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Hopetoun Falls in Great Otway National Park

#3 of 46 sights in Great Otway

Sight · Great Otway National Park

Hopetoun Falls

A tree-fern waterfall with about 200 stairs to the lower view.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.1 km
Audio stories
5 nearby
  • Parking
  • Scenic viewpoint
  • Trailhead
  • Picnic tables
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Hopetoun Falls: Down Through the Ferns

Overview

About Hopetoun Falls

Why stop

  • A close waterfall view framed by tree ferns and the Aire River.

Heads up

  • The best lower view takes about 200 steep stairs each way.
Hopetoun Falls is a single-drop waterfall on the Aire River, set in a tree-fern gully near Beech Forest. You can see it from an upper platform or take the steep stair route to a lower platform beside the fall. I'd make the lower view the goal if the return climb suits you; the upper view still makes this a worthwhile stop.
Parkwolf’s verdictA waterfall worth the stop

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightHopetoun Falls-38.66825, 143.56905
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

3 active Great Otway alerts

  • ClosureSeasonal campsite closures at Aire RiverMentions Aire River, referenced in this guideSeasonal closures remain in effect at Aire River through 30 October 2026; do not use the closed sites. - Aire River East: all sites are closed from 29 May to 30 October 2026 and reopen 31 October.Official details
  • ClosureWye Road closed after storm and flood damageWye Road is closed until further notice because recent storm and flood damage requires road maintenance and repair works; plan around the closure.Official details
See all 3 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Great Otway Tour Guide

Your drive to Hopetoun Falls, narrated.

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 tour

Recorded for this place

Hopetoun Falls: Down Through the Ferns
0:00 / 0:25
“Up ahead is the Hopetoun Falls car park, the starting point for a short but steep waterfall walk. Take the path through the tree ferns to the lower boardwalk for the full view of the falls dropping into the Aire River.”

Plays as you drive up to Hopetoun Falls in the Parkwolf Great Otway Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • Aire Valley Redwoods: A Planted Forest
  • A Crayfish Under the Forest Floor
  • A Breeze Made by Sunshine
  • The Flower with a Lid
  • 252 audio storiesacross Great Otway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
  • Wildlife heatmapsfor Koala, Grey Kangaroo, Echidna, and 13 more
  • Works offlinemaps, 83 trails, 79 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!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Hopetoun Falls

Decide whether to take the stairsAbout 200 stairs descend through tree-fern glades to the lower platform, then you'll climb them…

About 200 stairs descend through tree-fern glades to the lower platform, then you'll climb them back up. The ground can be uneven and slippery, especially after rain. The small car park is at the signed Aire Valley Road access, so leave a little flexibility if it is full.

Rain changes the waterfallAfter substantial rain, Hopetoun Falls can run much more strongly; in a dry summer spell,…

After substantial rain, Hopetoun Falls can run much more strongly; in a dry summer spell, visitors sometimes find only a trickle. That can help you choose when to visit, though wet weather can also make the stairs muddy and slick.

Get the close viewThe lower platform is the place for a close photo: the fall drops in front of ferns, dark rock…

The lower platform is the place for a close photo: the fall drops in front of ferns, dark rock and the Aire River. If you stay at the upper platform, you still get the waterfall without committing to the descent.

waterfalltreefernaireforestviewpoint

Wildlife

Wildlife in Great Otway

All Great Otway wildlife maps
Koala204 sightingsKoalaMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapGrey Kangaroo35 sightingsGrey KangarooMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapEchidna109 sightingsEchidnaMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapKookaburra58 sightingsKookaburraMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSwamp Wallaby97 sightingsSwamp WallabyMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapBrushtail Possum20 sightingsBrushtail PossumMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Otway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Hopetoun Falls

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ModerateHopetoun Falls Walk0.8 km · 35 min · 0.1 km awayTwo hundred steps through tree ferns to a 30-metre waterfall.ModerateTriplet Falls Walk1.8 km · 1 hr · 6.4 km awayRaised platforms reveal three cascades in mountain ash rainforest.ModerateLittle Aire Falls Walk5.1 km · 2.5 hr · 6.4 km awayA rainforest hike to a high platform above the falls.

More stops nearby

Sight · 0.9 km awayAire Valley RedwoodsWalk beneath towering trunks in a quiet, riverside redwood grove.Campground · 3.8 km awayBeauchamp Falls CampgroundFree rainforest camping, with the waterfall walk starting from camp.Sight · 4.3 km awayBeauchamp FallsA fern-framed 20-metre fall worth the uphill walk back.Sight · 5 km awayLittle Aire FallsA ferny rainforest walk ends above a waterfall and valley.Sight · 5.8 km awayOtway Fly Treetop AdventuresA canopy walk that climbs to a tower and a cantilever.Sight · 6.6 km awayTriplet FallsThree cascades and 200-year-old Mountain Ash on a rainforest loop.

Parkwolf’s Great Otway ranking

Top sights in Great Otway

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  4. 5Aire Valley RedwoodsSight
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  6. 7Otway Fly Treetop AdventuresSight

Take Parkwolf to Great Otway.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

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