Beach · Great Otway National Park
A sheltered cove where low tide reveals patterned rock shelves.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Otway Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Otway National Park. 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 Otway audio tourRecorded for this place
Blanket Bay: Sand and Rockpools“Blanket Bay is coming up, a sheltered cove for a shore wander or picnic. Head to the eastern end if you want sand; the western shore has broad rock shelves, with shallow pools and patterned stone exposed at low tide.”
Plays as you drive up to Blanket Bay in the Parkwolf Great Otway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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!!!!”
Guide
Blanket Bay is a coastal bay and picnic stop on Cape Otway, with sand at the eastern end and broad, low rock shelves along the western shore. The day visitor area is separate from the nearby car campground and Great Ocean Walk hike-in campsite. It suits a short shore break or picnic, and the Great Ocean Walk passes through the area.
The eastern end is the sandier stretch; farther along, the flatter rocky shore has shallow pools and bands of exposed stone. Low tide reveals more of this texture. Swimming can be calm, but visitors describe cold water and a rocky bottom, so this is as much a place to wander the shore as to swim. For photos, include the patterned shelves in the foreground with the bay or wooded headland behind them.
Koalas and Superb Fairy-wrens have been seen in vegetation around the bay, but these are occasional sightings rather than a sure part of the stop. The sheltered cove makes a quieter picnic break than an exposed surf beach.
Wildlife
204 sightingsKoalaMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
35 sightingsGrey KangarooMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
109 sightingsEchidnaMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
58 sightingsKookaburraMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
97 sightingsSwamp WallabyMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
20 sightingsBrushtail PossumMost seen around 8 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Otway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateGreat Ocean Walk: Blanket Bay to Cape Otway11 km · 3.8 hr · At the trailheadAn 11 km one-way coastal stage from Blanket Bay to Cape Otway.
EasyBlanket Bay to Parker Inlet Walk4.6 km · 1.8 hr · 0.2 km awayCoastal bush, an inlet crossing and steep steps to Parker Hill.ChallengingParker River Inlet Walk0.5 km · 36 min · 3 km awayA steep 300-step descent to a river-mouth beach.
EasyParker Hill Campground and Stringybark Loop Walk4 km · 1.5 hr · 3 km awayA forest and clifftop circuit above Parker Inlet.
ModeratePoint Franklin and Crayfish Bay Walk1.5 km · 40 min · 4.3 km awayA short Point Franklin loop to Crayfish Bay’s grottos and rock pools.
ModerateElliot Ridge to Blanket Bay12 km · 4.5 hr · 5 km awayForest roads lead to a switchback descent and Blanket Bay's shore.
ModerateElliot River Circuit Walk4.7 km · 1.8 hr · 5.2 km awayRock-hop Elliot River, then climb Elliott Ridge through ferny gullies.
ModerateCape Otway to Aire River10 km · 3.8 hr · 6.6 km awayCoastal heath, cliff-top views and a river finish
Campground · At the trailheadBlanket Bay CampgroundA small unpowered camp tucked behind Cape Otway’s sheltered beach.
Campground · 0.1 km awayBlanket Bay Hike-in CampgroundA booked overnight camp for Great Ocean Walk hikers.
Campground · 3.1 km awayParker Hill CampgroundCamp beneath stringybarks above Parker Inlet
Campground · 4.7 km awayElliot Ridge Hike-in CampgroundA quiet forest night stop for Great Ocean Walk hikers
Beach · 5.2 km awayShelly BeachFern-lined walk to tide pools and a small, rugged cove.
Campground · 6.1 km awayBimbi ParkCamp beneath manna gums for a chance at koalas overhead.
Campground · 6.5 km awayCape Otway Hike-in CampgroundA booked, sheltered night among coastal scrub.
Sight · 6.6 km awayCape Otway LightstationA 1848 lighthouse with coastal views and a layered maritime story.Parkwolf’s Great Otway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
