Mount Cole: Hiking, Birdlife and Wine

Mount Cole offers several specific highlights to consider when planning your trip: the two-day Beeripmo Walk, the Borella Walk, birdwatching and Mountainside Wines. Which ones you include depends on whether you’re making time for a longer hike, considering a campground with several possible activities, or adding wine tasting to your stay. The history of Warrak/Mt Cole and its peaceful rural atmosphere add historical and scenic aspects to your activity planning.

Hiking and accommodation

The Beeripmo Walk is a two-day hike through Mount Cole State Forest and Mount Buangor State Park. Its duration gives you a practical starting point for planning: you can make the hike a focus of your stay and plan other activities around it. Beeripmo Campground is an overnight campsite accessible only on foot via the Beeripmo Walk. If you plan to stay there, factor this access into your hiking plans.

At Chinamans Campground, you can hike, camp, ride horses and drive four-wheel-drive vehicles. This differs from the two-day Beeripmo Walk: Chinamans Campground offers a choice of several activities, while access on foot via the walk is a key consideration at Beeripmo Campground. Chinamans Campground has accessible parking spaces, toilets and wheelchair-accessible picnic tables. These are specific features of the campground; by themselves, they tell you nothing about other places or accommodation in Mount Cole.

Borella Walk and birdlife

There are two starting points for the Borella Walk: Ben Nevis Picnic Ground on Ben Nevis Road in Mount Cole, or Chinamans Campground on Chinamans Road in Mount Cole. The walk was named in memory of respected local birdwatcher Max Borella and also celebrates the region’s rich birdlife. The trail thus links a local naming story with a nature theme that may also interest you when planning your trip, whether or not you go hiking.

Chinamans Campground is suitable for birdwatching. More than 130 bird species have been sighted in Mount Cole State Forest. These two details offer different points of reference: birdwatching is a possible interest at the campground, while the number refers to sightings in the State Forest. If you’re particularly interested in birds, you can pair this with the Borella Walk, which celebrates the region’s birdlife.

Rural scenery, history and wine

In the 1860s, there were several sawmills in Warrak/Mt Cole. They supplied timber to the Ballarat goldfields and other new settlements in Victoria. This history points to the economic role that timber production played in the area at the time. Warrak/Mt Cole sits in a beautiful valley with a mountain backdrop and has a peaceful rural atmosphere. Its scenery and history offer a different way to experience Mount Cole from its walking trails and campground activities.

Mountainside Wines is a family-run vineyard and winery at the foot of Mount Cole. Wine tastings are offered there, though availability may change. If a tasting is part of your travel plans, check before visiting whether one is available on your chosen date. Wine, hiking and birdwatching are different interests to consider when planning your stay.

Explore more destinations: Tuerong, Hamilton, Bundalong, Strath Creek, Yellingbo, Jindivick, Safety Beach, Nirranda.

For the broader travel overview: Victoria.