Australia's 10 Great Walks

The on-foot alternative to one of Australia's most popular road trips (the Great Ocean Road) is the Great Ocean Walk, one of the best ways to explore Victoria's rugged and wild coastline. A few hours southwest of Melbourne, the 65-mile (104-kilometer) trail weaves along the coast west of Apollo Bay, past towering cliffs, shipwrecks, and rainforest before reaching the Twelve Apostles.

The 8-day trail offers camping in designated sites along the way. Alternatively, if you want to soak in the epic scenery but skip the slog, the Twelve Apostles Lodge Walk offers a short and sweet, high-end alternative: a 4-day guided adventure with eco-luxe cabins, gourmet meals, and even a scenic helicopter flight.

A jewel in the crown of Australia's best hikes, Tasmania's Overland Track is an 8-day adventure through UNESCO World Heritage wilderness. Connecting Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair, the 40-mile (65-kilometer) trail zigzags through glacier-carved landscapes filled with rugged mountains, misty rainforests, windswept plains, and cascading waterfalls.

To protect the trail's wildness, permits are required, and visitor numbers are limited, especially during summer. Amenities include huts, toilets, and fresh water. For a more opulent experience, check out the Cradle Mountain Huts Walk, which comes complete with stylish accommodations, Tasmanian wine, and a guide-turned-personal chef.

Tracing the ridgeline of the West McDonnell Ranges in Australia's Red Centre, the Larapinta Trail traverses an expansive sun-baked wilderness where rugged mountains and red-rock gorges meet sacred Indigenous sites and natural pools under a vast blue sky.

Following in the footsteps of the Arrernte people who have called these remote landscapes home for millennia, the Larapinta Trail has become a modern-day pilgrimage, where hikers are rewarded with immense views and incredible starry night skies, returning to civilization with a deeper understanding of the connection between humans and nature.

However, the Larapinta terrain is as challenging and unforgiving as the walk itself, so walkers should come prepared. Stretching from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder, the 139-mile (223-kilometer) trail is broken down into 12 stages and usually takes experienced hikers 16-20 days to complete (along with extensive planning and food drops).

If that sounds a little too much, you can also tackle it in shorter segments, heading straight for the highlights (Simpsons Gap, Ormiston Gorge, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek, and Serpentine Gorge). Or, join a tour with comfort options, including exclusive wilderness camps with safari tents, high-end catering, and showers.

Western Australia is known for its beautiful beaches, and the southwestern edge is no exception. Serving up incredible coastal panoramas, secluded beaches, 600-million-year-old rocky landscapes, and dappled forest groves—as well as one of the world’s most remarkable displays of wildflowers in spring—the Cape to Cape Walk is an 84-mile (135-kilometer) slice of paradise.

Running alongside the ocean from Cape Naturaliste near Dunsborough to Cape Leeuwin in Augusta, this scenic walk through the Margaret River region offers views for days and plenty of opportunities for swimming, wine tasting, whale-watching, and stargazing along the way. The 8-day hike offers primitive campsites, but you can also tackle it in segments or organize accommodation along the way with pickups and drop-offs at trailheads.

Insider tip: This trail involves a lot of walking on soft sands, so consider wearing gaiters.

While Queensland’s Scenic Rim Trail is a relatively recent addition to Australia’s plethora of multi-day walks, the ancient mountains, volcanic plateaus, rich Indigenous history, and the UNESCO Gondwana Rainforests have put this 4-day adventure on the map.

About a 90-minute drive into the Hinterland from Brisbane, the 29-mile (47-kilometer) hike offers dramatic views of the landscape, from plunging waterfalls to ancient sprawling rainforests and mountains cloaked in mist. First created in partnership with the boutique hotel group Spicers, the Scenic Rim Trail can be an opulent, all-inclusive guided adventure complete with luxury eco-camps in the rainforest or a basic experience with public campsites.

Related: Don’t Miss These Must-Do Experiences in Queensland

Hikers seeking silence, dramatic nature, and a remote, unspoiled wilderness should opt for Tasmania’s Three Capes Track. Accessible only by boat from Port Arthur, the 29-mile (48-kilometer) hike follows Australia's southeasternmost point. The route winds along crumbling dolerite islands, white sand bays fringed with virgin forest, and ocean waters full of dolphins, seals, and migrating whales.

The 4-day track marks a new era of purpose-built symbiotic hiking trails: designed to protect wild landscapes and enhance the visitor experience. Straddling the line between a serviced hike and a rough-and-ready experience, hikers have to book in advance and pay a fee to hike the track. This includes the return boat trip, a guidebook, and accommodation in communal eco-cabins. Guided walks are also available.

K’Gari (Fraser Island) might be best known for its 4WD tracks, but the Fraser Island Great Walk is quickly catching up as one of the best ways to explore one of the world's largest sand islands. A great way to delve into K’Gari’s fascinating geology and intriguing history, the 51-mile (84-kilometer) trail also meanders through incredible scenery. Expect to see shipwrecks, towering dunes, picture-postcard beaches, freshwater lakes, lush forests, and coastal mangroves.

Best tackled in the cooler months, the 7-day trail offers accommodation in tranquil campsites where visitors can enjoy unspoiled starry nights surrounded by nature. Walkers will need permits and should take precautions to stay safe from wild dingos, including hiking in groups.

Following a millennia-old Jawoyn Songline through Nitmiluk National Park in Katherine, the Jatbula Trail winds its way through wild terrain beneath starry skies, all but untouched by the modern world. In order to keep it that way, the trail operates under a permit system and strictly limits the number of visitors to protect the sacred landscapes.

Those who manage to land one of the coveted passes will be rewarded with a 5-day, 39-mile (62-kilometer) hike across vibrant landscapes. Expect to hike through verdant rainforests, tumbling waterfalls, crystal-clear, croc-free swimming holes, sandstone plateaus, and Indigenous rock art, telling the story of the First Nations people who have long called this remote region home.

For many visitors, the idea of mountainous Alpine landscapes and rugged snow-capped peaks is more synonymous with neighboring New Zealand than Australia. However, if you’re after spectacular mountain scenery, crystal clear rivers, and turquoise Alpine lakes, you can’t get any better than the Australian Alps Walking Track.

Featuring some of the country’s highest mountains and wildest national parks, the Australian Alps Walking Track is one of Australia’s biggest and best long-distance tracks: It’s a 407-mile (655 km) challenging feat between Walhalla (VIC) and Tharwa (ACT).

Recommended only for experienced long-distance wilderness hikers with strong navigational and survival skills, most visitors break the trail into more manageable sections, soaking up the Alpine scenery on shorter, multi-day hikes through national parks like Kosciuszko or the Bogong High Plains.

Related: New Zealand’s 10 Great Walks

Another mammoth adventure, the Heysen Trail is a cruisey 60-day (or more) hike spanning 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) through southern Australia. Holding the title of the longest-marked trail in the country, this epic walk starts in the ancient arid landscapes of the Flinders Ranges, heads down through five different wine regions, and then follows the surf along the Fleurieu coastline to Cape Jervis (or vice versa).

Open from May to November (the trail is understandably closed during fire season), trekkers can also break this mega-walk into much more manageable sections, with only the bravest of the brave tackling it all in one, food drops and all.

Most visitors tend to focus their hiking efforts on either the Flinders Ranges, where there are also an array of luxury expeditions, including the Arkaba Walk and the Park Trek, or the Fleurieu Peninsula, where the 47-mile (75.5-kilometer) Southern Heysen Trail is a worthy adventure of its own.