Parks and gardens in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges

Visit the immaculate gardens dotted around Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges and get a taste of life for Melbourne's elite in the nineteenth century. In this green region you'll also find lush tranquil forests, rolling farmland, and naturally, water – waterfalls, streams and mineral springs.

Secret gardens
Behind the walls of the impressive Mount Macedon mansions built by Melbourne's elite in the nineteenth century hide some of Victoria's finest gardens, many National Trust-listed. Time your visit for the occasional open days as part of the Open Garden Scheme in spring and autumn and delight in classic landscaping. Your regional garden journey will also take in quaint cottage gardens, as well as specialist nurseries like The Garden of St Erth in Blackwood and the Mount Macedon Horticultural Society's Rare Plant Fair in September.

Public property
Take a tour of the region's impressive botanic gardens, which you'll find even in the smaller towns. Thanks to Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller, designer of Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens, botanical gardens in Malmsbury, Kyneton and Daylesford's Wombat Hill flourished. See Gisborne's botanical garden's contemporary Maori theme, inspired by its New Zealand sister city.

Water everywhere
Trace the waters from the spas in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs to their sources in Sailors Falls, Mount Franklin, the Blowhole and the Hepburn Pool at Hepburn Regional Park, or marvel at the lush ferns and the thunderous drop at Trentham Falls.

Rough 'n ready
Get active and tramp the rugged escarpments of the Lederberg State Park or Wombat State Forest. And last but definitely not least, make your way to the mysterious Hanging Rock and clamber over the cavernous, bizarrely perched boulders and imagine yourself as part of the Picnic at Hanging Rock adventures.