Mt. Donna Buang
Length: 16.8km
Average gradient: 6.4%
Elevation gain: 1,069m
Introduction
The climb from Warburton to the summit of Mt. Donna Buang is one of the true gems of Victorian cycling. Rising some 1080 vertical metres, the climb is amazingly picturesque and, for most of the year, virtually traffic free.
The first half of this climb is by far the hardest, but the last few kilometres to the summit are also quite steep.
The start
The ascent of Mt. Donna Buang begins at the corner of the Warburton Highway (B380) and Donna Buang Road (C505). If you are timing yourself up this climb, start your stopwatch as soon as you turn onto the Donna Buang Road.
The finish
The ascent of Mt. Donna Buang concludes at the base of the lookout tower, found at the far end of the summit car park.
At a glance
- A beautiful, consistent climb with two noticeably steeper sections.
- The first steep section starts after 7km and extends for several hundred metres.
- There’s a short flat section at Cement Creek (7.3km) at which point you should turn left.
- The final 800m of the climb are noticeably steeper than the preceeding kilometres.
Climb details
The ascent of Mt. Donna Buang starts with a fairly moderate gradient of around 5% as soon as you turn onto the Donna Buang Road. At the 2km mark the road takes a right-hand turn into the tree line and for the rest of the climb you’ll be surrounded by the breathtaking landscape of the Yarra Ranges National Park.
The gradient increases 3.1km into the climb and again at the 5km mark with the corners being noticeably steeper than the straighter sections.
The steepest section of the climb comes at the 7km mark and this is maintained for a couple hundred metres before Cement Creek. The road flattens out as it crosses Cement Creek and you should turn left at the iconic hairpin, taking a quick breather before starting on the second half of the climb.
After the hairpin bend, the road resumes a gentle gradient of around 5% but unlike the first half of the climb, it is the straight sections that are the steepest here, with the corners appearing far flatter. As you climb your way steadily up the mountain, great views are often possible over the Yarra Valley with lookout points at 10.1km and 12.3km in.
At 14.1km into the climb, the road opens out into a massive carpark which stretches several hundred metres from one side to the other. The road is noticeably steeper from this point onward but the resealing of this section of the road in early 2009 means fairly smooth going for the rest of the climb.
15.6km into the ascent the summit road intersects with the Healesville backroad (C505) before continuing into the steepest section of the climb’s second half at the 16km mark. At 16.6km you will pass the car parks that are used by snow-seekers during winter, before climbing the last couple hundred metres to the summit car park and the end of the climb.
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Location
Mt. Donna Buang is located around 90km east of Melbourne and a return ride from the city would be nothing short of epic. A more realistic option is to drive to one of the many townships close to Mt. Donna Buang which allow for a nice warm up before tackling the 17km ascent.
Launching Place is an appropriately-named starting point for a Mt. Donna Buang ascent, giving you around 15km of undulating roads before starting the climb.
The Donna Buang Road (C507) turn-off is located around 1.3km east of the nearest township, Warburton. Be aware that the Donna Buang Road (C505) between Don Road and the Mt. Donna Buang summit is closed during winter. However, this narrow stretch of unsealed road is surrounded by some truly amazing scenery and is well worth the drive during the rest of the year.
Times
There are many cyclists who like to challenge themselves up this beautiful climb. If you are one of them, head over to Cycle2Max to post your time. The Strava segment for the Mt. Donna Buang climb can be found here.
is anyone doing mount Dona bua this weekend and is it much harder than Kinglake
You know how Kinglake gets harder towards the end of the climb when the road swings around and the hills are on your left hand-side? The climb up Donna up to Cement Creek feels the same as that last part of King Lake climb.
Thanks and are there many cyclist on weekend. Also is it safe.
Just recently when I rode there I think I only saw half a dozen cars and that was mid to late morning. You can hear them coming from a mile away. I’d say it is safe. It was so quiet and serene I could even hear bikes descending. That is only from the C507 turn off though. Warburton Hwy is pretty full on. I parked in the Woori Yallock shopping centre and I rode up to Warburton Hwy (I think that was 17 km). From memory, there is a decent shoulder all the way to Warburton.
Thanks. Steep sections ar they very steep and would anyone know the gradient of those sections. Longest uphill I have done is kinglake and one day I have ride to mount dandenong from glen waverley via devils elbow and on the same day I did wall. So do you think
Are there few cyclist on the way just in case if there is any emergency
I saw more cyclists than cars!
Around 11 am on a Saturady I saw just a few climbing but probably a dozen or more decesending. Perhaps you’d see very few past noon.
BTW, it takes a while to get to the top. It took me 100 minutes non stop, except one brief stop at 10 Mile picnic ground to fill up my water bottle – it felt like the best spring water I’ve ever had and it wasn’t even a hot day!
Really starting to enjoy your website..the breakdown of the climbs are great.
We climbed Mt. Donna for the first time on Saturday morning.
It was good hitting the climb armed with a little knowledge before hand..
We all made it up, and it was a really good day.
I would recommend the climb to to anyone training for the 3 Peaks.
Next time we hope to go up twice.Thanks again…
Anyone looking for a great launching spot for Donna Buang, look no further than Ernest Lloyd reserve in Gladysdale. There is a toilet there and car parking. From there travel up Tarrango Rd then onto Old Warburton Rd. This acts as a solid ‘warm up’, and I use that term loosely, as the Old Warburton Rd climb is more than enough to get the heart rate up. Throw in a double Donna and you’re looking at a return trip of 102km and 3400m of elevation. Just for reference, I reckon Donna is tougher than Lake Mountain. Happy climbing.
I think my strava elevation correction might be off on this one, it always seems to over represent elevation figures in comparison to other riders who do similar rides. Either way, still a tough day.
Nice Matt….. Did this climb earlier today, first mountain climb! Your rekky was spot on & really helped gauging efforts required and when. Great website! Great work! Cheers fella…..
Hi Matt,
Having done this climb a few times and after reading the comments on your website I’ve been itching to try the Double Donna. I finally had a chance to give it a crack yesterday. The weather was the best I’ve experienced on Donna and the sound of singing birds and trickling waterfalls helped distract my mind from the pain in my legs on the second ascent! Very happy to say I managed to conquer the double, now I’m already thinking about trying a triple ascent of what surely must be one of the most beautiful and best climbs in Victoria. Happy climbing everyone!