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  2. Lorne Waterfalls – Canyon and Castle Rock (23.4km)
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  • Length: 23.4km

  • Duration: 7hrs

  • Grade: 3-4

  • Style: Circuit

  • Start: Sheoak Falls Carpark

  • End: Sheoak Falls Carpark

  • Location: Great Otway National Park

  • Closest Town: Lorne

  • Distance from CBD: 145km

  • State: VIC

  • Latitude: -38.56895

  • Longitude: 143.96505

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Great Otway National Park...

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Lorne Waterfalls - Canyon and Castle Rock is a 23.4km, grade 3-4 circuit hike, located in The Great Otway National Park, Victoria. The hike should take approximately 7hrs to complete.

Hike Summary

The Great Otway National Park is a spectacular area of native forest, and there are plenty of opportunities to get closer to nature with walking tracks and trails in the area, many leading to spectacular crashing waterfalls.

There are seven waterfalls within the bushland surrounding Lorne, with different accessibility levels - some are a quick ten minute stroll from the carpark, others are a more strenuous rainforest hike rewarded with the majestic roar of a waterfall.

The Lorne Waterfalls - Canyon and Castle Rock hike starts and ends at the Sheoak Falls Carpark and can be undertaken in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. This hike takes in a number of The Otway's most spectacular waterfalls.

Kalimna falls (8 to 10 meters high) are fringed by tall rainforest trees and dense tree ferns. The Lower Falls are not large, but you can get behind them and look out through the falling water to the large pool surrounded by mossy logs and rocks. The Upper Falls are a series of cascades viewed from a platform. The walk follows the route of an old tramway and some of the old sleepers can still be seen.

Wonwondha Falls, Henderson Falls, the Canyon and the stunning Phantom Falls (about 15 meters high) are all en-route to the Sheoak Creek Picnic area, along Allenvale Rd. There are barbecue facilities, toilets, picnic tables, fireplaces and drinking water.

Camping

If you decide to do this as an overnight hike there are two options for Camping along the trail. See details and map below. Flags mark the camp site locations

  1. Sharps Track Camping Area. Located on the north west of the trail near Wonwondah Falls. Approximately 100 west along Sharps Road. This campsite is approximately 13km from the start so makes a good half way point.
  2. Allenvale Camp Site. Located on the north east of the trail near Sharps Mill, just off Allenvale Road. Approximately 18km from the start.

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About the region

Great Otway National Park stretches from Torquay, along the world-famous Great Ocean Road and up through the Otways hinterland. Discover windswept coastlines and breathtaking waterfalls in tall mountain forests, walk the iconic Great Ocean Walk, immerse yourself in the Otway Lightstation's history, or surf some of the best breaks in Australia. Enjoy the great outdoors and explore the wonders of the Great Otway National Park. Great Otway National Park is in southern Victoria, Australia. It covers rugged coastland, beaches and the mountains of the Otway Ranges. Waterfalls dot the park, including the 3 cascades of Triplet Falls. Boardwalks lead through temperate rainforest at Maits Rest. The 1848 Cape Otway Lightstation perches on cliffs overlooking Bass Strait. Great Ocean Walk leads through the park to the Twelve Apostles rock formations.

Getting there

From Melbourne by car
Follow the Princes Highway (M1) from Melbourne to Geelong, then take the Great Ocean Road (B100) through Torquay to Lorne. Or follow the Princes Highway (M1) from Melbourne to Geelong to Winchelsea (A1). Then take C151 via Deans Marsh to Lorne. The Sheoak Falls carpark is located 5.7km past the Lorne Visitors Information Centre, along the Great Ocean Road.

Public Transport to Lorne
V-line train/coach services depart daily from Melbourne to Geelong and along the Great Ocean Road to Lorne and Apollo Bay. V-line coach services connect along the Great Ocean Road from Apollo Bay to Port Campbell and Warrnambool on Friday all year (extra service during December -January). V-line enquiries - phone 136196. The Sheoak Falls carpark is located 5.7km past the Lorne Visitors Information Centre, along the Great Ocean Road.

