Waterfalls of the Great Otway National Park

Located approximately 160 kilometers south west of Melbourne, the Great Otway National Park is made up from a mix of rugged coast-land, beaches and rain-forests. Bordered from the south by the Great Ocean Road, the Great Otway National Park is a treasure trove of wonderful waterfalls, rain-forest walks, light-houses, boardwalks and beaches to explore.

The focus of this post is some of the amazing waterfalls you can explore in the Great Otway National Park. While there are a lot more waterfalls in the Otways than what I’ve covered below, unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to visit all of them yet. These are in my to-do list and I’ll be updating this page (hopefully) in the near future as I manage to visit each one of them.

In this post, I’ll provide some brief details about each of these falls I’ve visited so far, together with some of my photos. Hopefully, this will help to inspire you also to check-out some of these waterfalls. Or, if you’re already planning on visiting any of these falls, this will provide you with some details that’ll help with your own explorations.

The list is ordered based on what is closest to Melbourne, so, if you’re traveling from Melbourne, you know the order in which to visit them.

TL;DR If you’re not in the mood to read a bit of a lengthy post, click over here to check-out a gallery of all the falls in this list. 

• Phantom Falls - 145 km
• Henderson Falls - 146 kms
• Sheoak Falls - 146 kms
• Erskine Falls - 152 kms
• Lower Kalimna Falls - 168 kms
• Stevenson Falls - 171 kms
• Beauchamp - 203 kms
• Hopetoun Falls - 217 kms
• Triplet Falls - 224 kms
• Hopkins Falls - 241 kms

Phantom Falls

• Distance: 145 km
• Facilities: Free Parking
• Walk: 3.9 km

One of the many beautiful waterfalls in the Great Otway National Park, and the first in my list, Phantom Falls is a 3.9 km return walk from the Allenvale Road car park on Allenvale Road. The full walk is along a well defined gravel path. The first part of the path winds it way through a private property and the St. George River. There are clear directions and the path is easy to find and follow. While most of the path is fairly steep in places, there is one spot that is very steep. The path at this spot is also covered in loose gravel, so, be extra careful when you’re going up and coming back down. On your way to the falls, when you’re the top of this especially steep spot, you can see a waterfall in the distance on your right (unfortunately, I’m not sure what the name of this one is). Keep walking! This is not your final destination 🙂 As the path would get quite muddy with rain, a good pair of hiking boots is definitely recommended. Overall, I would say the walk is a moderately difficult one.

The end of the walk will bring you to the viewing platform at the top of the falls. You really can’t see much from here. There is a little to the right of the viewing platform that’ll take to the base of the falls. There are a few steep steps, so, be careful. With rain, the steps would get quire slippery, so, those hiking boots would come in handy here too.

Click here for Google Maps directions

Here’s some more details on the (return) walk to the falls.

On the way / While you're here

There are so many wonderful places to visit along the Great Ocean Road and within the Great Otway National Park. Henderson Falls, the one in my list is a short drive from here (when you drive from Phantom Falls to Henderson Falls, the distance is around 6.5 kms). Or, if you’re more in the mood for a more challenging hike, trek to the Cora Lynn Cascades or continue along the path (past Phantom Falls) to The Canyon and the Sheoak Picnic Area. From the Sheoak Picnic Area, you can access the Upper/Lower Kalimna Falls (further down in my list).

Henderson Falls

• Distance: 146 km
• Facilities: Free Parking

This one proved to be a bit of a tricky one to find initially, simply because we followed Google Maps! Even the mightiest falls sometimes and this is what happened to me. If you follow Google Maps strictly, it’ll take you further along Sharps Road to a walking path that does not exist! So, what you should do is make your way to the Sheoak Picnic Area (funny that the Sheoak picnic area is quite a way from the Sheoak falls), park there and then follow the directions to the falls.

As the falls is not that big and there isn’t a whole lot of water, the best time to visit would be during Winter and Spring, or when there been good rain fall. If it has rained recently, you should also go prepared with proper footwear as spots along the trek to the falls tend to get quite muddy. Nothing too difficult, but, it’s always good to be prepared.

Click here for Google Maps direction

On the way / While you're here

Kalimna falls is also located close by. If you drive further along Garvey Track, it’ll bring you to a car park and a nice picnic area. From here, there is a walking track that will take you to Kalimna falls.

Sheoak Falls

• Distance: 146 km
• Facilities: Free parking and picnic tables

This one is located right next to the Great Ocean Road (well, pretty much), and I’m quite surprised that I’ve missed it during all my previous drives up and down the Great Ocean Road! The car park is right off the Great Ocean Road. Something to watch-out is that the car park is quite small and could get full easily. From the car park, it’s an easy 700 meter (one way) walk to the falls.

The falls area is really nice and is a nice place to spend some time enjoying the falls. There are benches and rocks you can sit on and if you take a nice little picnic with you, it’s a really nice place to enjoy.

There are limited parking spots available and it could get filled up easily during busy times. Finding parking on the road is not easy as it's right next to the Great Ocean Road and parking there is not possible.

Click here for Google Maps directions

On the way / While you're here

You of course have the Great Ocean Road to explore. But, if you’re more adventurous and in the mood for a longer hike, you can follow the trail from here all the way to the Sheoak picnic area (from where you can visit Henderson Falls and Kalimna Falls). This is a 3.2 km, moderate walk.

Erskine Falls

• Distance: 152 km
• Facilities: Free parking

The waterfall itself is located within an easy 5 to 10 minute walk from the car park. A great thing about this falls is that you can pretty much walk all the way to the base of the falls without much difficulty.

