Reef Hills State Park Prospecting Area

A little over 2,000 hectares of Box-Ironbark woodland sits just southwest of Benalla, proclaimed a state park in 2002 for its part in protecting one of Victoria's most threatened forest systems. More than a hundred bird species and seventeen mammals live here, and the reserve forms part of a recognised Important Bird Area. Gold was worked through the ranges from 1860 into the early 1900s; today the flat tracks suit walking, cycling, horse riding and recreational prospecting, with wildflowers and wattle in bloom for much of the year.