Find things to do in Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. Explore local events, attractions, markets and family activities, with dates, places and prices.
Public listings checked 25/10/2026. Dates use each event’s local time. Check organiser details before travelling.
Explore the region
Explore Yarra Valley towns and the Dandenong Ranges. These are distinct areas within this discovery selection, not Melbourne CBD suburbs; allow for winding roads.
Internationally renowned hat shop with a deep love for Panama hats, fedoras, felts, caps, berets, scarves and quirky night lights. A mecca for hat lovers, nestled in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges. Hand-crafted hats from across the Earth, expertly fitted by true professionals who know their trade. Hat steaming, repairs and advice flow through them.
Manufacturing their iconic Panama hats in Ecuador and distributing them worldwide from Olinda. They also carry the finest hats from Akubra, Stetson, Brixton, Borsalino, Mucros, Avenel, Barmah, Thomas Cook and many more. Having built stores in Hawaii, France and Japan, they have returned home to their mountain forest, to raise their family and love everyone.
Come and enjoy the best hat experience of your life.
Designed to take advantage of the steep slopes, the terraced woodland garden of Pirianda contains a unique collection of plants, including many botanically important trees, unusual shrubs and perennials.
Featuring beautiful spring displays, Pirianda Garden is best known for its autumn colours and tree collection, including 28 different types of maples and 13 birch varieties.
With magnificent views and a backdrop of ever-changing colours, photographers and bird watchers are in for a treat, while the lawns are perfect for spreading out with a picnic feast.
Meander through the tranquil garden at your leisure, making your way from the grassy areas, through the terraces, and down to peaceful fern gullies beneath towering blackwoods and mountain ash.
Pirianda Garden is open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day except Christmas Day, days of Total Fire Ban, Severe Weather events and major works.
Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. Before your visit, please check the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website for updated changes of conditions and familiarise yourself with important bushfire safety information to ensure your experience is safe and enjoyable. For information about fires, Fire Danger Ratings and Total Fire Bans visit www.emergency.vic.gov.au
The Dandenong Ranges Tourist Track passes through fern-filled gullies, eucalypt covered ridges and over numerous bridges and boardwalks.
The walk is graded moderate to easy with some undulating terrain and some steeper sections, including stairs up to the back road at Emerald. The Sassafras end starts behind the Community Hall.
Edwardian Victorians would visit the Dandenong Ranges in their thousands during Summer to escape the heat. Sections of this track were - and still are - extremely popular and easily accessible by public transport.
Along the way, you can see Mountain Ash, Manna Gum, Mountain Grey Gum, Messmate (eucalypt) trees, Soft and Rough Tree ferns, Common Maidenhair, Rasp Fern and King Fern.
If you keep your eyes open and look up into the trees, you can also see laughing Kookaburras, crimson and eastern rosellas, king parrots and yellow-tailed black cockatoos and the superb lyrebird.
The ngurrak barring Architectural Nodes are collaborative explorations of the themes of the walk through an Indigenous lens, crafted by First Peoples design studios, Djinjama and COLA Studio.
ngurrak barring is an arts and culture walking trail through the Dandenong Ranges. Permanent artworks, architectural nodes and signage celebrate the inspiration the area has had on artists and creatives.
For many First Peoples, community represents strength, resilience, resistance and nurturing. The strength of community(ies) being the reason culture has continued. For some First Peoples who have been forcibly separated, community is an embrace longed for.
The mother/aunty and child structures here are a representation of the nurturing, nourishment and guidance of community and Country. The welcoming forms are soft, warm and open whilst being strong and sheltering, their strength and structure formed of the many elements woven together. The forms take on the character of a weaving and a fern unfurling, an expression of the indivisible connection between people and Country.
Formulated to moisturise and restore the natural balance of hair, body and face, their pampering products are handmade with high quality, plant-derivatives, certified organic ingredients and pure essential oils. They believe everyone should experience the benefits of luxurious, natural and sustainable skincare. Soap Opera products are 100 per cent pure and natural, designed to clean, moisturise and scent the body, without harsh chemicals, parabens or preservatives and without testing on animals.
Nestled amongst the towering rainforests, cool fern gullies and native flowers of the Emerald Lake Park precinct, the Lakeside Visitor Centre combines its natural surroundings with the authentic sights, smells and sounds of Puffing Billy Railway to offer guests a cultural hub with world-class facilities.
Dine in at the modern café, hire a bike, explore the walking trails, or jump on a paddleboat in the cool waters of Lake Treganowan. Discover steam artefacts in the Lakeside Hall before jumping onboard your steam train, or host an event in a private function room.
Whether you're after outdoor adventure or total relaxation, the Lakeside Visitor Centre is the perfect destination to meet, eat, drink, and spend your day whiling time away with family and friends. Open daily year-round (except Christmas Day). Entry is free.
Located 40 kilometres east of Melbourne, Lakeside Visitor Centre is an easy one hour drive from the CBD and a picture perfect rest stop for walkers or cyclists on the Eastern Dandenong Ranges Rail Trail. The centre sits at the heart of Puffing Billy Railway, adjoining Lakeside Station in Emerald, the highest station on our mountain track. Travel by steam train from Belgrave for an idyllic lunch stop by Emerald Lake, or start your adventure at Lakeside and travel east towards Gembrook.
Emerald Museum situated in the beautiful leafy green Nobelius Heritage Park exhibits a collection of cultural material from the operations of the former Nobelius Nursery dating from the 1880s to the 1960s including horticultural and gardening implements, family belongings, photographs, ledgers, sales catalogues, stock records and wage books, as well as live horticultural stock, which continues to grow on the grounds of the surrounding Nobelius Heritage Park.
Emerald Museum also displays a range of social and cultural history items from the residents of Emerald and it's surrounding districts limited to Menzies Creek and Avonsleigh, Gembrook, Macclesfield, Cockatoo and Clematis. This collection features a variety of visual art, literature and numerous ethnographic objects. Take a journey back in time to learn more about the regions vibrant community.
Come along and soar through Victoria's first tree ropes course, situated in the Dandenong Ranges. Move through the branches on an array of ziplines, tight ropes and tunnels. The estate, which is located on traditional Wurundjeri land, now spans eight hectares of forest alongside the Puffing Billy station in Belgrave. It features rare trees, including a magnificent 150-year-old Algerian Oak, used as the Home Tree.
A 2.5-hour session through the aerial challenges (including gearing up) will have you laughing along with the Kookaburras. After safety, your adrenaline is our top priority, so our courses are designed to challenge you, no matter what level you're at.
Treetops Adventure Belgrave offers 10 tree ropes courses, six vertical challenges, over 100 aerial obstacles, and 23 ziplines including a 100 metre ziplne.
