Beach · Great Otway National Park
A wild coastal walk to a spring-fed cliff, not a swim.
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 area
Aire River: A Picnic by the Wetlands“Up ahead is the Aire River day visitor area, a west-bank picnic stop beside Aire River West Campground. Stop here for a riverside break rather than a major sightseeing detour.”
Plays on the road 2.4 km from Station Beach 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
Station Beach is a 2.8 km southwest-facing beach on Cape Otway's exposed coast. There is no road access to the sand; you reach it on foot through dunes and along the coast. Come for a rugged walk and open views of the shoreline, not a quick pull-off.
The Station Beach-Rainbow Falls walk is about 8 km and 3.5 hours return. It crosses dunes, follows the beach south to the falls, and comes back the same way, so allow time for the sandy approach. There are no toilet, litter or camping facilities on the beach.
Station Beach is unpatrolled, and swimming is not recommended. The exposed surf and coastal hazards make this a place to walk and look rather than enter the water.
A freshwater spring trickles down an algae-streaked, colourful cliff to the rocky shore platform. That small flow is a striking change after the open beach. Reaching the platform depends on tide and swell: aim for low tide, check the surf, and turn back if waves are running across the rocks.
The Great Ocean Walk has cliff views over Station Beach. That higher angle shows the long sweep of shore and takes a walk to reach; from the beach, the waves and layered rock make the closer view.
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: Aire River to Castle Cove6 km · 2.5 hr · 2.4 km awayRiver-mouth views reward the climb to Castle Cove.
ModerateAire River Escarpment Lookout Walk4 km · 2 hr · 2.4 km awayA short climb from river estuary to ocean views.
ModerateAire River to Johanna Beach14 km · 5.3 hr · 2.4 km awayCliff views, Castle Cove fossils and a beach finish.
ModerateCape Otway to Aire River10 km · 3.8 hr · 4.6 km awayCoastal heath, cliff-top views and a river finish
ModerateCastle Cove to Johanna Beach6.3 km · 2.5 hr · 6.4 km awayClifftop heath gives way to Johanna’s tide-dependent beach finish.
ModeratePoint Franklin and Crayfish Bay Walk1.5 km · 40 min · 6.6 km awayA short Point Franklin loop to Crayfish Bay’s grottos and rock pools.
ChallengingParker River Inlet Walk0.5 km · 36 min · 7.4 km awayA steep 300-step descent to a river-mouth beach.
EasyParker Hill Campground and Stringybark Loop Walk4 km · 1.5 hr · 7.4 km awayA forest and clifftop circuit above Parker Inlet.
Sight · 2.3 km awayRainbow FallsA spring-fed cascade threads an algae-streaked cliff above Station Beach.
Picnic area · 2.4 km awayAire River Day Visitor AreaA riverside picnic stop framed by low Otway hills and wetlands.
Campground · 2.4 km awayAire River West CampgroundA roomy riverside base for caravans, groups and walkers.
Campground · 2.5 km awayAire River Hike-in CampgroundA booked bushland camp for walkers taking the coastal route.
Campground · 2.7 km awayAire River East CampgroundAn unpowered estuary camp for paddling, koalas and quiet bush nights.
Campground · 3.1 km awayBimbi ParkCamp beneath manna gums for a chance at koalas overhead.
Sight · 4 km awayCape Otway CemeteryA cemetery walk puts the lightstation's isolation in view.
Campground · 4.2 km awayCape Otway Hike-in CampgroundA booked, sheltered night among coastal scrub.Parkwolf’s Great Otway ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
