Five of the best family-friendly walks in Victoria

Distance: 6km return
Time: 2.5 hours
Suits: School-age
Parking: Quarantine Station

There’s plenty to see on land and at sea at Point Nepean, from the calm of Port Phillip Bay to the swell of Bass Strait. About 35 minutes’ drive from the RACV Cape Schanck Resort, the area has historic quarantine stations and abandoned military forts. Notably, the first shot of the British Empire in World War I and the first Australian shot of World War II were fired from Gun Emplacement 6.

Follow the gentle Coles Track from Quarantine Station to Defence Road, then continue along Defence Road to the very tip of Point Nepean. Watch for echidnas or blue-tongued lizards as you wind through native wetlands with glimpses of Port Phillip Bay.

Don’t miss: the memorial to Harold Holt, the former Australian Prime Minister who disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach. It's located at a viewing platform 500m west of Cheviot Hill, overlooking Cheviot Beach.

Distance: 7.7km return
Time: 3 hours
Suits: School-age
Parking: Turntable car park

The You Yangs boasts unusual rock formations, including a huge lookout rock and a large rock shelter, plus views across the western plains – most of the cone-shaped hills are (dormant) volcanoes – and the chance to sight cool lizards.

Start at the Turntable carpark, where you can climb the 3.2km, 1 hour return path to Flinders Peak, a stunning lookout. It's a challenging walk, consisting of 450 steps rising 200m in elevation. If the kids still have some steam left, tackle the East-West Walk (4.5km, 2 hours return) to see more of the You Yangs park and countryside.

Don’t miss: the massive stone geoglyph of Bunjil on the flat below the eastern path. This statue represents the ancestral wedge-tailed eagle that features in the creation stories of south-eastern Aboriginal people, including the Wathaurong people.

Distance: 6.6km return
Time: 2 hours
Suits: Ages 10+
Parking: Tipperary Springs Picnic Ground

This hike is a good introduction to bushwalking, as the landscape is quintessentially Australian through eucalyptus forest.

Start at Tipperary Springs, where a pump dispenses the area's renowned spritzy mineral water - so bring cups and bottles to enjoy. Follow the eastern side of Sailors Creek (usually dry in summer and autumn) to Bryces Flat. Here, use the large stepping boulders across the creek to return to Tipperary Springs along the other bank.

A shorter alternative for younger children is the 1.4km, 50-minute return track from Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve to Argyle Spring.

Don’t miss: a night relaxing at RACV’s Goldfields Resort, about 30 kilometres away at Creswick.

Distance: 8.2km return
Time: 4 hours
Suits: Ages 7+
Parking: Cape Woolamai Beach car park

This moderately challenging 8.2km loop around the highest point on Phillip Island is a nature wonderland. Swamp wallabies abound, and if you don’t move too close or suddenly, you can watch them graze. There are up to a million shearwaters from October to April; you'll see the birds returning to the dunes at dusk. Whales can also be seen off the coastline between late May to September, with the season peaking in June and July.

The Cape Woolamai Circuit combines parts of three shorter walks, each one offering an alternative walk if you have a younger child who isn't up to the full distance. Follow the green markers for the Pinnacles Walk (4.5km return), blue markers for the Old Granite Quarry Walk (6km return), or black markers for the Cape Woolamai Beacon Walk (6.6km return).

From the Cape Woolamai Beach car park, walk onto the beach, turn left, and follow the beach for about a kilometre until you climb stairs up to the clifftop loop walks.

Don’t miss: Low tide, which you'll need to complete the walk safely. If you encounter rising tides, backtrack to higher ground.

Distance: 2.1km return
Time: 40 minutes
Suits: Ages 4+
Parking: Sherbrooke Picnic Ground

Dip into the cool Dandenongs forest near Kallista at the Sherbrooke Falls Picnic Ground, where the reasonably easy Sherbrooke Track leads to a little creek cascading into a gully.

The rainforest rather than the falls is the main attraction here. The smaller the child, the more they’ll be astounded at the soaring mountain ash: the tallest flowering plant on the planet. At eye level there are beautiful ferns, gnarly trunks and huge logs. Tiny birds dart about, and you may spot a friendly kookaburra.

Grab picnic supplies from the nearby Kallista township, and tackle the nearby 1000 Steps walk if you have an older child or teenager with energy left in the tank.

Don’t miss: Lyrebirds scrubbing about after recent rainfall, when rainforest aromas are also abundant. These birds are most active in the evenings and early morning, and the best time of year to spy one is in spring.