Rated Hikes in Australia

If pristine alpine environments and gob-smacking natural beauty tickle your fancy, sign up for the Overland track. This epic one-way trail, which takes on average about six days, meanders through spectacular Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, and one of the state's top attractions.

The Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail is one of the best ways to appreciate this island's rugged, windswept beauty. It skirts limestone cliffs overlooking the wild sea on the south-west coast of Kangaroo Island, one of the top places to visit in South Australia.

If you've always wanted to summit a county's highest peak but you're not much of a mountaineer, you're in luck. On the Kosciuszko walk, you can enjoy a round-trip hike to the 2,228-meter summit of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest peak, in less than five hours – with a little help from Thredbo's Kosciuszko Express chairlift.

Imagine walking along the edge of a continent, with nothing between you and Antarctica except the wild and wind-whipped Tasman Sea. This is the Three Capes Track.

Hikes in Australia cover all abilities, from beginners to hard-core hikers. Take your pick from easy half-day jaunts through bird-rich bushland or strolls along beaches lapped by sapphire seas. Up for more of a challenge? Sign up for a guided multi-day trek in the country's red hot heart, through rugged gorges and red-hued deserts.

After you've absorbed the beauty of Uluru from a distance, and captured photos of its shifting colors at sunset, do yourself a favor and return at sunrise for a hike around its base. The 10-kilometer Uluru Base Walk circumnavigates this sacred rock, taking you through the changing landscapes, from lush foliage to acacia woodlands, waterholes, stands of bloodwood trees, and bare sun-scorched desert. It's a great way to get a different perspective of this famous Northern Territory tourist attraction.

Named for its voluptuous curves, Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park is one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia. This ravishing half-moon slice of white sand and sapphire sea forms a dazzling backdrop for one of the park's top walks. Tasmania's Oyster Bay tribe once walked these lands, and now hikers can travel the same ancient routes.

About 115 kilometers from Sydney, the World-Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park offers some of the best hikes in NSW. In particular, the steep hike to the Blue Gum Forest has become a kind of spiritual pilgrimage for Aussie bushwalkers. This beautiful 16-hectare forest was saved from destruction in the early 1930s by passionate bushwalkers who pooled funds to buy the land. Today, it graces the list of popular places to visit in this magnificent wilderness area.

This 90-kilometer walk traces the footsteps of the native Butchulla people on World Heritage-listed K'Gari (Fraser Island). Along the way, you'll visit many of the top tourist attractions of K'Gari, the planet's largest sand island. The trail threads along old logging routes between Dilli Village and Happy Valley, through subtropical rainforest and mangroves, and along the shores of windswept beaches.

Looking for a quintessential Aussie outback hiking adventure? The remote Larapinta Trail is for you. Located in the Northern Territory, it follows in the footsteps of the country's first inhabitants, across ancient desert landscapes and the rugged spine of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Looking for an easy surf-side city hike? Head to Sydney's famous Bondi Beach to start your ocean-view adventure. Suitable for everyone from beginners to kids, the six-kilometer Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk is actually more of a stroll than a hike. It traces the bluffs and headlands along Sydney's Eastern suburbs, starting at Bondi's famous Icebergs restaurant. Stop here for some sustenance before you head out.

The Great Ocean Road, along Victoria's Shipwreck Coast, is one of Australia's most famous scenic drives, but you can also enjoy the breathtaking scenery on foot.