Click here for Google Maps directions

On the way / While you're here

There are so many things to checkout on the way and around here, with The Great Ocean Road being the most popular attraction. Other than that, there’s Maits Rest Rainforest Walk and a number of other waterfalls you’ll just below.

Lower Kalimna Falls

• Distance: 168 km
• Facilities: Free parking, Picnic and barbeque
• Walk: 5.5 km

Another gem in within the Great Otway National Park, and is a top contender for the title of one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Great Otway National Park. The 5.5km (return) walk to the Lower Kalimna Falls takes you through a beautiful creek valley filled with tall ferns and giant blue gums. The walk to the lower falls is an easy one. However, with heavy rains, the path will get quite muddy and sometimes you’d have to climb over fallen trees and branches. You can walk past the lower falls all the way to the Upper Kalimna Falls (8.2km return trip). Unfortunately, during my visit, the path to the upper falls was closed off due fallen trees.

What is a bit unique about this waterfall is that you can easily walk behind the waterfall.

To get to the falls, park at the Sheoak picnic area and follow the clearly marked path to the falls.

Click here for Google Maps directions

Here’s some more details on the (return) walk to the falls. 

Checkout our collection beautiful prints of the Lower Kalimna Falls

On the way / While you're here

You can check out Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, Erskine Falls, and Hopetoun Falls as all these are located within a short drive.

Stevenson Falls

• Distance: 171 km
• Facilities: Free parking and Picnic area

There’s another falls with the same (but with different spelling) that is in another part of Victoria (Marysville, to be precise), but that’s not what we’re talking about here. This is most probably one of the easiest falls you can walk to. It’s an easy 500 meter (one way) walk from the car park and along the way you get to enjoy some views of the Gellibrand River (you’d have to walk a tiny bit off the walking path) and there is also a beautiful redwood forest to explore. There’s a viewing platform to view the falls from. Just before the viewing platform, there is an open area where you walk on the rocks to get a different perspective of the falls. Or, just find a nice rock to sit and enjoy the beautiful falls.

Click here for Google Maps directions

On the way / While you're here

Enjoy the redwoods, a nice picnic and even a dip in the river, if you’re up for it.

Beauchamp Falls

• Distance: 203 km
• Facilities: Free parking, Picnic and barbeque
• Walk: 3 km

Another gem in within the Great Otway National Park, this is, arguably, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Great Otway National Park. The 3km (return) walk takes you through a beautiful forest filled with mountain ash and large myrtle beech trees as well as giant, thick ferns.

The walk to and from the falls is moderate-easy. The walk towards the falls is downhill and the return is uphill (duh!). The return journey is a bit steep and there are a number of steps on the way, which could get a bit slippery with rain.

To get to the falls, take the walking path from the Beauchamp Falls Campground located on the Beauchamp Falls Road. Once you turn off the Beech Forest-Mount Sabine Road, there’s about a 3km drive along an unsealed/gravel road, but nothing a normal sedan cannot handle.

Click here for Google Maps directions

Here’s some more details on the (return) walk to the falls.

Checkout our collection of beautiful prints of the Beauchamp Falls

On the way / While you're here

You can check out Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, Erskine Falls, and Hopetoun Falls as all these are located within a short drive.

Hopetoun Falls

• Distance: 217 km
• Facilities: Free parking

Now we’re staring to move beyond the 200 km mark from the city and the first one this far away is another one of my favourites and also in my top three. The beauty of this wonderful waterfall can be admired from two places; from the upper viewing platform, which is just a 5 minute easy walk from the car park. But, if you really want to get close and personal, then take the walk to the lower viewing platform, which is about a 1km return trip. The walk to the lower viewing platform is relatively easy. But, the return journey is a bit tougher, as you’d have to ascend around 200 steps that you would have breezed past on your way down. The return journey is a moderately difficult (or easy, depending on how you want to look at it) walk. But, hey, good things never come easy, eh!

Click here for Google Maps directions

On the way / While you're here

Apart from The Great Ocean Road, you can also check out Maits Rest Rainforest Walk and Erskine Falls.

Maits Rest Rainforest Walk

Triplet Falls

• Distance: 224 km
• Facilities: Free parking

This is another beautiful waterfall located within the Great Otway National Park. The falls is found inside a stunning ancient rainforest. A clearly defined and moderately easy walk of around 1.8 kms will take you through the rainforest and to the viewing platforms for the falls. The circular walk starts from the car park and ends there, taking you through a loop within the rainforest. During the walk, you’ll also see the ancient looking remnants of an old timber mill. The only catch is that the best parts of the falls would be covered by the tall ferns and you’d have to admire the falls from a bit of a distance.

Click here for Google Maps directions

 

On the way / While you're here

You can check out Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, Erskine Falls, and/or Hopetoun Falls, as all these are located within a short drive.

Hopkins Falls

• Distance: 241 km
• Facilities: Free parking

Technically, Hopkins Falls is not located within the Great Otway National Park. But, hey, there’s no reason not to check this one out right, since we’re in the general area, right? I’m glad you agreed and decided to check this one also out! This must be widest waterfall I’ve seen in Australia (so far. I obviously haven’t seen all the waterfalls in Australia, yet)! Access to the falls is very easy from the car park. The upper viewing platform if literally a few feet from the car park and provides a bird’s eye view of the falls. Walk a bit to the right and a few steps will take you to a lower viewing area for a closer look at the falls. For an even more up-close-and-personal view of the falls, you can walk across the grassy area and make your way to the water’s edge. Be mindful as the grass could be slippery and muddy at places.

Click here for Google Maps directions