Best Outdoor Activities in Bendigo

Bendigo's outdoor activity scene is anchored by Rosalind Park at the city's centre, the Bendigo Creek Trail cycling route, the Whipstick State Forest's rare mallee ecosystem to the north, and the Mount Alexander and Castlemaine Diggings national parks within 40 minutes that provide walking of genuine quality in a heritage goldfields landscape. For a regional city, Bendigo is well-served by accessible nature.

Rosalind Park — Bendigo's 19-hectare central park, formally landscaped in the Victorian era, provides the Conservatory sunken garden, the ANZAC memorial, mature plane tree avenues, and the underground reservoir access. The Lookout Tower (a cast iron Chinesische Pagoda structure) provides elevated views of the city and the surrounding landscape. The park connects directly to the View Street arts precinct and the Bendigo Art Gallery.

Bendigo Creek Trail — the Bendigo Creek walking and cycling trail follows the creek corridor through inner Bendigo suburbs from Golden Square to White Hills, providing a green linear park corridor for off-road cycling and walking through the city's residential landscape.

Whipstick State Forest — north of Bendigo, the Whipstick Forest contains rare remnant mallee eucalypt scrub and is the habitat of rare and endangered species including the brush-tailed phascogale. Walking tracks through the Whipstick provide access to an ecosystem that has almost entirely disappeared from the Victorian landscape.

Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park — 40 minutes south of Bendigo, the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park preserves the goldfields mining landscape from the 1850s gold rush, with walking tracks past puddling mills, water races, and alluvial diggings that tell the story of Victorian gold rush history in a landscape of considerable atmospheric character.

Mount Alexander Regional Park — 45 minutes south of Bendigo, Mount Alexander (744m) provides walking tracks through the park's dry sclerophyll forest to summit views, and the Leanganook Walking Track connects multiple summits in the Mount Alexander range.

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