Mornington Peninsula Walks: 5 Wonderful Coastal Trails

No visit to the sublime Mornington Peninsula is complete without taking to at least one of its many beautiful coastal trails. Offering stellar views, fantastic beach stops and plenty of wildlife, embarking on a hike in the Mornington Peninsula is certainly one of the best things to do on any visit here. Below, we’ll detail 5 of the best Mornington Peninsula short walks and hikes that you can easily factor into your trip, whether that be just a day trip from Melbourne or something longer.

Walks in the Mornington Peninsula

As countries go, Australia has some truly epic hiking destinations. Break those down, state by state, and you’ll find Victoria easily rivalling for the cream of the crop. Indeed, from the grandiose Grampians National Park – a well-known and equally as well-loved hiking and outdoors destination, to Wilsons Promontory National Park, an unspoiled slice of paradise that sits at the furthest point south of mainland Australia – there’s plenty of top-notch trails to explore. And that’s just for starters.

From Melbourne, the Great Otway National Park and Cathedral Range State Park are both within easy driving distance. Certainly, neither of these will leave you disappointed. But, here we’ll be singing the praises of another hiking and all-around gorgeously scenic destination right on Melbourne’s doorstep – Mornington Peninsula National Park.

Where Is Mornington Peninsula?

Mornington Peninsula is located around 100km south of Melbourne, on the south coast of Australia. The national park is fringed by the wild waters of the Bass Strait, which has helped to carve out the beautiful coastline we see today.

Affectionately known as Morn Pen, the beautiful headland of Mornington is jam-packed with hikes, beaches and wildlife. Certainly, they rival many of the big-name Victorian hiking destinations. And, as Dan and I discovered, come rain or shine, this beautiful spot is well worth a moment of your time whatever the weather.

So, let’s take a look at the five best short walks in the Mornington Peninsula.

1. Cape Schanck Walk to Pulpit Rock

• Type: Loop
• Distance: 2km
• Time: 1 hour
• Accumulated elevation gain: 140m
• Difficulty: Easy
• Trailhead: Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve Car Park
• Map: AllTrails

The Cape Schanck boardwalk to Pulpit Rock is one of the best and most popular short walks in the Mornington Peninsula. The easy walk begins from the Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve Car Park, which you can visit first, before continuing the trail down toward the tip of Cape Schanck and over to Pulpit Rock.

The Cape Schanck walk to Pulpit Rock is a wonderful short track that provides fine views of the southern point of the Mornington Peninsula. The landscape is volcanic and colourful and the sight of Pulpit Rock will take your breath away.

Read more: Cape Schanck Walk To Pulpit Rock (Plus 2 Trail Extensions)

2. Cape Schanck to Gunnamatta Beach

• Type: Out & Back
• Distance: 16km
• Time: 3.5–4 hours
• Accumulated elevation gain: 270m
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trailhead: Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve Car Park
• Map: AllTrails

The Cape Schanck to Gunnamatta Beach walk is a classic section of the Mornington Peninsula’s longer Coastal Walk. From the Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve Car Park, head north back up Cape Schanck Road, and join the Coastal Walk trail to the left. This stretch of the Coastal Walk is high up and quite beautiful, revealing stunning viewpoints down the Mornington Peninsula coastline.

The walk actually passes Fingal Beach first, from where it’s certainly possible to pop in to visit, before rejoining the track to Gunnamatta Beach. Or, if the tide is low, you can continue the walk from Fingal to Gunnamatta along the beach, rather than the coastal track.

Once you arrive at Gunnamatta Beach, you can explore as much as you like. Indeed, it’s a fairly long beach and you can even walk all the way to the northern end of the beach to the Gunnamatta Surf Life Saving Club. Certainly, Gunnamatta Beach is vast and beautiful. Also, the fresh ocean breeze and golden sandbanks surrounded by the forest are quite lovely. In addition, the seafront around the surf club is patrolled, so it’s perfect for a quick dip.

