Mount Dandenong Arboretum (Mount Dandenong)

Mount Dandenong Arboretum extends over sixteen hectares and was set aside in 1928 to establish an arboretum of national significance featuring conifers and deciduous trees.

The collection includes spectacular trees from around the world including eight that are listed in the National Trust's significant tree register. Since 1999 the Arboretum has gradually focussed the collection on southern hemisphere conifers.

Things to Do

Enjoy a relaxing sensory experience of walking under mature tree canopies, scrunching on aromatic pine needles and looking upward through branches to the sky.
Picnic in the meadow with views to the Great Dividing Range framed by tall trees.
Walk up to Mount Dandenong Observatory for the spectacular view east across the city of Melbourne or walk along one of the many tracks in the Dandenong Ranges National Park trail network.

Cost:

Free admission

Review:

In a word "steep". In two words "very steep".

The Arboretum is located just south of the intersection of Ridge Road and Reserve Road. There is a carpark off Ridge Road where there are a couple of picnic tables with some nice views.

Steps lead down to a path through the trees which are varied and labelled with their name and place of origin. Our favourites were Monterey Pine, Himalayan Spruce, Douglas Fir, Big Cone Pine and Norway Spruce.

The track eventually winds down through a section of a tree fern gully to Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.

It is hard work coming back up the hill to the carpark.