Lorne is a beach town on the Great Ocean Road, about 65 km and 1 hour 10 minutes from Geelong. The main things to do are Erskine Falls, a 30 m waterfall 10 km inland; Teddy's Lookout above the St George River; the pier, first built in 1879; and the swimming beach in front of town.
Lorne is a beach town on the Great Ocean Road, about 65 km from Geelong and 47 km past Torquay. The main things to do in Lorne are close together: Erskine Falls in the forest 10 km inland, Teddy’s Lookout on the hill above town, the pier and the beach. Give it a half day if you are passing through, a full day if you swim and walk, and stay the night if you are heading further west.
| Way to go | Time | Details (Checked October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Car | About 1 h 10 | About 65 km via Torquay, Anglesea, Aireys Inlet and the Memorial Arch |
| V/Line coach | Check timetable | Geelong Station to Lorne and Apollo Bay, run by McHarry’s; summer timetable mid-December to late January |
| Day tour | Full day | Big tours start in Melbourne and drive past Geelong without stopping |
Drive times are free-flow estimates from a route planner on OpenStreetMap data. Add 10 to 20 percent, more on summer weekends. The coach can be cancelled on Catastrophic fire danger days, and in 2024 V/Line added a late Friday night service from Lorne back to Geelong. For times, see transport.vic.gov.au or call 1800 800 007.
Coming from Melbourne, take the train to Geelong first: our Melbourne to Geelong guide covers it.
Erskine Falls is the main reason to turn inland at Lorne. The water drops about 30 m into a gully full of tree ferns, in the Great Otway National Park.
It is about 10 km from town by road, around 15 minutes’ drive up into the forest. (The regional tourism site says “5 kilometres inland”; by road it is about double that.)
| Walk | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Lookout One (top, from the car park) | 300 m return | About 15 minutes |
| Lookout Two (base of the falls) | 700 m return | About 30 minutes |
Lookout Two is the better view and the harder walk. Parks Victoria counts 230 stone steps down to the lower lookout; the tourism site says more than 300. Either way, you climb them all again on the way back. The path gets slippery after rain, so wear proper shoes.
There are no toilets at the falls; Parks Victoria says the nearest is at Blanket Leaf Picnic Ground. Check VicTraffic for road conditions before you go.
Teddy’s Lookout sits on the hill at the end of George Street, about 2 km from the centre of town. It is the classic Lorne view: the Great Ocean Road winding below, the mouth of the St George River, and the Southern Ocean beyond.
The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority runs it. The useful details:
It is a quick stop, 20 minutes or so, unless you walk one of the tracks.
The first pier at Lorne went in in 1879. Before it, boats had to be beached to load and unload. It carried steamer passengers, timber from the Otways and supplies for the town, and from 1904 a timber tramway ran down to the pier for loading. Fishing peaked in the early 1950s, when about 25 boats worked from it.
After 127 years of patching and partial rebuilding, the old pier was replaced in 2007 by a new one costing about $5 million. Today it is for fishing, walking and looking back at the town. It is also the start of the Lorne Pier to Pub ocean swim.
In May 2025 the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority began replacing the worn decking in stages, with temporary closures while work is under way. Expect fenced sections if work is still going on when you visit.
The main beach is right in front of the town, so it is the easy swim after the falls. We could not find this season’s lifesaving patrol details on an official source, so check beachsafe.org.au on the day and swim only between the red and yellow flags when they are up.
Two events to plan around:
Around those dates, book Lorne accommodation early.
A plan that works without rushing:
If you have more time, Torquay is worth its own half day on the way, and our Great Ocean Road itinerary turns Lorne into the first night of a two or three day trip.
West of Lorne the Great Ocean Road runs about 45 km to Apollo Bay, which RACV says takes about an hour. Several tour itineraries stop at Kennett River on this stretch to look for koalas, and at Maits Rest for a rainforest walk. The Great Ocean Road map lists every town and its distance.
The big Great Ocean Road day tours start in Melbourne and drive past Geelong without stopping. One small-group tour (12 people or fewer) goes inland to the Twelve Apostles first and finishes the day on the coast at Lorne, rated 4.9 from 1,903 reviews and from A$138 (GetYourGuide, checked October 2026). See Great Ocean Road tours to compare them, or all tours near Geelong. If you would rather base yourself in the city and drive down, our guide to Geelong accommodation covers where to stay.
12 hours
Heads inland via Winchelsea to reach the Twelve Apostles and Gibson Steps before the coach crowds, then works back along the coast through Apollo Bay and Lorne in a van of 12 or fewer.
fromA$138
Check availability13 hours (multi-day options up to 3 days)
A long-running minibus tour that starts the coast with morning tea near Torquay, then the Memorial Arch, Apollo Bay, Maits Rest rainforest walk and the Twelve Apostles.
fromA$159
Check availability14 hours
A classic-direction day with morning tea at Torquay, koala spotting at Kennett River, a rainforest walk at Maits Rest and the Twelve Apostles, returning inland via Colac.
fromA$139
Check availability13.5 hours
The most-reviewed Great Ocean Road day trip, run by a family business: Torquay surf beach with a look at Bells Beach, wild koalas, a tall-forest walk and the Twelve Apostles.
fromA$125
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Updated
Lorne is about 65 km from Geelong city centre, roughly 1 hour 10 minutes by car without stops. The road goes through Torquay, past Anglesea and Aireys Inlet and under the Memorial Arch. Without a car, the V/Line coach from Geelong Station runs along the Great Ocean Road to Lorne and on to Apollo Bay; check transport.vic.gov.au for times.
There are two lookouts. The first is 300 m return from the car park, about 15 minutes. The second, at the base of the falls, is 700 m return, about 30 minutes, down a long run of steps: Parks Victoria counts 230, the regional tourism site says over 300. The path can be slippery after rain, and the nearest toilet is at Blanket Leaf Picnic Ground.
Yes. Lorne packs a waterfall, a hilltop lookout, a beach and a historic pier into a small area, and it is the easiest Great Ocean Road town to reach from Geelong for a day. It also makes a natural first night on a two or three day trip, putting Apollo Bay within an hour the next morning.
Teddy's Lookout is at the end of George Street, about 2 km from the centre of Lorne, according to the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority. A small car park sits next to the viewing platforms. You look down on the Great Ocean Road, the mouth of the St George River and the Southern Ocean. There are no toilets, and dogs are not allowed.
Easily. At about 70 minutes each way, Lorne is a comfortable day trip from Geelong. Leave mid-morning, stop at Bells Beach and Split Point Lighthouse on the way down, walk to Erskine Falls before lunch, then spend the afternoon on the beach and at Teddy's Lookout. You will be back in Geelong in time for dinner.
From Geelong, the Great Ocean Road starts 21 km away in Torquay.
The Great Ocean Road starts in Torquay, 21 km south of Geelong, and runs about 240 km west to Allansford near Warrnambool.
Torquay is the surf town where the Great Ocean Road begins, about 21 km and 25 minutes' drive south of Geelong, or 45 to 50 minutes on bus 53.
Bells Beach is the surf break 8 km west of Torquay and about 29 km from Geelong, home of the Rip Curl Pro at Easter, a contest first held there in 1962.