GPX File

Total distance: 23427 m
Max elevation: 291 m
Min elevation: 8 m
Total climbing: 953 m
Total descent: -953 m
Download file: Lorne Waterfalls - Canyon and Castle Rock.gpx

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32 thoughts on “Lorne Waterfalls – Canyon and Castle Rock (23.4km)”

  1. Hello. This hike looks beautiful & serene. Are the tracks well marked? Is it pretty safe for solo hiking? I do 4-6hr hikes but i consider myself not a very experienced hiker. I’m a “what if” person though. I usually load your maps to an android app called gps essentials which shows my position on the track. Anyway advice please. Thanks.

    1. It is a lovely area but it also contains many trails that intersect each other often. If you load the GPX file this is a great start but I’d also recommend taking a current map and compass with you so hat you can identify trails and directions they are running. Have fun and don’t forget to comment on this hike afterwards so we know how you went

    1. Hi Cass. Other than camping at Lorne there are two camp sites along the route. On the eastern side of the trail there is the Alenvale camp site. In the western side is the Sharps Track camping area. This one is a little big off the trail, along a management track. I’ll try to upload a pic to this post today showing where they are. Cheers. Darren

    2. Hi Cass, I have loaded a map showing the camp site locations and have added a bit more info to the trail description to include the camp sites.

  3. Ok So I may attempt this walk in a few weeks, by myself. Is there detailed map and is it a good old loop circuit of 23km’s? Only in 1 day as i can’t carry camping equipment. Is it sign posted well too? Cheers Leonie

    1. Hi Leonie. This can be attempted in one day but will take you 7-8 hours as per the hike description. The Lorne area has a lot of tracks and this is not a standard route so you will need to take a map and/or download the GPX file so that you can check your position and don’t head down the wrong track. I am assuming you are comfortable with navigation given that you are going by yourself. You can print the map that is shown on this page too.
      Cheers, Darren

  4. Hi there, been looking at doing this hike from the listed places suggested on this page but can’t seem to find any info or maps of the routes listed. Could you elaborate or link any other info you have on Sheoak to Sharps Camping grounds please. Thanks!

  5. Thanks for the idea for this hike. I wanted to test out some new gear and my first solo hike so did this as an overnight hike this weekend past.

    Started at Sheoak falls carpark, follwed the trail as outlined up to Upper Kalimna Falls, back to the picnic ground, then headed to Allenvale Mill and camped the night. Day 2 headed up to Phantom Falls and around the waterfall circuit back to the picnic ground, then back down to Sheoak falls carpark.

    A lovely walk, great as an over-nighter with plenty to see along the way. Beware the trails get extremely muddy and slippery. Thanks for the track description and the GPX file – much appreciated.

    1. Suzie Sharp I was looking at this earlier & was going to tag you in it ?
      Nah I don’t think it’ll be too hot in January but then again I hiked Mt Stapylton in 38°. Just need to carry more water & head off early in the morning ? let’s book it in

  18. I did this hike yesterday, in reverse. Great day for it, cloudy, recent rains, a cool 15degrees. (Was also doing it with a heavy weight pack for practice). Had the place to myself most of the day, (probably the lack of visitors due to covid!).
    I was planning to do the whole thing in one day, but as was running out of time, and as I had seen the Kalimna falls several times already, I left the Sheoak picnic ground via the Garvey track (a road essentially) to head towards Castle rock lookout. Turned out that was a longer shortcut to take (nevertheless still a short cut), as after joining the trail from the Garvey track, i spotted another trail sign that said ‘sheoak picnic ground 1km’.. just didnt see where it left the picnic ground!
    Ah well. It was a good day out. I could see the hike on the ridge to the look-out would get quite hot in summer, so I would do the normal direction in summer, to end in the cool shady trees on the way to the Sheoak falls.
    This is highly modifiable to the conditions on the day, how youre feeling, etc. No, once-you’ve-started-you-just-gotta-keep-going-to-get-back-the-car style.

  19. Hi, I plan to do this hike with my 11 year old Jan 2021. I understand that the Sharps Track camping area is free and we don’t have to pre-book. The Allenvale camp site has to be booked and is full till end January 2021. I’m wondering what the chances are that the Sharps Track camping site will be full and we would end up exhausted and without a camping site? Do you think it’s better to wait till Feb/March or do you think worst case there will be some spot to sleep overnight at Sharps Track? Cheers and thanks for the description of the hike!

    1. Hi Chris. Sorry but I don’t know current info on the camp site bookings etc. maybe give Lorne visitors centre a call and see if they can help

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