Elliot Ridge to Blanket Bay

This 12 km (7.46 mi) one-way Great Ocean Walk stage runs from Elliot Ridge Hike-in Campground to Blanket Bay Hike-in Campground. Allow about 4½ hours. It is a moderate walk that spends most of the day inland on wide unsealed forest roads through tall Mountain Ash and ferny understorey, then descends to the coast. It suits someone linking stages of the through-walk; the sea is mostly a finish-line reward, not a constant companion.

Elliot Ridge is hike-in only, with no vehicle access at the start. The route finishes at Blanket Bay's hike-in camp, beside a separate vehicle-access campground. Plan it as a through-walk or arrange transport between the ends; the route does not return to Elliot Ridge. If you are camping at a designated Great Ocean Walk site, a valid booking is required before arrival and acts as your camping permit. Dogs are not permitted on this national-park route.

The long inland section climbs through tall eucalypts and ferny undergrowth, mostly on broad management roads rather than a narrow coastal path. The tradeoff is that this is a forest stage rather than a coastal walk; there is little ocean scenery until the end. After rain, unsealed surfaces may be muddy and slippery.

Near the finish the wide road gives way to a narrower track with switchbacks down to the coast. Blanket Bay's sheltered shore and intertidal rock shelves make a clear payoff after the inland miles. From the beach-access path, frame some of the patterned shelves with the wooded headland to show the curve of the bay. The main reward comes at the end, rather than along the whole walk.