Parking
Use Kennett River Picnic Area, the published start of the return walk beside the Great Ocean Road.
Overview
About Kennett River Nature Walk
Why go
- Short, easy riverside stop
- Fourteen signs add local wildlife and history
Heads up
- Wildlife sightings are unpredictable
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Ocean Road map
Full mapElevation1–4 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
7 active Great Ocean Road alerts
- ClosureLorne-area walking trails closed after flood and storm damageSeveral walking trails near Lorne remain closed; do not enter closed tracks. - Phantom Falls Walk is temporarily closed because flood and storm damage affected the trail and structures.Official details
- ClosureWye Road closed after storm and flood damageWye Road is closed until further notice for road maintenance and repairs following storm and flood damage; do not use the road. Check current Great Otway National Park conditions before travelling.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Ocean Road Tour Guide
Your drive to Kennett River Nature Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Ocean Road. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Great Ocean Road audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Kennett River Nature Walk0:00 / 0:23
“Kennett River Nature Walk is coming up, an easy riverside wander from the picnic area. Allow about twenty minutes for the four-hundred-metre return walk, with fourteen signs explaining local wildlife and history.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Ocean Road Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Spring Tides in Every Season
- A Grass Tree's Layered Trunk
- Cape Patton Lookout
- Wye River: Beach and Pub
- 181 audio storiesacross Great Ocean Road’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Koala, Kangaroo, Little Penguin, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 109 trails, 99 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Kennett River Nature Walk
A short riverbank wanderKennett River Nature Walk is a 400 m return out-and-back from Kennett River Picnic Area,…
Kennett River Nature Walk is a 400 m return out-and-back from Kennett River Picnic Area, following the river through a strip of woodland. It is an easy, roughly 20-minute stop, with 14 interpretive signs about local wildlife and history along the way. Think of it as a slow leg-stretch and read, rather than a longer hike.
Read the signs, then see what turns upThe walk’s main draw is its riverside setting and the signs that explain the local natural and…
The walk’s main draw is its riverside setting and the signs that explain the local natural and human story. The area has native birds and other wildlife, and kangaroos are more likely to show themselves early or late in the day. Sightings are unpredictable: visitors report both koalas and birds, and plenty of walks with no koala or kangaroo at all. Treat wildlife as a bonus, not a promise.
Start at the picnic areaBegin at the car park at Kennett River Picnic Area and retrace the riverside track to return.
Begin at the car park at Kennett River Picnic Area and retrace the riverside track to return. The separately named Wye to Kennett River Walk is a much longer coastal route between the townships; it is not part of this short riverside outing.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Ocean Road
900 sightingsKoalaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
358 sightingsKangarooMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
49 sightingsLittle PenguinMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
155 sightingsEchidnaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
33 sightingsFur SealMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
59 sightingsRed-necked WallabyMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Ocean Road. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
