Parking
Start at Apollo Bay Visitor Information Centre, 100 Great Ocean Road. Public foreshore parking is unsecured, with no designated long-term parking in Apollo Bay or Marengo; confirm arrangements or plan a shuttle for a through-walk.
Overview
About Apollo Bay to Elliot Ridge
Why go
- The scenery changes from town paths to open coast and ferny forest.
- A manageable first overnight stage of the longer coastal walk.
Heads up
- The finish is a hike-in campsite with no road access.
- The river and beach sections depend on safe tide and sea conditions.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Otway map
Full mapElevation1–149 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Great Otway alerts
- 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
- ClosureLorne-area walking trails closed after flood damageSome walking trails near Lorne are closed for public safety after the January 2026 flash floods washed away or severely damaged bridges and walkways.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Otway Tour Guide
Your drive to Apollo Bay to Elliot Ridge, 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 tourRecorded for this trailhead
Apollo Bay: Maps and Local Advice0:00 / 0:28
“You're approaching the Great Ocean Road Visitor Information Centre on Apollo Bay's foreshore. Stop here if you need local maps or help choosing the next part of your Otways visit.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Otway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Beak for the Deep Flowers
- The Animal That Pumps Its Dinner
- Marengo: The Coastal Walk to Shelly Beach
- The Fungus That Calls in Flies
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Apollo Bay to Elliot Ridge
The first stage westThis is the 9.
This is the 9.9 km one-way stage of the Great Ocean Walk, from Apollo Bay Visitor Information Centre to the Elliot Ridge hike-in campsite. Allow about 3½–4 hours for a moderate walk that changes from town paths to beaches, rolling coastal hills and ferny eucalypt forest. It is a point-to-point overnight leg, not a loop. If you walk only this stage and return to Apollo Bay on foot, plan for roughly 20 km.
Start in town, then reach the shoreFollow the marked walk from the visitor centre through a grassy park and along a town path…
Follow the marked walk from the visitor centre through a grassy park and along a town path toward Marengo. Around Marengo, the route offers beach and rocky-shore sections as well as an inland path beside the road; use the marked option that is safe for the tide and sea conditions. Look offshore for fur seals near Marengo, though sightings are never guaranteed.
Across the hills and past Shelly BeachBeyond Marengo, the track rolls over open rural hills and crosses a fence by ladder before…
Beyond Marengo, the track rolls over open rural hills and crosses a fence by ladder before reaching Three Creeks Beach and the wooded coast. At the fork, the left branch visits Shelly Beach; the route to Elliot Ridge continues right to the car park and river mouth. Shelly Beach is the best open-coast pause on this leg. Include a strip of its sand or rock with the surf in a photo to show where the walk meets the Southern Ocean.
Check the Elliot River before crossingThe Elliot River has no bridge.
The Elliot River has no bridge. High tide, rough seas or heavy rain can make the crossing difficult or impossible. Check the tide and current conditions before setting out; wait or turn back if it is unsafe. The timing matters more here than the modest grade suggests.
Climb into the OtwaysAfter the river, the route climbs through dense forest and ferns to Elliot Ridge, a sheltered…
After the river, the route climbs through dense forest and ferns to Elliot Ridge, a sheltered campsite among tall eucalypts rather than a summit or road-side stop. Book a campsite in advance if you are staying overnight; the reservation is the camping permit. Elliot Ridge is hike-in only, so plan your onward walk before you start.
Bring food and a water planApollo Bay is the last place to buy supplies on this stage; no food seller was found along the…
Apollo Bay is the last place to buy supplies on this stage; no food seller was found along the route. Elliot Ridge has composting toilets, a three-sided shelter and rainwater tanks, but the water is untreated and may run out. Carry enough water and treat any tank water. Campfires are not permitted at the hike-in campsite, and dogs are not allowed on the walk.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Otway
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.
