when last checked) — if you park or finish at the top in winter, verify that window separately.
6. No walk permit for a standard day visit [VERIFY live]. Dogs prohibited in the national park (assistance dogs with requirements).

How to do it (step by step)

1. Confirm the park is open (Extreme FDR or severe weather = whole-park closure). Read any deer-control or track notices.
2. Use toilets at the picnic ground, fill water, put on sturdy footwear.
3. Ascend the steep gully track past memorial plaques. Stay left/right courteously on narrow steps shared with runners.
4. At One Tree Hill: rest, toilets, filtered Melbourne views. Decide turnaround, pickup, or Lyrebird Track loop descent.
5. Return the same way, or complete the loop via Lyrebird Track to the car park if signed and conditions suit.
6. Allow margin for the automatic gate close time — do not cut it fine after a slow climb.
7. If the lower car park was already circling on arrival, convert the plan: train approach next time, or start/finish from One Tree Hill with a clear pickup.

What to expect

Parks Victoria calls this probably Melbourne’s most popular bushwalk — plan for crowds. Officially the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk (incorporating the 1000 Steps), the route climbs from Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground through a steep fern-and-rainforest gully beside the creek, then opens into the One Tree Hill clearing with filtered city views through the trees.

Many locals use it as a gym. Tourists come for the famous steps. Both share the same narrow treads. Midweek at dawn feels like forest; Saturday at 11 am feels like a crowded staircase with headphones. Go early, midweek, or accept the crush.

The popular “1000” name is historic branding more than a literal count — commonly cited step totals sit lower (often ~770–870 in secondary sources) while the climb still feels like a thousand. Confirm any distance figure you need for a school or event plan on the live Parks Victoria page [VERIFY].

Start logistics, parking and train

Trailhead default: Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground at the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road / Burwood Highway junction. Facilities include car park, toilets and picnic areas. Vehicle access is through an automatic gate listed as open 6:00 am – 9:00 pm daily on the Parks Victoria park page when last checked. Plan to finish inside the published window.

Parking strategy: assume the lower car park fills by ~10 am on weekend mornings (Parks Victoria’s own advice). Better options: arrive at opening, park at One Tree Hill and walk the memorial track as a down-then-up or meet a pickup, or take the Belgrave line to Upper Ferntree Gully Station and walk about 1.2 km (1200 m) to the base.

Food is not a planning pillar. Grants Picnic Ground Café is temporarily closed (Tue–Sat mobile van during the lease EOI — re-check). Separately, Parks Victoria’s 1000 Steps page promotes The 1000 Steps Café at Ferntree Gully — confirm open status before you rely on it. Carry water and snacks either way.

Loop via Lyrebird Track vs same-way return

Classic pattern: climb the memorial steps to One Tree Hill, then either reverse the same track or take the Lyrebird Track to complete a loop back toward the car park (as described on Parks Victoria’s 1000 Steps page). Decide before you are exhausted at the top with a tired group arguing about “just a bit further.”

Same-way return is simpler for first-timers and anyone navigating with kids — you always know the path. The Lyrebird loop adds variety and can reduce two-way congestion on the steepest steps, provided signage and conditions are clear. Download offline maps (Avenza hosts Dandenong Ranges maps) rather than relying on continuous mobile signal in the gully.

Distance changes with your exact start, photo stops and loop choice — use ~1.8–3+ km and ~45–90+ minutes as a rough guide only [VERIFY]. Fit solo walkers move faster; people reading plaques and families take longer.

Plaques, Kokoda context and respect

Veterans of the Kokoda campaign adopted this park as their memorial site in 1998. The similarity to the first stretch of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea led to plaques along the walk dedicated to Australian forces; the steps evoke the “Golden Staircase” story from that campaign. Keep any history notes short and accurate — don’t invent military detail on the track.

Practical respect: pause without blocking the entire width, keep portable speakers off, and teach kids that this is a memorial landscape as well as a workout. Fitness use is real and legitimate; treating plaque landings as only rest benches for selfie queues misses the point Parks Victoria emphasises when it asks people to visit when it is quiet.

Packing baseline

Treat this as a steep continuous climb, not a CBD stroll. Sturdy shoes with grip, 1 L+ water per adult (more in heat), a light rain shell, snacks, and a charged phone with a return-time note beat fashion sneakers and a shared half-bottle. Poles help many people on the descent.

Agree a turnaround rule before the first flight of steps: heat distress, vomiting, a child who has stopped drinking, or a crowded bottleneck that is spoiling the memorial mood — reverse without drama. One Tree Hill toilets and car access make an early exit a plan, not a failure.

Hazards, fitness honesty and the One Tree Hill bail-out

Hazards are ordinary and serious: continuous steep ascent, shared narrow steps, wet slippery surfaces after rain, crowding bottlenecks, and fire-related whole-park closure on Extreme FDR or severe weather. Leeches can appear in wet gullies — annoying, not a reason to skip the park if you are prepared. Sturdy footwear and water beat fashion sneakers and a single shared bottle.

Fitness honesty: if you would not climb a long stadium stairwell at pace, do not promise teenagers a “quick 1000 Steps before lunch.” Turn around at any point. One Tree Hill is a real bail-out — toilets, picnic facilities, car access for pickup — not a failure state. Multiple short side options exist; follow signs rather than inventing shortcuts through garden beds or closed tracks.

Dogs are not allowed on the 1000 Steps or in the national park generally (assistance dogs with requirements). Night deer-control operations (published window 16 August – 19 November 2026, selected nights typically 4:00 pm – 7:00 am) can close signed areas — read the live Parks Victoria notice and on-site signage for which sites are closed that night.

When to go — and quieter alternatives

Winter, midweek and early morning remain the best windows for rainforest atmosphere and a chance at lyrebird calls. Fine weekends and school holidays are peak human traffic. If you arrive to a full car park and a conga line on the first flight of steps, you can still salvage the day: One Tree Hill picnic only, Ramblers Track Loop for gentler Ferntree Gully forest (Parks Victoria suggestion), or leave for Sherbrooke / Olinda Falls / Eastern Sherbrooke.

Parks Victoria also points fitness seekers wanting a less popular hard climb toward options outside this park (e.g. Granite Track at Lysterfield). Use that spirit: the 1000 Steps do not have to be the only “hard walk” identity for your group.

Failure modes: (1) circling the Ferntree Gully car park after 10 am on a Saturday and still starting the climb angry — convert to train or One Tree Hill instead of “five more minutes.” (2) stacking 1000 Steps + two falls loops before lunch — one hard effort, then picnic or one quiet forest block. Official vs sign: Parks Victoria owns live closures; the map board at the picnic ground owns the route you actually walk today.

Map (orientation)

Pin may be approximate. Confirm trailheads, parking and track status on Parks Victoria before you drive.