Parking
Start at Urquhart Bluff car park on Great Ocean Road; public toilets are available there. Finish at Sunnymead car park, so arrange transport back or plan to walk the route in reverse.
Overview
About Urquhart Bluff to Sunnymead Walk
Why go
- Finishes at a secluded cove after a short coastal bushland walk
- Adds remnants of the original Great Ocean Road to the route
Heads up
- Rough steps and beach sand make the short distance more demanding
- Point-to-point logistics need a return lift or walk
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Ocean Road map
Full mapElevation8–65 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Urquhart Bluff to Sunnymead 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
Urquhart Bluff Circuit0:00 / 0:25
“Up ahead is the turnoff for Urquhart Bluff, where the circuit walk links rock pools and coastal heath. The four-and-a-half-kilometre loop starts at the lower beach car park and takes about ninety minutes.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Ocean Road Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Godfrey's Fatal Salvage
- A Kangaroo's Fifth Foot
- A La Grecque: A Greek Meal Stop
- Distillery Creek Picnic Area
- 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 Urquhart Bluff to Sunnymead Walk
The short versionUrquhart Bluff to Sunnymead is a 3.01 km, one-way section of the Surf Coast Walk.
Urquhart Bluff to Sunnymead is a 3.01 km, one-way section of the Surf Coast Walk. It crosses rugged coastal bushland on rough track, rugged steps and beach sand, then reaches a secluded cove at Sunnymead. Allow about 45 minutes for the section; expect more effort than the short distance suggests. You’ll need a pickup or a return walk because it ends at a different car park.
What you seeThe trail passes through coastal scrub and remnants of the original Great Ocean Road before…
The trail passes through coastal scrub and remnants of the original Great Ocean Road before finishing at Sunnymead’s secluded cove. That gives the walk two distinct payoffs: a little local road history along the way, then a beach ending rather than a turnaround in the bush. It is one self-contained leg of the longer 41 km Surf Coast Walk, which is divided into independently walkable sections.
Start and finishBegin at Urquhart Bluff car park, where public toilets are available, and finish at Sunnymead…
Begin at Urquhart Bluff car park, where public toilets are available, and finish at Sunnymead car park. Sort out your return before you start. The route passes through Great Otway National Park, where ordinary dogs aren’t allowed; assistance dogs are permitted under park rules.
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.
