Best Dog Friendly Day Trips From Melbourne – One of the most famous attractions in Victoria is the Great Ocean Road. Popular to complete either as a day trip from Melbourne or over several days, we of course added it to our Melbourne to Adelaide trip.
However, at the top and while driving it, we discovered that the Great Ocean Road is not the most dog-friendly destination in Australia. Before you end your trip, I’ll let you know where your dog is and isn’t welcome and how everyone can have a good time.
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The main difficulty in visiting the Great Ocean Road with your dog is that many of its attractions are located in national parks, particularly Port Campbell National Park and Great Otway National Park.
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Many of the most famous formations on the western part of the Great Ocean Road, including the 12 Apostles Lookout, are located in Port Campbell National Park, where dogs are not allowed.
Great Otway National Park, meanwhile, covers a large arc between Torquay and Cape Otway and extends inland, including most of the inland forests. However, this is one of the few dog-friendly national parks in Victoria, with dogs allowed in selected locations.
Dogs are allowed on a lead at the following locations in Great Otway National Park, from east to west:
However, Great Otway National Park still includes many sights and attractions on the Great Ocean Road that are off-limits to dogs. Close to Otway Forest Park, although dog permits are allowed throughout.
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When driving the Great Ocean Road with your dog, these are some of the places to visit and things to do with your dog.
Dogs are allowed to accompany you in a car driving along the Great Ocean Road, even when the highway passes through national park areas. This often involves vigilance on the road.
At least on the eastern half of the trail, I didn’t see any signs at the many viewpoints prohibiting dogs. (See the section below on famous formations on the western half of the route, including the 12 Apostles.)
Bay of Islands, one of the many attractions on the Great Ocean Road that are off-limits to dogs
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The Great Ocean Road is synonymous with the 12 Apostles and many other natural formations that cover the rugged coastline in its western half. To the west after the 12 apostles there are also the Loch Ard Gorge, the Ark, London Bridge, the Grotto, Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands.
The problem with visiting with a dog is that the viewpoints for all of these attractions, except Martyrs Bay, are in Port Campbell National Park or another dog-free area.
At the time of my visit, the only formation that I knew was okay for our dog to visit (as long as he stayed in the parking lot) was the 12 Apostles, whose parking lot is probably outside the national park boundary. There is only a sign in the parking lot that prohibits the transport of dogs beyond the beginning of the short walk to the guard.
To visit the 12 apostles, unfortunately without your dog, or you take turns with your dog (if you travel at least two together), or if the weather is cloudy and 14 degrees as it was here (even though it was November), and if your dog well, leave it in your car for a while. Check out my complete guide to visiting the 12 Apostles with a dog.
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At most of the other formations along the route (Loch Ard Gorge, The Arch, London Bridge, Grotto, Bay of Islands) there are signs in the car parks that dogs are not allowed. My understanding is that dogs are not allowed to park in these locations either. But according to the local tourism board, dogs are fine in the parking lot as long as they are locked in your car.
However, remember to never leave your dog in a hot car, preferring to take care of your dog with the windows open on warmer days. Luckily for us, although the cold and cloudy weather didn’t make for great photos, it did mean our car wasn’t hot at all.
The most convenient part of the coast to visit is Martyrs Bay. Dogs are allowed on the cliff top path between Peterborough and the car park at the end (listed as Bay of Martyrs on Google Maps). Park at both ends and walk your dog on a leash.
However, the viewpoint can also be accessed from the car park, as well as this dog walk had a no dogs sign – too strict!
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Many beaches on the Great Ocean Road are dog-friendly, at least if you visit outside of the summer months. For example, when we visited Lorne in November, our dog was allowed to run most of the beautiful main beach on a lead. This was valid until the end of November.
Dogs are generally not allowed on many beaches during the summer months, either December to March or Christmas to Easter, except between 7pm and before 9am. Check local signage for exact date and time as this varies along the route due to passing through different advisory areas.
Also check if dogs are allowed off leash, you must be on a leash at all times. In addition, there are several beaches outside the cities that allow dogs to be on a leash all year round, all day.
There are also some beaches that fall within national park areas or may be restricted due to nesting seabirds where dogs are not allowed throughout the year. Again, check local signage.
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But if you fly outside or like to visit the beach with your dog in the evening or in the morning, you can still enjoy the beach with your dog. In general, the beaches on the eastern half of the route are milder, although some are still very rough and swimming is not recommended.
Most of the waterfalls on the Great Ocean Road are in the Great Otway National Park and dogs are not allowed. These include the famous Erskine Falls near Lorne, as well as the Sheoak Falls south of Lorne, which can be reached by a short footpath.
The two main waterfalls you can visit with your dog are Beauchamp Falls and Stevenson Falls. From both falls, turn off at Skenes Creek and head inland, perhaps later joining the Great Ocean Road at Lavers Hill. (You’ll miss Cape Otway Bend and its lighthouse on the way, but dogs are not allowed outside the parking lot.)
We were thinking of visiting Beauchamp Falls. The waterfall can be reached by a 3 km round-trip hiking trail through the forest, which takes about 1 to 1.5 hours of walking. However, some reviews state that the trail is quite difficult, with many steps that may not be suitable for small dogs like mine.
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Additionally, at least 3km of the access road is unsealed, which technically we weren’t allowed to drive in the rental car, so we skipped it.
Stevenson Falls can be reached via a shorter trail, at least if you drive further up to the day zone instead of starting from the campground. However, the bridge to access it was closed for repairs when we visited, so we hopped on. (In addition, part of its access road is also unsealed and is a longer detour of the Great Ocean Road.)
The Great Ocean Road is one of the best places in Australia to see koalas in the wild. And the last two times I’ve driven the road I’ve easily spotted a lot of koalas, as some of their favorite hangouts are known.
The best chance to see koalas is on the River Kennet, north of Apollo Bay. Turn off and park in front of the Koala Cafe, then walk along the road behind the caravan with other tourists. Usually the easiest way to spot it is to see where other tourists are standing and take a picture!
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There are no restrictions with dogs in this place, so you can accompany your dog, with care. Always keep your dog on a leash and remove him from the area if he gets excited and starts barking at these strange animals. Don’t let them run under the trees and scare the poor koalas! Our schnitzel was a little excited about them, but some dogs will probably ignore them.
Koalas can also be spotted elsewhere on the Great Ocean Road, with the Cape Otway turnoff another popular spot. We also spotted a few outside Apollo Bay. Again, the best way to click them is to click tourists standing on the road taking pictures. Keep your eyes open!
I should also mention here that dogs are not allowed at two popular attractions on the Great Ocean Road, saving you a trip to the entrance.
Dogs are not allowed at Cape Otway Lighthouse and must remain in the car park if you turn around 10km to its entrance. Note that this
