It reads as hill country
Elevation you can feel — ridgelines, valleys, escarpments or a proper climb, not just gently undulating farmland.
LuckyHills
The Lucky Hills Collection
A curated group of Australian hill destinations chosen for scenery, walking and the simple fact that a weekend is enough time to enjoy them.
The Collection
What the Lucky Hills Collection actually is
Lucky Hills is our name for a curated group of Australian hill destinations — regions where the land rises, the temperature drops a few degrees and a weekend feels considerably longer than two days.
It is an editorial collection, put together by us. There is no official body behind it, no accreditation scheme and no fee to be included. When we add a region to the collection it is because we think it earns a place, and when we write about a business in it, that write-up is not for sale.
The name is deliberately a little tongue-in-cheek. Australia has no shortage of hills; the lucky part is finding the one that suits the weekend you actually have.
Selection
How a region joins the collection
Four tests, applied consistently. A region has to pass all of them.
You can walk it
At least a handful of established, publicly accessible walking tracks or lookouts — not a region you can only see through a windscreen.
A weekend is enough
Reachable from a capital city in roughly two hours or less, so Friday evening to Sunday afternoon is a real trip rather than a drive.
Somewhere to eat and sleep
Enough accommodation, food and services that a first-time visitor has options, including when the weather turns.
Lucky Hills Destinations
The six, at a glance
Wine & villages
South Australia
Adelaide Hills
Rolling vineyards, charming villages, cool-climate wineries and scenic countryside just outside Adelaide.
Explore destination
Forest & trails
Western Australia
Perth Hills
Forest trails, viewpoints, orchards and peaceful escapes within easy reach of Perth.
Explore destination
Gardens & villages
Victoria
Macedon Ranges
Mountain roads, historic towns, gardens and cool-climate landscapes north-west of Melbourne.
Explore destination
Wine & produce
Victoria
Yarra Valley
Rolling vineyards, forested hills, local produce and scenic countryside.
Explore destination
Lookouts & walks
New South Wales
Blue Mountains
Dramatic sandstone landscapes, walking trails, lookouts and mountain villages.
Explore destination
Countryside & views
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra Region
Open countryside, elevated viewpoints, nature trails and peaceful weekend escapes surrounding Canberra.
Explore destination
Questions
About the collection
No. Lucky Hills is the name of our own editorial collection. It has no official status and is not connected to any government, tourism or park classification.
Four things: the landscape has to be genuinely scenic, there has to be something to do on foot, it has to be realistically reachable from a capital city for a weekend, and there has to be enough infrastructure that a visitor is not stranded.
No. Nobody pays for inclusion in the Lucky Hills Collection or for a favourable write-up. Where we use an affiliate link we say so, and it does not affect our editorial selection.
Yes. Six is where we started, not where we intend to stop. We add regions as we cover them properly rather than announcing them in advance.
