You have to travel slightly further from Halls Gap to reach the Hollow Mountain walk, but that 40 minute journey will be more than worth it when you get there.

We decided to hike Hollow Mountain on our second trip to the area, and it was fantastic to be in a part of the Grampians that much fewer people visit (although we’ve rarely seen any trail in the Grampians that’s overly busy). It actually feels like a completely different park with red sand and rock formations that reminded us more of Kakadu in the Top End than the bush in Victoria!

Hollow Mountain might be a short walk, but it packs a punch in the adventure stakes, and when you add in a side trip to visit an Indigenous rock art site you get one of our favourite walks in the Grampians.

A Complete Guide to hiking up Hollow Mountain

Hollow Mountain hike stats

Distance: 3.2km return (2 miles)
Elevation: 227m
Difficulty: Moderate

Starting the hike

The walk starts innocently enough with a series of wide stairs on a deep yellow sandy track. It really does feel far away from the trails closer to Halls Gap. Even when we visited in the middle of the day in the busy Christmas period it was a very quiet track.

The walk is rated as a grade 4 and as we were making our way up the steps on a gentle incline we wondered why.

*The start of the trail up Hollow Mountain*

However, it’s not long before you hit the rocks and a standard trail as you know it disappears. The first part of the climb is still pretty easy - albeit uphill all the way - as you walk on rocks which are pretty smooth and grippy (in dry weather).

It won’t be long before you reach a large overhanging rock which is a great shady spot and offers some good views through the bush.

The Scramble

After the overhanging rock there are a few minutes before you hit the first scramble, which is the point at which we saw some people turn around.

I’d say that the first scramble is actually the most difficult so if this one looks fine to you, you will easily make it to the Hollow Mountain Peak.

There are a couple of decent footholds in the rock, and it’s only a short section before it becomes easier and less steep. I wouldn’t say it was difficult if you don’t mind the kind of climb that requires using your hands for a couple of moves. There would be a bit of a drop if you fell, but it’s not a seriously vertigo inducing scramble.

Once you’re up this bit - which takes less than a minute - you’ll have a few big boulders to climb across and then you hit a very open rocky area.

The views from here are great and the terrain is fairly easy for the most part, although I personally watched my footing a lot as the rock is quite jagged which I thought would be easy to twist an ankle on.

Hollow Mountain Caves

There are a number of caves here which you can explore now or on the way back from the peak. Before you head to the main cave, you can see one of the best views on the trail. The caves and this view are all to the left of the main trail and really easy to spot.

You can walk for a few seconds along a ledge to get this clear view, if you don’t mind walking along narrow rock with a big drop. It really is just a few seconds but might not be for everyone.

There are a couple of ways into the main cave, which if you’ve seen any photos of a cave on this trail it is likely to be from this one. The first way is just before the ledge you’ll see a rock face with some footholds that you can climb up and you’re in.

This route is a bit trickier than any other part of the walk, it’s the kind of bit that some people love and some people hate.

If you hate it, you can walk back around to the main trail and do a bit of bush bashing to your right and go through the opening that way which doesn’t require any dodgy scrambling. Just look for the huge crack in the cliff and you’ll find the cave.

Continuing to the peak

Back on the main trail, you’ll traverse the rocky plain following yellow arrows to guide you. Although you could pretty much choose any route, I found the slightly trodden down path to be the easiest way.

There is just a little more climbing, up easy rock (no scrambling) before you reach the view of Hollow Mountain, and a great area to sit in the shade under the overhanging rock and take a break.

We actually thought we’d made it to the top at this point, because the cliff that we saw by the viewpoint looked way too precarious to be part of the walk.

It was only after sitting and enjoying the view for a while and as we were heading back that I suddenly spotted a yellow arrow on one of the shallower sections of rock.

We continued up and within about two minutes were at the top of the peak, which is only a tiny area but large enough for a few people to stand on.

The view is great although it was super windy (and not dramatically different from the view below) so we didn’t take too long.

The way down

You follow the same path back down the mountain, and this probably took me as long as it did going up, as I was paying close attention to footing. It’s not slippery, but there are lots of little bits of rock sticking up that you could trip on if you weren’t paying attention.

The only technically difficult part of the walk for me was that first scramble I mentioned. On the way up I had no problems, but on the way down it looked more intimidating. Joe had no issues whatsoever so it’s not an issue for everyone.

My problem was that I am used to going down steep sections like that on my bum, which makes me feel much more secure. However, on this one the footholds required a bit of a slide, and then there was a sudden drop off, which put me off.

In the end Joe stood in the footholds, and I slid down the rock into him and then I was ok to stand up and traverse the ledge, which only took a few seconds. It took me a few minutes to work out, but I got there in the end! If you don’t like scrambles, I would hike this trail with someone who doesn’t mind so they can give you a hand on this bit!

After that, it’s a short walk back to the stairs and the ordinary trail.

On to the Gulgurn Manja rock art site

We’d highly recommend adding the Gulgurn Manja rock art site to your Hollow Mountain walk.

For me it was the perfect way to end the trail and made the hike more varied. It’s just a 750m walk to reach the site, along a flat sandy path, until the last few minutes when you are back to walking on rock.

The site has been fenced off for its protection but you can still see the art really well.

*Adult hand prints at the Gulgurn Manja rock art site*

There are a series of adult hand prints and emu tracks on the ceiling of the overhanging cave and then a series of small children’s hand prints a little further along.

We’ve been lucky enough to see quite a lot of rock art on our travels around Australia and I’d say these were very well preserved. I only wish we knew the stories behind them!

Packing suggestions for the walk

Having the right gear can make a huge difference. Here’s what we pack and have relied upon for years:

Sunscreen: Cancer Council Active. With a high SPF, but not the greasy feel of other sunscreens. Makes a big difference when you’re working up a sweat on a sunny day! Check it out on Amazon
Good Rain Jacket: North Face This is an essential item we always pack in our bag! This jacket from North Face is designed to keep you dry but also comfortably warm (many rain jackets will make you feel like you’re in a sauna). Check it out on Amazon
Day Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). Check on Amazon or direct with Osprey
Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Check them out on Amazon
Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. Check them out on Amazon.
Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic. Check them out on Amazon

Essential information about the Hollow Mountain trail

Getting to the Hollow Mountain walk

There are two ways to get to the Hollow Mountain trailhead: the first is along a dirt road from Halls Gap which is the route we attempted originally. We then realised we didn’t want to take our small car along 34km of dirt track of which we had no idea about the condition (we were later told that was a pretty good idea as it is meant to have a lot of corrugations - something that would ruin a small rental car).

The second - and the route we took - is via a sealed highway until you are roughly 4km away. That final 4km is pretty bad though with corrugations that will shake you to the bone. Take it slow and be careful, and you should be fine.

To take the less corrugated route, head to Hollow Mountain via C216, Fynans Creek Road and the Western Highway (A8). Google Maps may try to take you down Mount Zero Road which is the dirt track to avoid unless you have a 4 x 4.

Hollow Mountain walk difficulty

By Australian standards, this is quite a scrambly track. For most of the walk there is no formed trail and instead you are following a series of arrows along rock. Some of that rock is easy to walk on, but some involves short, steep scrambles.

If the idea of a few sections where you have to use your hands unnerves you, then it might not be the right walk for you. Having said that, I am not a great scrambler and I managed fine on all sections except one downhill bit where I needed a hand.

The walk is quite short and though it is uphill much of the way the nature of the terrain means you don’t go very fast so you don’t really get out of breath as such.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, that we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. :-)