Parking
Start at Bird Rock carpark; the mapped route ends at Bells Beach upper carpark. Arrange a pickup or car shuffle between the two, or plan to retrace your steps. No dedicated return service was verified.
Overview
About The Bells Track
Why go
- Clifftop views reach across the Golden Mile reef breaks.
- Bells Beach makes a memorable finish.
Heads up
- Point-to-point transport needs planning.
- The published distance is about 0.4 km longer than the mapped line.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Ocean Road map
Full mapElevation22–63 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 The Bells Track, 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
Jan Juc and Bird Rock Lookout0:00 / 0:29
“You're nearing Jan Juc, where Bird Rock Lookout gives you a broad coastal view without a long walk. For a short stop, head off Ocean Boulevard to the clifftop and look across the beach and reef breaks below.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Ocean Road Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Bell a Winner Rings
- Torquay Beaches and Point Danger
- Bells Beach
- Australian National Surfing Museum
- 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 The Bells Track
The walkThe Bells Track is the Bird Rock–Bells Beach leg of the Surf Coast Walk, a point-to-point…
The Bells Track is the Bird Rock–Bells Beach leg of the Surf Coast Walk, a point-to-point coastal path listed at 3.2 km one way. Allow about 48 minutes before stops. Gentle hills and a formed track lead to wide views over the surf breaks and Bells Beach. The mapped path between Bird Rock carpark and Bells Beach upper carpark is about 2.8 km; route descriptions do not explain the roughly 0.4 km difference. Check the current route map at the Bells end before setting out.
Route and footingStart at Bird Rock carpark and follow the coastal path past Cantala Drive Lookout and the Ocean…
Start at Bird Rock carpark and follow the coastal path past Cantala Drive Lookout and the Ocean Boulevard and The Wave carpark access points, finishing at Bells Beach upper carpark. The current route description calls it a well-formed path with gentle hills and no steps; another Bells Track description mentions some steps and sand. Expect a coastal footpath, but do not assume every part is smooth or step-free. The mapped route is also used for cycling.
Make the point-to-point workBird Rock is the published start and Bells Beach upper carpark is the mapped finish.
Bird Rock is the published start and Bells Beach upper carpark is the mapped finish. This is not a loop: arrange a pickup or car shuffle, or plan to retrace your route. No dedicated return service was verified. Confirm your transport and the route endpoint before walking, especially because the published and mapped distances differ.
The view at BellsThe walk looks over the reef breaks known as the Golden Mile, with Winkipop called out near the…
The walk looks over the reef breaks known as the Golden Mile, with Winkipop called out near the Bells end. From the upper access steps, the curved beach bowl, surf and headland make a strong final view; include part of the steps or cliff in a phone photo to give the shoreline scale.
Surf historyBells Beach is on Wadawurrung Country; Djarrak is its Traditional Owner name.
Bells Beach is on Wadawurrung Country; Djarrak is its Traditional Owner name. The track follows an access line associated with early surfers reaching the beach through coastal scrub. Surfing took hold at Bells in the 1940s, and widening the access track in 1960 helped open the break to wider use. That history gives this short walk a purpose beyond its viewpoints.
Along the cliffsPeregrine falcons are noted along the clifftops, though a sighting is never guaranteed.
Peregrine falcons are noted along the clifftops, though a sighting is never guaranteed. The dependable reward is the open coast and changing view across the surf line.
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.
