Powers Lookout

The basics

With its sweeping views across the King Valley, Powers Lookout is worth stopping at—even if you’re not fascinated by the area’s bushranger history. You can follow in Power’s footsteps to a second lookout, accessed by a range of stairs, walkways, and ladders. Alternatively, a narrow path (a 20-minute return walk) leads down to a spring set among caves known as Harry’s Watering Hole. According to legend, it was where Harry Power watered his horses.

Things to know before you go

• Powers Lookout is a must for anyone interested in bushrangers, but birdwatchers, photographers, and families will also enjoy it.

• Fireplaces, picnic tables, and bathrooms are on-site, making Powers Lookout a great spot to break a longer journey around lunch or stretch your legs.

• You can spend anywhere between 10 minutes and a couple of hours on the site, depending on if you’re picnicking or barbecuing.

• The primary lookout is accessible to all, with a made path from the car parking. There is also a wheelchair-accessible bathroom in the parking area.

How to get there

Powers Lookout sits in Victoria’s High Country, about a 150-mile (240-kilometer) drive northeast of Melbourne, on the Mansfield-Whitfield Road. It’s about a 30-mile (50-kilometer) drive northeast of Mansfield or a 12-mile (20-kilometer) drive south of the village of Whitfield. There’s no public transit.

When to get there

Winters in this part of Victoria’s High Country tend to be cold and wet rather than snowy. Plan your visit for summer and shoulder months to enjoy warm weather and green landscapes: November through March are good times for a visit.

Following Ned Kelly through Victoria’s High Country

Ned Kelly is undoubtedly the most notorious of Australia’s bushrangers. But Harry Power was a leading light in Victoria’s bushranger scene—so much so that a young Kelly spent time with him, learning the art of crime. Glenrowan, where the Kelly Gang was captured, is an epicenter of bushranger tourism. You can see Kelly’s death mask at Beechworth, where he was tried. Mansfield still hosts a memorial to three policemen Kelly shot and killed.