Ouyen, Victoria: What are the best things to do and attractions?

There aren’t many things to do in Ouyen. But this Victorian town at the crossing of the Mallee Highway and Calder Highway offers handy access to the Hattah-Kulkyne and Murray Sunset National Parks.

Ouyen in Victoria is a classic crossroads town. It’s where the Mallee Highway running west to east meets the Calder Highway running south to north. If you’re on the quickest route from Melbourne to Mildura or Sydney to Adelaide, you’re going to pass through Ouyen.

Where is Ouyen, Victoria?

Ouyen is in the north-west of Victoria, about 100km south of Mildura. You’ll pass through on the drive from Bendigo to Mildura. It’s 137km east of Pinnaroo, just over the South Australian border. And the drive from Melbourne to Ouyen takes just under five hours.

The population of Ouyen is just over 1,000 people. To call it a town is pushing things. And if it is a town, it is very much a service town. Things to do in Ouyen include a swimming lake, a few bushland reserves and the Mallee Bakery is famous for its vanilla slices.

If that seems like clutching at straws, it is. You don’t visit this crossroads town in north-western Victoria for its extensive list of attractions

Things to do in Ouyen, Victoria: National parks

What Ouyen does have, however, is two national parks on the doorstep. The Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is fascinating because it shows the complexities of the Murray River system. Hattah-Kulkyne hosts a series of lakes, which dry and flood depending on how much water is being released from the river.

There are several excellent Hattah-Kulkyne National Park walks, most of which take in abundant wildlife. There are plenty of kangaroos and emus in these parts. There’s also good evidence of Aboriginal inhabitation, although these are best explained on a Hattah Lakes tour from Mildura.

Pink lakes and campgrounds near Ouyen

There’s also plenty of wildlife in the Murray Sunset National Park, which is the largest national park in Victoria. It’s one of the rare places where red kangaroos and grey kangaroos meet. But the main reason to visit the Murray Sunset National Park is the series of pink lakes. The best access point for these is the Lake Crosbie campground. And, to be honest, if you’re going to spend any time around Ouyen, you may as well spend it camping in the Murray Sunset National Park.

More stops between Sydney and Adelaide

Goulburn | Wagga Wagga | Darlington Point | Moulamein | Yanga Woolshed | Hahndorf |