Read more: Cape Schanck Walk To Pulpit Rock (Plus 2 Trail Extensions)

3. Bushrangers Bay Walk

• Type: Out & Back
• Distance: 7km
• Time: 1.5–2 hours
• Accumulated elevation gain: 130m
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Trailhead: Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve Car Park
• Map: AllTrails

From the Cape Schanck Lighthouse Reserve Car Park, follow this easy and popular walking track to Mornington Peninsula’s Bushrangers Bay. The official walking trail for this section of the Cape Schanck to Bushrangers Bay Walk actually follows some of the Two Bays Walking Track, which is a longer walk in Mornington Peninsula.

The trail to Bushrangers Bay is around 3km, following an extremely picturesque clifftop walk. Bushrangers Bay is a lovely beach to hike to in the Mornington Peninsula. It feels rough and a little rugged. In fact, for us, it perfectly suited the stormy weather we experienced. If you head across the golden sandy beach you can access the Bushrangers Bay rock pools.

The tidal rock pools at Bushrangers Bay are some of the most wonderful in Victoria, surrounded by the dark volcanic rock common in this southern tip around Cape Schanck. Certainly, they’re the perfect place to relax after a walk from Cape Schanck to Bushrangers Bay in the Mornington Peninsula.

Read more: Cape Schanck Walk To Pulpit Rock (Plus 2 Trail Extensions)

5. Coppins Track

• Type: Out & Back
• Distance: 6km
• Time: 1.5 hours
• Accumulated elevation gain: 50m
• Difficulty: Grade 2
• Trailhead: Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club

Passing a fascinating rocky coastline, interesting sea stacks, turquoise waters and drool-worthy beaches, don’t expect the Coppins Track to be a quick walk. In fact, it’ll be quite the opposite. The water here is so clear and inviting, that you might find the Coppins Track walk blows out a little as you stop for a bathe at each Mornington Peninsula beach you pass. And let’s face it, who could blame you? Certainly, you’ll likely be spending as much time in the water as you do on the trail.

The 6km return walk begins in Sorrento and hugs the coastline down to Diamond Bay. The walk shouldn’t take longer than 1.5 hours to complete. Additionally, the rugged coastline and warm sandstone rocks feel almost Mediterranean. You’ll feel transported to the Italian Sorrento in no time!

Read more: Coppins Track: Sorrento to Diamond Bay, Mornington Peninsula

Longer Walks in the Mornington Peninsula

The five walks listed above certainly offer wonderful scenic snapshots of Mornington Peninsula. But, of course, you might want to take on a longer walk whilst visiting the Mornington Peninsula. So, if you’re keen to stretch your legs further and explore even more of this national park, then you should consider the full Coastal Walk or the Two Bays Walking Track.

The Coastal Walk

The Coastal Walk spans the southern edge of Mornington Peninsula stretching from Cape Schanck and up to London Bridge Lookout on the edge of Point Nepean National Park. Certainly, it’s a stunning 30km one-way walk that encompasses the above Coppins Track, Gunnamatta Beach and Cape Schanck.

If you can afford the time to do the whole Mornington Peninsula walk, then great. But, if not, the Coastal Walk works just as well broken up into sections.

Two Bays Walking Track

Another awesome longer walk in Mornington Peninsula is the fantastic 26km Two Bays Walking Track linking Dromana to Cape Schanck. The trail is bursting with interesting flora and fauna and, as it cuts across the peninsula, is certainly a great alternative to a coastal walk in the Mornington Peninsula.

How to Get to Mornington Peninsula

The easiest way to get to the Mornington Peninsula to access all the walks mentioned in this guide is to drive there yourself. From Melbourne, you’re looking at around a 1.5 hour drive and 100km in distance, depending on where you go on the peninsula.

It’s possible to take public transport from Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula, but you won’t be able to get to all of the trailheads in this guide. Additionally, public transport is a much longer and less convenient journey. To that end, we highly recommend driving yourself to Mornington Peninsula. If you don’t have access to your own vehicle, we recommend hiring one.

Hiking Gear Essentials for Mornington Peninsula

These are our hiking gear essentials for any of the walks in Mornington Peninsula. You should also consider packing water, snacks, and, if the weather looks good, your swimmers.

To find out more about all of the gear that we use and recommend, read our guides about our favourite hiking gear, travel gear and camera gear. Otherwise, read our comprehensive travel packing checklist.

Let us know your favourite walks in the Mornington Peninsula below.