Lorne

Quick facts

• Population approximately 1,300
• 140 kilometres south of Melbourne
• Pier to Pub Swim
• Cafés, bars, boutiques, shops
• Erskine Falls
• Great beaches.

With its Mediterranean feel and picture-postcard scenery, this beautiful seaside town has been attracting visitors for more than a century.

Set between the waters of Loutit Bay and the cool Otway forests, Lorne has a charm that’s hard to surpass. Add mild weather, café culture, shops, boutiques and galleries and you have one of the Great Ocean Road’s most popular holiday destinations.

Over 100 years ago the Victorian government declared Lorne an area of ’special significance and natural beauty’. Today visitors still come to enjoy the same natural features. The sheltered 2-kilometre beach is safe and is bordered by lawn, gum trees and picnic and barbecue areas. Discover the Erskine Falls cascading into a beautiful fern gully in the Great Otway National Park. At Cumberland River, a few kilometres south of the town, the scenery is picturesque, with dense bush, a rugged cliff face beside the river and an idyllic grassed camping and picnicking area. Relax with a latte at a sidewalk café, picnic under the trees on the foreshore or dine on freshly caught seafood at a local restaurant.

Activities and attractions

• Browse through boutiques, shops and galleries on the main street
• Explore cool fern gullies and cascading waterfalls via more than 50 kilometres of signposted walking tracks in the Great Otway National Park
• Enjoy the sun, sand and gentle surf at the main beach
• Have some family fun on the foreshore with the trampolines, swimming pool, paddle boats and skate park
• Sip a drink at a pub or on the pier while watching the local fishing fleet unload its catch
• Visit the local fishing co-op where you can buy fresh produce
• Pick your own berries from nearby berry farms 
• Try your luck - cast a fishing line into the river or surf
• Stop for a picnic in the tree-lined reserve above the beach with fine views of Loutit Bay and the township
• Take in stunning ocean and bush vistas from Teddy’s Lookout
• Enjoy a coffee or meal at one of Lorne’s cafés and restaurants
• Relax and unwind with a wellbeing treatment at the local day spas.

Events

• The Falls Festival – New Year’s Eve
• Mountain to Surf Run – January
• The Lorne Pier to Pub Swim – January
• Great Ocean Road Marathon – May
• Anaconda Adventure Race – December 

How to get there
Lorne is 140 kilometres south of Melbourne, approximately a 2-hour drive. Travel by car via the Great Ocean Road. Daily coach services are available from Melbourne or rail/coach services via Geelong.