Ride Summary

A longish ride at 25 kilometers, Mt. Donna Buang is much straighter than Reefton Spur, its close neighbor, with only 70% corner ratio and corner speeds ranging from slow to fast. The surface is smooth and bump-free, with excellent bitumen grip. You can expect to encounter a car every 10 minutes.

Ride Description

A really fun road that has a good mixture of tight corners and fast sweeping bends as you ascend the mountain. Road condition has deteriorated since first reviewed, so be careful particularly the closer to the first car park on the way to the summit.

Light traffic on the road adds to its appeal, and it runs through semi-rainforest terrain for most of its length. There is a public toilet at the summit along with a viewing tower which you can use to enjoy some different vistas of the surrounding landscape – you can even discern the eastern fringes of Melbourne if you look westward.

Directions

65 kilometers east of Melbourne, Mt. Donna Buang is reached much like the Reefton Spur. Take the Warburton Highway after Lilydale, then take the first left on the outbound outskirts of Warburton as you are facing towards Reefton. If you are approaching from Reefton, take the right-hand turn as you are approaching Warburton. Either way, you must turn left 8 kilometers up this new road – this will put you on Mt. Donna Buang rather than the unpaved Acheron Way.

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Best Thing About This Ride

A good blend of twisties and straights of the route. The viewing tower at the top is icing on the cake.

What Else To Look Out For

Windstorms often sweep a considerable amount of leaf litter onto the roadway, but this is usually blown away in a few hours by the wind shock of passing vehicles. The roads are also occasionally damp because of the semi-rainforest surroundings.