Geelong to Echuca road trip: Distance, drive time and best stops

The best stop on a Geelong to Echuca road trip include the You Yangs, Lerderderg State Park and Hanging Rock. By car, the distance from Geelong to Echuca is 258km, with a driving time of approximately 3h7m.

Planning a Geelong to Echuca road trip itinerary

A Geelong to Echuca road trip takes you from the second largest city in Victoria to perhaps the most attractive of the Murray River towns.

Geelong is a surprisingly fun place, offering water-biking, hot air balloon flights and electric picnic boat rentals. For the best Geelong accommodation deals, head this way.

Echuca offers guided e-bike tours and paddlesteamer cruises with winery lunches, plus plenty of history. To fix your Echuca accommodation, look through your options here.

This guide should help you plan your perfect Geelong to Echuca road trip itinerary.

Click through on the links for more detailed links about individual towns and attractions.

If you need a hire car, search for the best car rental deals here – and remember to stock up on your road trip essentials before setting off.

Geelong to Echuca distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Geelong to Echuca is 258km. This makes for a driving time of around three hours and seven minutes. For an international comparison, that’s the same distance as the Nottingham to Newcastle drive in the UK.

Geelong to Echuca road trip: Geelong to Bacchus Marsh

The quickest route from Geelong to Echuca leaves Geelong to the north along Bacchus Marsh Road. This skims the western edge of the You Yangs Regional Park. Highlights here include the 3.2km walk to the top of Flinders Peak and the prodigious wildlife spotting opportunities.

A little further along the route, you’ll come to Parwan, which has a BMX track. There’s also the Rallydrive Australia race track, for those want to try spinning a car around in the dirt at high speed.

Parwan merges somewhat into Bacchus Marsh, a fast-growing Melbourne satellite town that is struggling to carve out an identity in its own right.

There are plenty of parks to enjoy here – the Bacchus Marsh Recreation Reserve is next to the racecourse, Maddingley Park has tennis courts and an outdoor gym while Peppertree Park is on the banks of the Werribee River.

You’ll also find plenty of places to eat and drink, but Bacchus Marsh is best used as a base for tackling the walking trails of Lerderderg State Park. The Grahams Dam section is closest. 

Geelong to Echuca drive: Bacchus Marsh to Gisborne

Otherwise, head north on Gisborne Road. You’ll pass near pretty picnic spot Merrimu Reservoir. You’ll also go past the Nuggety Fossil Site in Lerderderg State Park before arriving in winery-surrounded Gisborne.

Stop at Gisborne to see kangaroos bounding around the Gisborne Golf Club, or taste wines at the Gisborne Peak Winery.

Geelong to Echuca road trip: Macedon and Woodend

Gisborne is also where you join the Calder Highway, which takes you north towards Macedon. Branch off slightly here to enjoy the Mount Towrong Vineyard and the Sanatorium Lake Nature Walk.

There are plenty of walks in the Macedon Regional Park, but if you want to drive up somewhere for good views and a photo stop, plump for Camels Hump.

There are more wineries around Woodend. But this town is better known as the gateway to Mount Macedon and the much-fabled Hanging Rock.

Movie fans will know Hanging Rock from the Peter Weir film, Picnic At Hanging Rock. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay.

There are three walking trails at Hanging Rock. The Creek Walk is arguably prettiest, taking around 40 minutes for the 2.3km return walk. But it’s the Summit Walk that most come for. Getting to the top of Hanging Rock takes about 50 minutes along a 1.8km return track.

Click through to the next section: Kyneton to Axedale.