Mt Donna Buang sits at the head of the Warburton valley at 1,250 metres above sea level. A sealed road climbs from East Warburton to a summit car park, where a small observation tower lifts you a further fifteen metres into the canopy — on a clear day the view stretches all the way back to Port Phillip Bay and the Melbourne CBD.
In winter the summit is one of the few snow-play spots within easy reach of Melbourne — when conditions allow, families come up for a few hours with toboggans and warm clothes. The road can close in heavy snow, so check VicTraffic or Parks Victoria before you set out. Outside the snow season the picnic area at the summit is a quiet, lovely place for a thermos and a sandwich.
Two side stops are worth your time on the drive up: the Rainforest Gallery, an elevated boardwalk into the cool-temperate canopy; and the Acheron Way overlook for a different angle on the same valley.