Australia's "Great Walks" Boom: Marketing Tactic or Hiking Haven?

As of October 2025, Australia's walking tracks are attracting increasing numbers of visitors, with a growing trend of "Great Walks" emerging across the country. New South Wales, which had no Great Walks until early 2023, now has 10 and will soon have 13. Queensland, on the other hand, has 15 Great Walks, though the state's Parks and Wildlife Service only lists 10. Meanwhile, Victoria has three multiday walks with "Great" in their names, and Tasmania boasts 60 "Great Short Walks" but no officially designated "Great Walks."

This surge in "Great Walks" branding is largely inspired by New Zealand's successful Great Walks program, launched by the Department of Conservation in 1992 to manage overcrowding and environmental damage on the country's most popular multiday hikes. The New Zealand model features online bookings, caps on walker numbers, and affordable campsites and huts, establishing it as the global standard for walking track management.