A campervan guide to the Grampians, Australia, for self-drivers

Three days gives you the postcard version: Halls Gap, MacKenzie Falls, a lookout or two, and a dawn coffee while kangaroos mow the oval like unpaid council staff. Five to seven days is better if you want the southern end around Dunkeld, the quieter northern sandstone country near Mt Zero, and enough slack for bad weather or tired legs.

Halls Gap is the easiest first base because you can walk to food, the bottle-o, trailheads and several holiday park options without moving the van every time someone wants chips. Dunkeld works better for a slower motorhome Grampians finish, especially if you like wide streets, mountain views and fewer reversing manoeuvres under audience pressure.

• Fast trip: 2 nights in Halls Gap, 1 night in Dunkeld or Lake Fyans.
• Best balance: 4 nights Halls Gap, 1–2 nights Dunkeld or Wartook side.
• Slow grey-nomad pace: 7 nights, with powered-site laundry, dump-point day and one no-driving day.

Do book your van and your key camps online before school holidays, Easter and long weekends. The Grampians is not remote by Outback standards, but powered sites in Halls Gap vanish quickly when Melbourne remembers it owns hiking boots.

The main Grampians drives are sealed and suitable for most 2WD campervans and motorhomes: Western Highway to Stawell or Ararat, Grampians Road through Halls Gap, Mt Victory Road toward Wartook, and the southern run to Dunkeld. That said, sealed does not mean sleepy. Mt Victory Road is narrow, winding and leafy, with drop-offs, cyclists, wallabies and tourist drivers who brake for every cliff face.

You do not need a 4WD for the classic sights, but many dirt spurs, fire tracks and seasonal roads are unsuitable or prohibited in hire agreements. After heavy rain, unsealed roads in the north can corrugate, wash out or close. If your rental contract says sealed roads only, believe it; recovery bills have a way of making scenic detours less scenic.

• Fuel: fill in Stawell, Ararat, Dunkeld, Hamilton or Horsham rather than assuming every village servo is open late.
• Range: a 300 km fuel buffer is ample for the main loop; individual legs are usually under 100 km.
• Vehicle size: 6–7 m vans fit most main car parks, but arrive early at MacKenzie Falls and Wonderland.
• Trucks: expect B-doubles and grain trucks on the Western Highway; sit left, hold speed, and let them pass cleanly.

Do use lower gears on descents rather than cooking the brakes. Do not stop on blind bends for wildlife photos; the roo will not pay your excess.

The best things to do Grampians campervan style are the ones where the van becomes your day base: boots in the rear, wet towels over the line, lunch in the fridge and no need to buy a $19 sandwich because you misjudged a walk. Start early, park once, and let the tour buses arrive after you have already had the lookout to yourself.

MacKenzie Falls is the headline act: about 2 km return to the base, with more than 250 steps and enough spray to make a hot day civilised. The Pinnacle is tougher; from Wonderland car park it is around 4.2 km return, while longer loops can run 9–10 km. Boroka Lookout, Reed Lookout and The Balconies are easier short stops, but their car parks are tighter for longer motorhomes.

• Early morning: Halls Gap wildlife, Boroka Lookout, quiet coffee in the van.
• Midday: Brambuk area, shorter shaded walks, bakery run, water refill if available.
• Afternoon: MacKenzie Falls, Zumsteins, Lake Fyans or a Dunkeld sunset.
• Rainy day: drive less, walk lower tracks, check closures and avoid dirt-road experiments.

Carry 2–3 litres of drinking water per walker in warm weather. In summer, exposed rock can push apparent temperatures well above the forecast 35°C, and the local flies treat sunscreen as a dipping sauce.

For a first-night Grampians campervan stop, powered holiday parks around Halls Gap are the low-stress choice: plug in, level up, shower properly and learn which drawer rattles before you head bush. Dunkeld and Lake Fyans also suit travellers who want power, laundry and easier access to dump points or potable water.

National park campgrounds such as Borough Huts, Smiths Mill, Jimmy Creek and Stapylton are more basic: usually unpowered, with toilets and defined sites, and bookings are commonly required through the park system. Expect no bins in some areas, no generators unless signed, and no pets inside the national park. If you are travelling with a dog, base outside the park and plan day trips carefully.

• Powered sites: best for hot nights, battery charging, CPAP machines and laundry days.
• Unpowered NP sites: quieter, cheaper-feeling, but still regulated and often booked.
• Free camping: look outside the national park in signed legal areas only; rules change by council and season.
• Fires: only in permitted fireplaces, never on Total Fire Ban days, and bring your own firewood where required.

Do not arrive after dark expecting to “just find something”. Kangaroos are busiest at dusk, and reversing a motorhome into a bush site by torchlight is a fine way to discover marital subtext.

The Grampians rewards self-contained travellers, but only if you stay on top of the boring stuff. Plan dump-point days around the larger towns: Stawell, Ararat, Hamilton and Horsham commonly have signed public RV facilities, while some Halls Gap holiday parks provide dump access for guests. Check local signage or a current dump-point app before committing your cassette to a heroic last kilometre.

Potable water is easiest at holiday parks and larger town RV points. Do not fill from creeks, picnic taps marked non-potable, or random hoses behind amenities blocks unless you enjoy turning a holiday into a microbiology practical. LPG swaps and groceries are also more reliable in Stawell, Ararat, Hamilton and Horsham than in the smaller park villages.

• Toilet cassette: empty every 2–3 days for two adults, sooner in hot weather.
• Fresh water: allow 20–30 L per person per day if showering in the van.
• Grey water: do not drain it onto campsites unless the site specifically allows it.
• Rubbish: take it out with you; many bush camps have limited or no bins.

A motorhome Grampians trip is much nicer when the fridge is cold, the tanks are sane and nobody is asking whether the red warning light has always been flashing.

Autumn and spring are the sweet spots: cool walking weather, clearer views and fewer 40°C afternoons trying to melt your steering wheel. Winter can be brilliant but cold, with 2–12°C days, wet tracks and mist over the ranges. Summer brings long evenings and brutal heat; start walks at sunrise, rest through the worst of the day, and treat fire warnings as non-negotiable.

The Grampians/Gariwerd is a living cultural landscape and a national park, not a free-for-all adventure paddock. Stay on tracks, respect closures around rock art and restoration areas, and check current conditions after storms or bushfire events. Some roads and walking tracks close seasonally or after flood damage.

• Pets: generally not permitted in Grampians National Park, including in vehicles at campgrounds.
• Drones: restricted in parks and sensitive wildlife areas; check rules before flying.
• Total Fire Ban: no campfires or solid-fuel cooking; gas may also be restricted in exposed areas.
• Wildlife: avoid driving at dawn, dusk and night where possible.

Do check availability online for your campervan early if you are travelling in March–April, September–November or during Victorian school holidays. The best rigs and the flattest campsites both disappear first.