Which towns are on the Calder Highway, Victoria?

The Calder Highway from Melbourne to just over the NSW border from Mildura is 558km long. Key towns on the way include Gisborne, Woodend, Kyneton, Bendigo and Sea Lake.

The Calder Highway is one of the major trunk routes in Victoria, Australia. It is largely rural in nature, but does pass through a few significant towns.

The length of the Calder Highway depends on whether you count the Calder Highway and Calder Freeway as separate entities. The Calder Freeway runs from the Tullamarine Freeway in Niddrie, Melbourne to Ravenswood, just south of Bendigo.

14 fantastic experiences that make the most of your free time in Melbourne

Get the very best views – on a hot air balloon flight over the city.
See the changing colours of the river – on a sunset kayaking tour – with dinner. (Highly recommended ✅)
Feast and see the sights at the same time – on a four course dinner cruise along the Yarra River.
A genuinely excellent street art tour, led by prominent street artists. (Highly recommended ✅)
The also superb Aboriginal heritage, plants and bush food tour in the Botanic Gardens. (💲 Great value 💲)
Best of Melbourne bike tour – you can see more on two wheels than walking.
Hidden laneways bar crawl OR foodie discovery tour OR chocolate and dessert tour.
Combo ticket for Australian Sports Museum and MCG tour.
Hassle-dodging advance tickets for the Melbourne Skydeck, Melbourne Zoo, the Ice Bar (with cocktails) and Sea Life Aquarium.

For most travellers, the distinction between highway and freeway is really not that important. The highway section continues from Bendigo to Curlwaa, just over the New South Wales border from Mildura.

Calder Highway length

Stop caring about which bits are freeway, and the Calder Highway is 558km long. It effectively runs from Melbourne Airport to the far north-western corner of Victoria.

On the way, the Calder Highway passes through several towns of interest. These include Gisborne and Macedon, worth spending time in for their wineries, and Woodend. This Calder Highway town is where you’ll find Hanging Rock, of Picnic at Hanging Rock fame.

Before the end of the freeway section, the Calder Highway also passes through Carlsruhe and Kyneton.

Calder Highway towns from Bendigo to Mildura

The biggest stop on the Calder Highway is, of course, Bendigo. One of the biggest regional cities in Australia, Bendigo offers up attractions such as the Central Deborah Gold Mine and Lake Weeroona.

Lake Weeroona in Bendigo, Victoria. Photo courtesy of Visit Victoria.

After the Melbourne to Bendigo section of the Calder Highway, the drive gets significantly more rural.

From Bendigo to Mildura, the Calder Highway passes through Sea Lake, gateway to Lake Tyrrell, then Ouyen. This is a small town, but a major crossroads, with the Mallee Highway on the main route from Adelaide to Sydney. Ouyen is also the gateway to the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and Murray Sunset National Park.

Where the Calder Highway meets the Sturt Highway

Mildura comes about 100km further north, and this is where the Sturt Highway meets the Calder. From there, the Calder Highway crosses the Murray River into New South Wales. It ends near Wentworth at Curlwaa, where it joins the Silver City Highway – the main route from Mildura to Broken Hill.